Tokyo Takeaways: NBCU Audience Erosion, Peacock’s Pride, Biles’ Withdrawal

But several questions remain NBCU has disclosed that its average Total Audience Delivery linear digital and streaming viewing was 155 million for the delayed Summer Games and that Peacock scored record usage NBCU though has not provided the consumption specifics for the streaming serviceamp160which certainly received plenty of promotional support across the US rightsholderamp8217s more than 7000 hours of coverage as per NBCUamp8217s game planWhat wasnamp8217t in the playbook was gymnast GOAT Simone Bilesamp160succumbing to mental anxiety that came with being the face of the Games and led to a case of the quottwistiesquot that caused her to bail on the team competition and a host of individual events But she returned with a bronzemedalwinning turn on the balance beam Her performance delivered a ratings respite of sorts for NBCU on Aug3 with a TAD audience of 174 billion That was only off 32 from the 256 million average on the comparable night at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics when Biles captured her fourth gold medalWeamp8217ll never know how a Bilesamp8217 gold rush would have impacted NBCUamp8217s TAD In all likelihood it only would have reduced the audience retreat to a minor degree from the 2016 Games as NBCU surrendered 42 of its 267 million average audience for the Rio Summer OlympicsSince it became apparent Tokyo was going to come up well short of Rio the Monday morning quarterback chorus has been at full throttle The collective rise of subscription videoondemand services has permanently altered consumption habits and viewing patterns at the expense of linear The largely fanfree venues volunteers and other athletes were the folks in the seats made for poor optics The 13hour time difference between Tokyo and the east coast limited the number of live events The retirements of quotAquamanquot Michael Phelps and the world39s fastest human Usain Bolt to Mount Olympus lessened the star powerPart of the problem can also be plucked from Peacock which offered live coverage of gymnastics and track and field Those paying a premium also got to see the US menamp8217s basketball team and Kevin Durant on a circuitous route to a fourth straight gold medal So if you were Peacocking you saw the action and may have been in kind disinclined to tune into NBCamp8217s curated primetime coverage which still accounts for most of the companyamp8217s Olympic gold er greenHow much NBCU factored those elements in making its audience guarantees and the amount of inventory it had to hold for makegoods along with reduced travel will be among the key determinants of its profitabilityAt a preview event at 30 Rock a month before the July 23 opening ceremony Matt Strauss Chairman DirecttoConsumer and International at NBCU said the company was eyeing significant Peacock signup from the Tokyo Games and viewed the coverage of highprofile content like the menamp8217s basketball team as a premiumpay experimentamp160Mark Lazarus Chairman of NBCU Television and Streaming in an Aug 9 release outlining the companyamp8217s viewing milestones with the Summer Games said there was amp8220unprecedented streaming consumption including sharply increasing signups usage and awareness of Peacockamp8221Will NBCU ever share a more detailed glimpse of Peacockamp8217s signup Tokyo scorecard If executives really liked the return will Peacock present live coverage of Winter Games marquee events like alpine skiing figure skating and hockeyamp160Beijing is 12 hours ahead of the east coast so amp160unless you bury your head amp160youamp8217ll know what happened and can determine if you want to watch NBC during primetimeDespite those significant overhangs the Tokyo Games themselves delivered some fantastic moments In short US women ruled Katie Ladecky added four medals and said sheamp8217ll be back to compete in Paris in 2024 and maybe LA in 2028 Lydia Jacoby beat countrywoman and favorite Lilly King in the 100meter breaststroke a goldmedal upset that sparked a priceless celebration from her high school classmates in Seward AlaskaSydney McLaughlin and Dalilhah Muhammad who have been exchanging world record times over the past two years did so again at the 400meter hurdle final in Tokyo Both beat the world record with McLaughlin gaining the slight edgeIt was a similar story in the men39s competition as Norway39s Karsten Warholm took gold smashing his own world record with a time of 4594 with Mount Vernon NY39s Rai Benjamin right behind at 4617 in what now stands as the secondfastest time ever in the eventBut I digress from the distaff achievementsCompeting in her fifth Olympics Allyson Felix 35 demonstrated to her daughter Cammy who was born prematurely amid a case of preeclampsia a condition that can lead to serious even fatal complications for both mother and baby that her mommy was indeed back in shape and had not lost an ounce of her determination With a bronze in the 400 meters and a gold in the event39s relay discipline Felix became the most decorated female track athlete and supplanted Carl Lewis as the US leader in as the IOC says athleticsThe US women39s basketball team won a seventh consecutive gold in running its Olympic winning streak to 55 Presumably it was the final Games goround for fivetime Olympic gold medal and former UConn teammates Sue Bird and Diana TaurasiOn the downside the US women39s national soccer team came up well short in its bid to become the first side to back up a World Cup crown with Olympic gold They dropped the group opener 30 to Sweden in a match that the Blue and Yellow could have just as easily prevailed by six or seven goalsUnfortunately for Sweden they emulated the 2015 men39s Wisconsin basketball team that took out undefeated Kentucky in the March Madness Final Four only to fall to Duke in the championship game settling for silver in a shootout loss to Canada If this was their major tournament farewell Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd the headliners of the US World Cup winners in 2019 and 2015 went out in fine fettle with a pair of goals each that gave the Americans a 43 bronze triumph over AustraliaFittingly it was the women39s indoor volleyball team and their rout of Brazil for the program39s first taste of Olympic gold that enabled the US to edge China by one at the top of the podium with 39 golds as part of a leading medal haul of 113 overallClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Tokyo Takeaways: NBCU Audience Erosion, Peacock’s Pride, Biles’ Withdrawal

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J.P. Fields

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Tokyo Takeaways: NBCU Audience Erosion, Peacock’s Pride, Biles’ Withdrawal

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