Feb. 23 (UPI) — The 2022 Beijing Olympics drew the smallest TV audience for an Olympics in recorded history, according to data released by NBC on Wednesday.
NBC reported that an average of 11.4 million viewers watched its prime time Winter Games coverage. The network previously reported that the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, averaged 19.8 million in primetime.
The postponed 2020 Summer Games, held last year in Tokyo, averaged 15.1 million viewers in prime time, the lowest total since the network started Summer Games coverage in 1988.
The 2022 Winter Gamers aired from Feb. 4 and ended Sunday. NBC said 160 million Americans watched the Beijing Olympics across its NBCUniversal platforms.
The network aired more than 2,800 hours of coverage from Beijing on NBC, CNBC, USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, Peacock and the NBC Sports app.
Over the 18-day competition, Peacock streamed every Olympics event for the first time.
Viewers who wanted to watch events live, however, often needed to stay up very late or get up early due to a 13-hour time difference between the United States and Beijing.
General view of the Big Air course ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Ski Jumping Centre on January 31, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
NBC said the Olympics were the “most streamed Winter Games ever,” with 4.3 billion minutes consumed on digital and social media platforms.
USA Network was the most-watched sports and entertainment cable network in primetime and total day metrics throughout the Winter Games.
NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua told the Wall Street Journal that the lack of crowds allowed to attend events due to COVID-19 and “harsh” pandemic protocols in China were among the factors that contributed to the low viewership.
NBCUniversal extended its deal for the American rights to air the Olympics in 2014 for $7.75 billion. That contract runs through 2032.