"Beijing Winter Olympics, TV ratings in the United States are not high", a Washington Post local time on the 9th an article to put out such a phenomenon, but gave the opposite conclusion - the Winter Olympics may actually be more popular with Americans than ever before, the reason behind this "contradiction" is that more and more people from watching the Olympic Games through TV to watching through YouTube and Tik Tok and other platforms.
The Washington Post: NBC's Winter Olympics ratings are dismal, but that doesn't mean the game is dying
The article, titled "NBC Winter Olympics Ratings Are Dismal, But That Doesn't Mean Games Are Dying," begins by saying, "The BEIJING Winter Olympics not only had low TV ratings, but were the worst in history." But the widely reported decline in ratings masks another fact: The Winter Olympics may actually be more popular with Americans than ever before due to the long-term shift in people's shift from TV viewing to online (watching) consumption. Mark Lazarus, president of television and streaming at NBC Universal, NBC's parent company, also said that online viewers are large and increasing relative to those who watch on TV.
While news coverage has focused on distressing TV ratings, NBC has quietly cultivated a broad Olympic following by spreading a variety of highlights on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other digital platforms.
On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games was held at the Beijing National Stadium. The Chinese delegation entered the opening ceremony. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Wei
Michael Socolow, a media historian at the University of Maine, said, "Considering that (Beijing Winter) Olympics-related videos on YouTube and TikTok will receive hundreds of millions of views, I wouldn't be surprised if the (Beijing Winter) Olympics end up being one of the most viewed video events in U.S. history," Sokolo added, adding the widespread focus on China, The Beijing Winter Olympics could become the highest-rated video program in world history.
Swiss athletes compete in snowboarding at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Image source: Foreign media
According to previous media reports, the Olympic Broadcasting Service Company (OBS) said at a press conference on February 10 that the Beijing Winter Olympics has become the highest-rated Winter Olympics in the world so far, and has written new records in terms of broadcast time, technology, and content production methods. OBS CEO Ioannis Exacos said that the Olympic broadcast service company will provide broadcasters with more than 6,000 hours of content at the Beijing Winter Olympics, of which nearly 1,000 hours of competition content. "All content can meet the needs of digital broadcasting, and different platforms and media have different content."