Tim Benz: Lots of theories for bad Olympic TV ratings — some problems may be beyond repair

Television ratings for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are off to a hideous start.

According to Variety, “NBC Sports says 16 million viewers tuned in to watch the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony across multiple platforms on Friday, a new record low for the event since NBCUniversal began broadcasting the Olympics in 1988.

That number is down 43% compared to the 28.3 million viewers that watched the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony in February 2018.”

Why? Well, any number of theories. The biggest problem for NBC and Olympic committee members is that they all probably have a little bit of truth to them.

Some of the problems might be fixable. For instance, the lack of NHL participation hurts. Hockey isn’t exactly a television goldmine itself. But had NHL players been on the ice, they would’ve at least brought more mainstream sports viewers to the table. Then, say, after a USA-Canada showdown, a chunk of them would’ve stuck around to watch some ski jumping, speed skating or a few bobsled runs.

Maybe the NHL will allow its players back when the Games are in Italy in 2026 instead of China — if coronavirus and the league will ever yield.

Speaking of the venue, there is a segment of the American population that thinks it is making a political statement against China through a boycott of watching the Games.

Consider me dubious of that notion. I think it’s easy to boycott something you don’t care about. I’m not sure the average American refusing to watch luge on a Tuesday night genuinely qualifies as a grand political action.

But if you think refusing to pick up a remote to watch the biathlon qualifying round makes you a human rights activist or a vocal opponent of Chinese political and economic influence or a virtue signaler “cuz they started covid n’at,” well, you do you.

Certainly, respondents to this poll want me to think that.

Olympic TV ratings stink. I know the answer here is “all of the above.” But what reason is the BIGGEST reason why you think folks are disinterested.

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) February 7, 2022

But, c’mon. If the Steelers had their first preseason game in China next August, it would pull a 30 share in Pittsburgh.

The time difference from China is also an issue. Then again, we’ve seen massive time delays from other Olympic venues in recent years. Like when the summer Olympics were in Beijing in 2008 or Sydney in 2000. Or winter events in Korea and Japan.

I mean, if no one is bothering to watch the contests in the first place and no one is talking about the results, does it matter if the events are on tape or not? It’s not like you are trying to avoid the final score of the Super Bowl or something. Avoiding mogul results shouldn’t be that hard to do.

Sure, all those problems might be venue related. But others are not. Especially here in the United States.

We are as divided of a country as we have ever been. There is no Soviet Union to collectively root against—and by extension, bring us together—anymore. To many other nations, we are the big, bad monolithic bully now. Frankly, we don’t even seem to like ourselves all that much these days.

Rallying behind the flag has — sadly — been deemed “uncool.” We look at Old Glory now and don’t see a reason to come together as one. We see it and assume it waves “for the other side of the aisle” more than it does for our side.

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Meanwhile, for those of us who don’t have a side, we feel forgotten, as we are stranded in the middle.

It’s hard to be whimsically patriotic and callously self-loathing all at once. It’s difficult to muster enough national pride to cheer “USA! USA! USA!” during a curling match against the Norwegians after so many years of chanting “Impeach 45” or “Lock her up” at one another.

However, if there was a Red State curling team versus a Blue State curling team, look out! Ratings would be through the roof.

Beyond all that, though, the biggest struggle for the Olympics is much more about pragmatism than it is about patriotism. The Olympics are a two-week-long network television miniseries in an era when no one watches network television anymore.

The Olympics were built for a chapter in time when people used to turn on the television at 8 p.m. while saying “Let’s flip around and see what’s on tonight. Hey, ‘Friends’ isn’t on. Oh, that’s right. It’s the Olympics. Let’s see if that cute Canadian ice skating couple gets screwed by the judges again. What time does the Jamaican bobsled team race? Is that ‘Eddie the Eagle’ guy ski jumping tonight?”

Who does that in 2022? With streaming, you go right to the app you want and watch whatever show you started binging the previous weekend. Or even with cable, you just pick up the remote and punch in three numbers or go to your favorites and never accidentally stumble on short track speed skating.

We don’t even pick up the commercials and promos during sitcoms, late-night talk shows and morning news programs because most people don’t watch those programs anymore either — at least conventionally.

That’s not a problem that’s going to change. If the Olympic rating swoon doesn’t reverse course, though, high-priced broadcasts of the games as we know them just might.