It "looked like 2012 all over again," according to Anna Nicolaou of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Swimming legend Michael Phelps "soared past" rival Ryan Lochte in the final lap of the 200m race, winning Gold, "just as he had at the London Games." For the TV business, the "similarities stopped there." About 31 million people "tuned in for the matchup between the two top swimmers of their generation," down from 37 million for the equivalent night in 2012's Games. On average, broadcast ratings for Rio have been about 20% "lower than four years ago." Observers have been "quick to explain Rio’s disappointing ratings by the shift to digital streaming," with NBC reporting that an "unprecedented" 1 billion minutes of the Games had been live streamed as of Thursday. Newsonomics' Ken Doctor said, "The single difference between 2016 and 2012 is that in those four years, mobile phones have become the way people stay on top of things. People don’t like being told: 'We’re going to tell you when you’re going to watch this.'" The Rio "reality check comes as earnings reports this month revealed that about 756,000 Americans ditched their pay-TV subscriptions in the second quarter -- a record loss." That would make for "another grim summer for television executives" (FT, 8/14).
