Team USA's performance, seen by some as lackluster, likely had a negative impact on NBC's ratingsGETTY IMAGES
Despite ratings declines from the Sochi Games, Pyeongchang was an "economic success for NBC," according to A.J. Katz of ADWEEK. NBC Broadcasting & Sports Chair Mark Lazarus said, "We finished Pyeongchang with more than $920 million in national ad sales, a Winter Games record. We added more than $20 million once the games began due to viewership exceeding our advertiser guarantees." Katz noted Lazarus and NBC are "still confident in the power of the Olympics despite audience losses." The network "has rights to the games" through '32. Lazarus: "With Tokyo, Beijing, Paris and Los Angeles coming up as hosts -- and coming off of four consecutive profitable Games -- we are very bullish on our investment" (ADWEEK.com, 2/26). USA TODAY's A.J. Perez writes the Games were a "mixed bag" for NBC, which "again had to deal with an unfavorable time difference, as it did four years ago in Russia." The showing of Team USA "likely was also a factor." This was the "first Olympics where NBC broadcast the same coverage -- including live events -- simultaneously across all time zones" (USA TODAY, 2/27). In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal writes U.S. viewership during the Pyeonchang Games falling below that of Sochi "suggested fatigue set in after a strong start, although there was a bit of a bounce" for the Closing Ceremony. Perhaps news headlines "lured viewers away." It is possible Team USA’s medal struggles in sports it was "expected to be stronger had viewers looking elsewhere." Maybe the events "showcased in later days just weren’t as compelling as those earlier." NBC has "aggressively staked out digital platforms, adding streams of their TV coverage and more, even producing some content for Snapchat." Whatever the "preferred mode of viewing turns out to be in the years to come, NBC needs to be there" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/27).
