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[XiaNaphryz]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...n-olympics-bet-stumbles-thanks-to-millennials

Back in June, Steve Burke described what he called his Olympics “nightmare.”

“We wake up someday and the ratings are down 20 percent,” the chief executive officer of NBCUniversal said at a conference. “If that happens, my prediction would be that millennials had been in a Facebook bubble or a Snapchat bubble and the Olympics have come, and they didn’t know it.”

He has escaped that with the Rio games this year -- but not by much. Prime-time broadcast viewership has been down about 17 percent compared to the London games four years ago. And in the 18-to-49-year-old age group coveted by advertisers, it’s been even worse. That audience has been 25 percent smaller, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

The Summer Olympics ratings slip, the first since 2000, raises fresh doubts about what used to be a sure thing: live sports would be a huge and growing draw no matter what. That’s why NBC parent Comcast Corp. paid $12 billion for exclusive U.S. broadcast rights to the Olympics through 2032. Others, including Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, 21st Century Fox Inc., Time Warner Inc. and CBS Corp., have made long-term bets on football, baseball and basketball.

To be sure, many sporting events are as big as ever. The Super Bowl in February pulled in 112 million viewers, making it the third most-watched event in TV history. On the other hand, Villanova’s victory over North Carolina in the men’s college basketball championship drew 37 percent fewer viewers than last year’s title game, though that may have had something to do with the fact that, for the first time, the match-up was on a cable channel, not a broadcast network.

One issue is that many fans are getting older. The average age over the past decade of National Football League and Major League Baseball viewers has increased by four and seven years, respectively, to 47 and 53, according to Ben Thompson, founder of the blog Stratechery.

“Sports is less ingrained in the younger demographic,” said Brandon Ross, an analyst at BTIG Research. “It has been replaced by other things like video games and e-sports and Snapchat feeds.”

And Americans have more entertainment choices. During the 2012 Olympics, Snapchat was in its infancy and Netflix had about half as many U.S. subscribers.

It’s a delicate balance: Online offerings may have cut into NBC’s Olympics audience on TV, John Martin, CEO of Time Warner’s Turner division, said in an interview.

“Potentially it’s diluted the concentration of viewership on the linear network,” Martin said. “I wonder if there was less content available -- and people felt more compelled to tune in to the traditional network -- whether that would bolster ratings.”

Lazarus agreed that may have been the case, but said if NBC hadn’t let people stream, “the press would be writing that we’re harboring content and not just showing it live and not sharing it. It’s our job to find the right balance.”

NBC charged up to 50 percent higher rates for internet ads than for TV because the web audience trends younger and marketers are eager to reach millennials, Lazarus said, and there was little trouble selling spots on both platforms. NBC said its profit from the London games was about $120 million, and that it sold more than $1.2 billion in commercials this year and expects to even bigger earnings than four years ago.

The Olympics continue to have that draw. The audience “is not as good as it was four years ago, but in such a fragmented media world, it’s such a huge number,” said Andy Donchin, chief domestic investment officer at ad-buyer Amplify US. “We’re buying TV to get mass reach.”

But it wasn’t mass enough. Because ratings fell short, the network had to give buyers free commercial time to make good on guarantees that a certain number of viewers would switch on television sets. The promise was for ratings equaling an average of about 21 million U.S. households and the reality, as of late last week, was roughly 18.2 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.

NBC is “going to have to figure out the economics,” said Ian Schafer, founder of the Deep Focus ad agency. It has two years to do it, before the winter games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

 

[Anth0ny]

“Sports is less ingrained in the younger demographic,” said Brandon Ross, an analyst at BTIG Research. “It has been replaced by other things like video games and e-sports and Snapchat feeds.”

The solution? Super Smash Bros Melee at the Olympics, Snapchatted live by Kylie Jenner.

 

[Brannon]

Nope, watched what I wanted on BBC and other online sources. Fuck NBC's sacchrine sweet against all odds USA BEST 4EVAR coverage.

 

[Chris R]

Didn't watch much of anything because of NBCs decision to delay shit for the West Coast. No thanks!

Also, I'm done with the sappy stories they come up with, just show the fucking sports.

 

[Arkanius]

Curious stuff.

The Olympics ratings went up in Portugal, after our public TV channel did a 100% coverage of every olympic sport, with commentaries by different specialists.
It was the best coverage ever percentage wise, and the ratings got boosted by result.

Just do your job well and people will come.

 

[Broken Joystick]

I didn't watch any of it because all the best bits were posted as videos or gifs on Twitter.

Bite me.

 

[Slayven]

It's boring unless you are really into those sports

 

[MMarston]

I'm Canadian, but maybe it's got something to do with NBC's shit coverage compared to everyone else.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

It's that old business adage.

"The customer is always wrong, because they're too distracted by watch e-sports and Snapchat feeds."

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

The Summer Olympics ratings slip, the first since 2000, raises fresh doubts about what used to be a sure thing: live sports would be a huge and growing draw no matter what.

I think I have found the problem

 

[NastyBook]

I didn't watch because fuck Rio, but whatever. Kiss my ass, NBC.

 

[BlueTsunami]

$12bil exclusive rights through 2032 lmao wonder what PRIMETIME vieweship will be in 2028. What dinosaurs

Are they still only showing recaps, And not live feeds?

 

[Rayven]

I watched less b/c it was swimming every fucking night I tuned in after work. They even elevated qualifiers and semis over other sports. Variety is what I look for in Olympics broadcasts.

Additionally, NBC was so focused on and encouraging of petty rivalries and shit talking this year. Overly negative tone IMO.

 

[TheMan]

I got tired of seeing swimming, gymnastics, and running. There are so many sports to choose from, air that shit too. (Disclaimer, I'm talking about primetime coverage.)

 

[Nirolak]

“Sports is less ingrained in the younger demographic,” said Brandon Ross, an analyst at BTIG Research. “It has been replaced by other things like video games and e-sports and Snapchat feeds.”

EA was actually saying that FIFA and the NFL are quite worried about this too: http://venturebeat.com/2016/08/08/how-ea-is-moving-to-turn-all-players-into-competitive-gamers/

GamesBeat: You say you don’t get respect. What do you mean by that?

Moore: I’ve been on enough panels in the last two-three months where, when you use even “sports,” which is why I try to not use that word—that seems to be a lightning rod of discontent. Look, I love sports. I played. I came to this country to play soccer. I still run and work out. I see myself as an athlete. I get what that means. But millennials coming through have a different point of view.

Our friends at the NFL, our partners, and our friends and partners at FIFA will say their number one concern right now is that they’re not refreshing their consumer base with the next generation. There are so many distractions. Electronic media, social media, esports coming up in every single conversation. Our job is to convince them not to eschew it, not to marginalize it and push it away, but to embrace it.

GamesBeat: The NFL is worried that League of Legends is taking screen time away?

Moore: The NFL, rightly so, smart people, say that they have to be a part of this. They can’t, because of what they call “the shield,” stay blind to what’s going on. This sounds ridiculous, but you have to go into the bedroom and grab them. Or you have to be part of a Twitch community. You have to be part of competitive gaming. That’s what we’re working on with the NFL. They get it. They understand it. Same with FIFA.

The biggest issue is the big brands. They’ve previously, for decades, relied on my kids watching television and choosing Coke versus Pepsi. McDonald’s versus Burger King. All of a sudden they’re not in the living room anymore. That chair in front of the TV is empty. What do they have to do? They have to chase those kids. I hate to use the analogy about chasing them into the bedroom, but that’s typically where they are. What’s the best platform to do that? Competitive gaming.

 

[cdyhybrid]

Stay losing, NBC.

 

[FyreWulff]

It's impossible to watch when it's edited up and glued together as a puff piece for every US athlete. I think the last games I watched live were '96 and they were already doing a form of that then.

 

[Kurtofan]

Maybe don't tape delay?

Maybe don't tape delay?

Maybe don't tape delay?

Maybe don't tape delay?

 

[kIdMuScLe]

I didn't watch it because I already knew the results 6hrs before they even show the damn game on tv! Who the fuck tapes delay sports events?!

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Solution: Add CS:Go, Dota 2, CoD and League of Legends to the Olympics.

 

[razgriz417]

Didn't watch any of it this year. Saw some highlight clips on twitter and headlines in my news feeds, that's about it. Didn't have much interest this year, especially with their dumb tape delay

 

[Dishwalla]

NBC has terrible sports coverage all around anyways.

 

[XGRaViSmOrSX]

I'm Canadian, but maybe it's got something to do with NBC's shit coverage compared to everyone else.

This right here. I used a VPN to watch the canadian broadcast streams. Sooooo much better.

 

[gutter_trash]

NBC gonna NBC, instead of showing the opening and closing ceremonies LIVE they showed them with a tape delay preceded by Costas going blablabalbalbalabla \

tape delaying evening events into the wee hours of 10PM to 11PM LOL, people went to bed

Rio is just +1 hour from Eastern Time during NA summers

 

[Suikoguy]

I didn't watch it because I already knew the results 6hrs before they even show the damn game on tv! Who the fuck tapes delay sports events?!

A company who wants to create as scripted as possible made for tv movies each evening.

 

[Nonoriri]

March of the ever increasingly irrelevant staples of the past.

 

[DeadlyParasite]

"find the right balance" my ass. There is no reason for things to not be broadcasted live. Who would've thought that a generation raised on ad-free content and live-streaming would hate to watch patriotic pandering laced with unlimited commercials on a delay.

 

[Abounder]

Only thing millenials would care about is maybe Team USA basketball, it was like a preview of the Warriors...holy toledo

Tokyo is going to be great though, right?!

 

[Zackat]

Their TV coverage is garbage, watching their streams was much better.

Showing qualifiers on primetime when there is actually medal stuff going on is bull.

 

[KernelPanic]

As John Oliver put it, the Olympics are your regular reminder every 2 years that NBC exists.

I'm in Canada but seeing family and friends in the US complain how awful NBC Olympic coverage is I am not surprised fewer and fewer people watch it.

Can't even talk about events with them as chances are that event hasn't aired yet down there, and maybe never will.

 

[Nokterian]

I don't care about the Olympics..for me watching e-sports like Dota 2 is more engaging and more fun to watch. And blaming millennials is just dumb because we shift towards something different that is happening in the past few years. Because want content to watch right now and anywhere they want be on mobile,tablet or pc/mac. Also e-sports are getting bigger and bigger each year.

The old media is still stuck in the 90's/00's because they refuse to grow with it.

 

[BlueTsunami]

I didn't watch it because I already knew the results 6hrs before they even show the damn game on tv! Who the fuck tapes delay sports events?!

NBC still has a use for the official NBC VCR. Auto records the event from the local station and gives it to the US 6 hours later

 

[Vyrance]

No one wants to watch tape delayed sports. People want to watch shit live.

And give us some damn variety in what is shown.

 

[Ogodei]

The problem is the belief that we're fixated on watching games where the US will likely win, which is now concentrated on swimming, which is boring as piss to watch except for the relays.

Give us a mix!

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

I'm Canadian, but maybe it's got something to do with NBC's shit coverage compared to everyone else.

Yeah, it was terrible whenever I had caught an event on that channel. And what's with the added side stories that they try to shoehorn in?

 

[Davide]

I watch the Olympics here in Canada on CBC and the NBC coverage was comparatively absolutely awful. I would hate to have to watch them delayed by hours.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

NBC needed more John Tesh in their basketball coverage.

 

[Archer]

I saw zero of these Olympics. Rio?

NBC needed more John Tesh in their basketball coverage.

The golden era.

 

[Permanently A]

tv ads are fucking unbearable to watch is all. why sit through that when I can catch highlights on the news later?

 

[B-Dubs]

Maybe if NBC's coverage wasn't so shit people would watch it.

 

[perfectchaos007]

To be sure, many sporting events are as big as ever. The Super Bowl in February pulled in 112 million viewers, making it the third most-watched event in TV history. On the other hand, Villanova’s victory over North Carolina in the men’s college basketball championship drew 37 percent fewer viewers than last year’s title game, though that may have had something to do with the fact that, for the first time, the match-up was on a cable channel, not a broadcast network.

BINGO. Same reason why the College Football National Championship game will never get as high of ratings as it did when it was on ABC. ESPN and ABC are owned by the same parent company and they lose a ton of money by choosing to put the national championship on ESPN over ABC

 

[PSqueak]

“If that happens, my prediction would be that millennials had been in a Facebook bubble or a Snapchat bubble and the Olympics have come, and they didn’t know it.”

Yes they did you ass backwards gremlin, that's what they have been facebooking about, people get their olympics goodness from the internet now, get used to it.

 

[Guevara]

I don't know, I saw a couple .gifs from the Olympics, so I feel like I did my part

americanflag.gif

 

[darscot]

This has to be in the US with their ridiculous TV coverage, I don't know how anyone could watch. First who can watch a massive event like the olympics on delay, it's laughable. Second the coverage is dreadful, they completely miss the spirit of international competition. Any other broadcast is watchable, but literally channel flipping you see hey it's the olympics, hear the commentary,oh it's a US feed keep flipping.

 

[Veritigo_X]

Ah yes, the old social media bubble where I could find out the results as they happen instead of arbitrarily delayed. That's literally why I didn't really watch the Olympics so they got that one right.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Honestly I would have watched a lot more had the streaming options not been so restrictive. I can watch stuff like Eurovision for free but when NBC locks all their stuff down and I don't want to buy a cable subscription just for the few events I like, I'm out.

The Winter Olympics are torture because I like most of the sports but my options for seeing them are terrible.

 

[Alucrid]

what a dumb ceo. of course i knew the olympics were happening. the summer games event was in overwatch

 

[n0razi]

Its background noise for me.. the most entertaining thing was Locate and the Mongolian beef.

 

[Acorn]

Sports not being popular with my generation? Bullshit maybe if NBC's coverage wasn't delayed and ad filled people would watch it more.

Willing to bet the bbc never had theses issues here, may be a slight dip due to not hosting it and the weird track and field times thanks to NBC.

 

[BitStyle]

Mainly watched swimming and gymnastics on BBC. caught the highlights of everything else on the web.