NBC wonders: where are the Olympic viewers this year?

NEW YORK (AP) — For most nights in Tokyo, NBC’s prime time Olympics coverage is drawing about half the audience than the Games in Rio de Janeiro five years ago. Sunday night is a typical example: the audience of 13 million was down 51 percent from the corresponding night in Brazil’s audience of 26.7 million. An NBC Universal executive says the ratings are less than expected, and blamed some bad luck. The company fares slightly better when cable and streaming coverage is added in. Part of the decline is simply due to fewer people watching live television than five years ago, but the Olympics rating drop is steeper than might have been expected through that factor alone.