Winter Olympics 2022
TV Ratings: Winter Olympics End With Smallest Audience Ever
The 2022 Winter Olympics ended as the least watched ever for NBCUniversal — but there are still a few bright spots, particularly on the streaming side of the equation, for the company amid the smaller overall figures. The topline figure is that the Olympics averaged 11.4 million viewers across all of NBCU’s platforms in primetime. […]
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Beijing’s Olympics Close, Ending Safe But Odd Global Moment
A pile of figure-skating rubble created by Russian misbehavior. A new Chinese champion — from California. An ace American skier who faltered and went home empty-handed. The end of the Olympic line for the world’s most renowned snowboarder. All inside an anti-COVID “closed loop” enforced by China’s authoritarian government. The terrarium of a Winter Games […]
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Simone Biles Supports Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin Amid Criticism at Beijing Games: “People Suck”
Simone Biles is sending positivity to Mikaela Shiffrin after the American alpine skier opened up about dealing with criticism during her struggles at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Shiffrin was seen as a likely favorite heading into this year’s Games, due in part to her two previous gold medals, but she failed to reach the […]
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Winter Olympics: Russian Figure Skater at Center of Doping Controversy Fails to Medal
A Russian woman was standing atop the figure skating podium at the Beijing Games on Thursday night. It just wasn’t the one anyone expected. Even the fact that there was a podium was a surprise. Anna Shcherbakova, the overlooked world champion, delivered a clean performance in her free skate at historic Capital Indoor Stadium to […]
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Why NBC Is Breaking from Post-Super Bowl Tradition in 2022
Sometime after its first decade deciding the NFL championship — and drawing increasingly large TV audiences — the Super Bowl became network TV’s ultimate lead-in. The game, which most of its life has been the single most watched program of the year, has helped launch a few long-running series and provided outsized spotlights for shows that […]
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Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis Prevails for Second Beijing Gold
Lindsey Jacobellis has won her second gold medal of the Olympics, teaming with 40-year-old Nick Baumgartner to win the title for the United States in the new event of mixed snowboardcross. The 36-year-old Jacobellis took gold earlier this week in the women’s event; it came 16 years after a late showboat move as she was […]
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Beijing Winter Olympics: Ukrainian Athlete Makes Political Statement After Competing
A Ukrainian skeleton athlete flashed a small sign that read “No War in Ukraine” to the cameras as he finished a run at the Beijing Olympics on Friday night, a plea for peace at a time of rising tensions between his country and Russia. Vladyslav Heraskevych’s sign was printed on a blue-and-yellow piece of paper, matching […]
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NBC Executives Brush Off Olympics Ratings Concerns as Focus Shifts to Streaming
The Winter Olympics have always drawn more modest viewership numbers than the Summer Games, but the 2022 Beijing Olympics have been even more challenging than usual. The first few days of the games were down significantly in viewership compared to the 2018 Games, though as THR’s Rick Porter notes, they are consistent with what one […]
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Shaun White Misses Out on Medal in Final Olympic Event
In Shaun White’s farewell performance Friday, Ayumu Hirano of Japan won an elusive Olympic gold in the halfpipe with a boundary-pushing final run. There was no doubt about the winner after Hirano’s electric performance as the last rider to go. His run included an intricate and unprecedented series of flips and spins that pushed a […]
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Olympic Snowboarder Chloe Kim Defends Her Halfpipe Gold in Beijing
Snowboarder Chloe Kim turned in a strong opening run — one of her best top-to-bottom performances ever — as she easily defended her Olympic halfpipe title Thursday. The last rider to drop into the halfpipe, and with the contest already over, the 21-year-old American still attempted to go big one last time. She fell, quickly […]
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Leslie Jones Free to Post Olympics Commentary After “Third-Party Error” Resolved, NBC Says
Leslie Jones is free to take to social media to give her commentary about the Olympics after a misunderstanding with some of her posts. NBC spokesman Greg Hughes said Monday night that some of Jones’ videos that were blocked were the result of a “third-party error” and not NBC. “We have resolved the situation. She […]
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NBC’s Mike Tirico Returning From Beijing Olympics Earlier Than Planned
NBC primetime Olympics host Mike Tirico will have a shorter stay in Beijing than originally planned. Tirico’s final show from Beijing will be Monday night. He will fly from China to NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, to host Wednesday’s and Thursday’s shows before heading to Los Angeles on Friday to anchor Olympic and Super […]
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