NBC’s Broadcast of Beijing Olympics Ceremony Draws Record-Low Ratings

Fireworks in the shape of the Olympic rings explode above the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Feb. 4, 2022. Li Xin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony drew a record-low number of viewers as compared with previous years, with a total of just 16 million tuning in on Feb. 4.

That figure is down about 43 percent from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, when about 28.3 million people watched, according to TheWrap, citing numbers from the Comcast Corp.-owned NBC on its TV and streaming services. NBC aired the ceremony twice on Feb. 4.