Rio 2016: Opening ceremony TV ratings are the lowest since 1992
NBC tape-delayed the opening ceremony at the Rio Olympics by an hour — or more, depending on time zone — and viewers voted with their remotes by staying away in droves.
The overnight rating of 16.5 announced Saturday translates to roughly 30 million viewers, but it was well below the 23 rating in London in 2012 and is the lowest since Barcelona in 1992.
The Rio Games still figure to be a ratings bonanza for NBC as the competition ramps up — the 2012 London Games were the most-watched event in American TV history — but Friday night represented a rocky start amid complaints of too many commercials.
One culprit in the ratings disappointment could be the Portuguese alphabet, as the highpoint march-on of the U.S. Olympic athletes came earlier in the broadcast.