The Rio Olympics just started, but they’re already far behind 2012’s London version — in TV ratings, at least.
Last night’s opening ceremony sunk 25.2 percent versus its four-years-ago version. Rio’s kickoff received a 17.2 overnight Nielsen rating throughout primetime, compared to London’s 23. The last time the event rated this low was Sarejevo in 1984.
On the plus side, this year’s primetime number was still big enough to triple the rest of NBC’s Big 4 competition combined. So, there’s that.
The early metric peaked at a 19 rating from 10 p.m. ET to 10:15 p.m., when Team USA marched in.