Here at the cusp of February, the Peacock streaming service faces what is almost certainly the most important month in its brief history. And it might also be one of the most pivotal in the history of Peacock’s far older parent companies, NBCUniversal and Comcast. 

Also read: Peacock Expenses Drag Down 4Q Profits at NBCUniversal

In case you’ve somehow missed the dinosaurs on the ski slope, the endless football promos, or the recent blizzard of NBCUniversal announcements on its programming, spending, advertising, and streaming plans, there’s a lot going on: 

> The Winter Olympics in Beijing start this week (luge and curling on Wednesday!), just seven months after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games unfolded as the least-watched Olympics ever. This time around, covering the Games’ 19 days should be even more challenging for NBCUniversal, which is spending billions of dollars to carry the Olympics through 2032. The games are again on the opposite side of the planet, meaning lots of delayed programming, spoiler social-media posts, and pre-dawn live viewing. For further complications, add in Olympics fatigue, blowback over the repressive Chinese government’s many outrages, a resurgent pandemic, and a possible Ukrainian invasion by Chinese vassal state Russia (though China reportedly has asked Vladimir Putin to hold off during the games). Peacock, meanwhile, will show every minute of every event, but only to viewers who pay up for the premium tiers.

> In the middle weekend of the Olympics, the NFL’s Super Bowl will run on both NBC and Peacock. NBC’s prime-time Olympics host Mike Tirico will fly back from Beijing for the game in Los Angeles, continue some long-distance Olympic hosting, then head back to China. The Big Game’s viewership isn’t what it once was; an average 91 million people watched in 2021, down 9.5% from the previous year and even more compared to the previous decade. Ratings were the lowest since the third year of a 56-year-old competition. On the other hand, in the cord-cutting era, the Super Bowl remains by far the most-watched show on traditional television, and NFL games comprised 75 of the 100 shows on TV in 2021. Streaming the game on Peacock should allow for some interesting additional fan experiences and advertiser gimmicks, deep viewer data, and possibly additional viewership for those advertisers paying a record $6.5 million for 30 seconds of time. 

> At Comcast’s earnings call last week, the company said it will spend a lot more on original content for Peacock, doubling to $3 billion this year and as much as $5 billion “soon.” That’s a big bump for a service whose list of originals was markedly sparse even after pandemic production halts eased. But it’s still far less than the competition. Netflix likely will spend $19 billion, and Disney will spend $33 billion for all its many outlets. Most other big competitors are spending at least $6 billion. Content spending in general is expected to top $230 billion this year, up $10 billion from 2021, almost all of it from streaming services, according to a recent study. 

> Peacock so far has been a big money loser, with Year 2 losses doubling to $1.7 billion on $778 million in revenue. This year, the company projected losses will jump again, to $2.5 billion. At least the sharply rising costs are a result of Comcast’s decision to spend more on programming, an investment with hope for a return on long-term viewership.

> The lack of reasons to watch Peacock so far has translated into, not surprisingly, not many people watching Peacock. The service’s premium tiers have only 9 million of its 24 million subscribers, the company said during that earnings call. That compares poorly not just to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus, but even to HBO Max, which debuted within a few weeks of Peacock nearly two years ago, and had the same bumpy initial reception from viewers and Roku. Even year-old Paramount Plus is perking up, and it’s not just thanks to yet another Star Trek series.

So, February is a chance for NBCU and Peacock to strut their stuff, attracting hard-core football and Olympics fans, promoting other programming, and potentially building viewership habits that in turn translates to paying subscribers.

And there are reasons for hope. Peacock was the second-most-popular service in terms of signups last quarter, up 3 percentage points to 12% market penetration, according to a recent Kantar report. 

Also read: Has Peacock Found Momentum? It Was No. 2 in Signups for Q4

More than half signed up for Peacock’s free version, which may be the service’s secret weapon. The potential for upselling to Peacock’s ad-supported Premium ($4.99/ month) and mostly ad-free Premium Plus ($9.99) tiers is huge. Upsells and retention likely will be Job One for the service this year

Also encouraging: the percentage of subscribers saying they plan to cancel was down to a very good 5.5%, from Q3’s ugly 3.3% rate. It’ll be interesting to see what the churn numbers are a couple of months after the Olympics close, but for now, the company has plenty of opportunity.  

Spending more on Peacock marks a big shift in thinking at Comcast, which has been running the service more as a way to avoid losses than to make money. Comcast has plenty else on its plate, navigating the shift from legacy broadcast, cable, satellite, and theatrical distribution to the streaming future. But taking care of the future along the way matters too. 

The company’s late arrival to the content-spending dance means it has some ground to make up. Splashy new shows will be needed, like the just-announced supernatural drama Dead Day, from The Vampire Diaries producers Kevin Williamson (Scream, Dawson’s Creek) and Julie Plec (The Originals, The Following). Peacock gave the comic-book adaptation a straight-to-series order, the kind of decisive, high-profile move the Bird will need flocks of as it goes forward. 

Now to see if the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and more shows such as Dead Day can give Peacock a more sustained and lively future. 

The Tokyo Olympics powered an increase in profits and revenue for Comcast’s NBCUniversal’s media business, despite larger losses from its Peacock streaming service.

Comcast, which released third quarter earnings Thursday said Peacock lost $520 million in the quarter, up from $233 million a year ago. Peacock revenue was $230 million, up from just $41 million a year ago. In the second quarter, Peacock lost $363 million on revenues of $122 million.

NBCUniversal’s media earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 1.2% to $997 million.

Also Read: No Details Provided, But NBCU’s Jeff Shell Says Peacock Doing Great

Revenue went up 47.9% to $6.77 billion. Excluding $1.8 billion generated by the Olympics, media revenue went up 9.2% to $5.01 billion.

Ad revenue went up 73%, largely thank to the Olympics. Distribution revenue rose 36.2%.

NBCUniversal also got a boost as its theme parks came back online after being shut down last year because of the pandemic. The theme parks had EBITDA of $434 million, compared to a $174 million loss a year ago.

Overall, NBCU EBITDA was up 48.2% to $1.35 billion. Revenue went up 57.9% to $10 billion.

Also Read: Comcast Broadband Subscriber Growth Slows to 300,000 in Q3, Wireless Adds Best Ever

Comcast reported that third-quarter net income nearly doubled to $4.04 billion, or 86 cents a share, from $2.02 billion, or 44 cents a share, a year ago. 

Revenue rose 18.7% to $30.3 billion. 

Cable EBITDA rose 10.3% to $7.07 billion. Revenue increased 7.4% to $16.1 billion.

Broadband revenue rose 11.6% to $$5.8 billion, while video revenue rose 1.4% to $5.5 billion. The company lost 408,000 video customers.

“Our results at NBCUniversal continue to be driven by the ongoing recovery at our domestic Theme Parks, as well as the success of our linear and streaming Media platforms. At Sky, our UK business maintained its momentum, delivering healthy growth in revenue, EBITDA, and customer relationships,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said. 

“Going forward, I am excited about the opportunity to continue to invest in our global technology platform and other businesses while returning more capital to shareholders,” Roberts said. “This strategy is reflected in our most recent product launches — XClass TV in the U.S. and Sky Glass in Europe — as well as the $2.7 billion we returned to shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and dividend payments.”

B+C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through Aug. 8.

An NBC promo encouraging viewers to keep tuning in post-Olympics tops our ranking. “After the closing ceremony, the games don’t stop on NBC,” the spot declares while serving up clips from Family Game Fight, America’s Got Talent, American Ninja Warrior and The Wall. Meanwhile, an NBCUniversal promo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics drops from first place to third.

Rounding out the top 5: Fox hypes its Fantasy Island reboot in second, and fellow traditional broadcaster CBS promotes its summer reality fare: Love Island in fourth and Big Brother in fifth.

Notably, the Tokyo Summer Olympics spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (128), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) NBC “Games” promo, NBC

Impressions: 301,218,161

Interruption Rate: 3.38%

Attention Index: 97 (3% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $2,212,252

Out-of-network Est. Spend: 239

2)  Fantasy Island, Fox

Impressions: 295,757,909

Interruption Rate: 1.08%

Attention Index: 111 (11% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 85%, Local 13%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $408,171

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $1,221,212

3) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBCUniversal networks

Impressions: 279,965,390

Interruption Rate: 2.41%

Attention Index: 128 (28% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 88%, Local 10%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $2,211,852

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $110,539

4) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 202,208,102

Interruption Rate: 2.59%

Attention Index: 91 (9% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 90%, Local 8%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $1,634,122

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

5) Big Brother, CBS

Impressions: 183,369,985

Interruption Rate: 2.63%

Attention Index: 87 (13% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 91%, Local 7%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $722,042

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

The following is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Aug. 2-8, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Once again, it’s the Summer Olympics taking first place in terms of minutes watched on TV. During the week of Aug. 2-8, the Games accounted for 13.34% of watch-time, as fans watched Team USA come from behind to win the most gold medals in Tokyo.

The Olympics aren’t the only sports programming that’s been getting audiences to tune in, either, with five of the top eight shows by minutes watched winding up sports-related. Major League Baseball is No. 4 with 0.74% of watch-time, while PGA Tour golf is No. 5 with 0.61%. The NFL returns for preseason action to take 0.55% of minutes watched (No. 7 overall), while SportsCenter is No. 8 with 0.50%.

Longtime TV stalwarts continue to grab viewer attention as well. Friends is sixth by watch-time at 0.59%, while The Golden Girls is 10th with 0.48%. Gunsmoke, the 1950s-’60s Western, remains a fixture, sitting in 12th place.

After an Olympic week off, PGA Tour golf is the biggest mover of the week, leaping back into the top 50 all the way up to fifth. Additionally, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives shoots up from 34th by minutes watched to 13th, while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit moves from 37th to 24th.

Also Read: NBCU Claims Tokyo Olympics Have Generated 100 Billion Minutes of Viewing

Buoyed by the Olympics once more, NBC races out to the top of the watch-time ranking by network, with 12.17% of minutes watched from Aug. 2-8. The next five spots all stay the same from the week of July 26-Aug. 1 as well. CBS is No. 2 with 5.3% of watch-time, followed by ABC (5.04%), Fox News Channel (3.88%), Fox (3.61%) and USA Network (2.41%).

Elsewhere, IFC leaps into the top 10 by minutes watched, with 1.77% for the week. Food Network rises from No. 19 to No. 15, while Bravo completes the ranking at No. 25 (up from No. 29), earning 1.00% of all watch-time on TV.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The Olympics conclude with the most TV ad impressions for yet another week. From Aug. 2-8, the Tokyo Games led all programming with 11.4 billion impressions, which is nearly 13 times more than the impressions of No. 2 show Good Morning America (899 million).

Past the top two, it’s still a big week for sports. Major League Baseball is No. 6 by TV ad impressions with 616 million, while the NFL preseason nets 586 million to finish seventh — on just a single game, no less, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. SportsCenter is No. 11 with 505 million TV ad impressions, and the PGA Tour returns in 14th place with 474 million.

NBC coasts to the top of the week’s ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with 11.3 billion from Aug. 2-8. The network’s extended stay at No. 1 primarily comes courtesy of the Olympics, which wrapped up an exciting few weeks of coverage with a Team USA win.

In the places below, however, there are some shake-ups. CBS moves up from third to second in part due to daytime soap operas and reality TV (four of the top five CBS shows on the week by impressions fall into one of those two buckets). Fox News also jumps up a spot to third, followed by ABC in fourth and MSNBC in fifth.

The NFL’s single preseason game also helps Fox fly up the rankings, from No. 21 during the week of July 26 to Aug. 1, to No. 12 with over 900 million TV ad impressions. Galavision comes in at No. 25 for the week, with over 206 million TV ad impressions.

The Tokyo Olympics, as predicted, trampled syndicated shows in the week ended Aug. 1, with most shows retitled in order to avoid having these weeks of low ratings included in their overall season averages. 

Daytime shows also were blown out on ABC affiliates July 27 for the first hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. On July 29, early fringe was fractured by coverage of President Joe Biden’s announcement of new measures to boost vaccinations, and that evening some access strips were blocked by ABC’s coverage of the NBA draft. 

Even LeVar Burton and his anticipated week of guest-hosting Jeopardy! were not spared, with CBS Media Ventures’ Jeopardy!-Olym down 6% from the prior week to a 4.4 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. 

Also Read: Mike Richards, 'Jeopardy!' EP, Addresses Host Conversations, Discrimination Lawsuits

Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud-Olym fell 5% to a 5.2 but remained syndication’s and game’s top show. SPT’s Wheel of Fortune-Olym tumbled 13% to a 3.9.

Fox’s 25 Words or Less-Olym plunged 14% to a 0.6. Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask, which was not retitled, fell back 20% to a 0.4. 

Disney’s internet video show RightThisMinute-Olym skidded 17% to a 0.5. 

CBS Media Ventures’ Inside Edition-Olym tumbled 10% to a 1.9, edging out sister show Entertainment Tonight/Olym, which also yielded 10% to a 1.8. Warner Bros.’ TMZ and Extra, both of which largely air on Fox affiliates in top markets and were not retitled, held steady at a 0.7 and 0.6, respectively. CBS Media Ventures’ DailyMailTV-Olym delivered a 0.5 for a second straight week. NBCUniversal’s Access Hollywood-Olym did not air until well past midnight in most markets, including all of the top ten, and gave back 50% to a 0.4.

Fox’s Dish Nation, which was not retitled and airs mostly on Fox affiliates, stayed at a 0.3 for the 47th time in the past 48 weeks.

Disney’s Live-Olympics2021 eased 18% to a 1.4 but that was enough to lead the talkers for the 12th straight week, including one tie with CMV’s Dr. Phil. Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, the retitled Live with Kelly and Ryan led the talkers at a 0.6 followed by the Olympic-retitled Dr. Phil at a 0.4. 

Dr. Phil-Olym, in repeats all week, relinquished 14% to a 1.2. NBCU’s Maury, which was not renamed and airs on CW affiliates and independent stations, eroded 11% to a new series-low 0.8. Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams-Olym, on summer hiatus, slumped 13% to a 0.7. NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which, like Maury, was not retitled, weakened 14% to a 0.6. 

Disney’s Tamron-Olympics2021 and the Olympic version of CMV’s Rachael Ray both receded 29% to a 0.5. An all-rerun week of NBCU’s Olympics-coded Kelly Clarkson did not air in most markets, including all of the top six, and took a 50% hit to a 0.4, tying the Olympic version of Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres, which forfeited 43%, CMV’s Olympics-titled Drew Barrymore, which backtracked 20% with encore episodes, and Sony Pictures Television’s un-retitled Dr. Oz, which bled 20% to a new series low.

Warner Bros.’ The Real, also not retitled, remained at a 0.3 for the 11th consecutive week. CMV’s The Doctors, not retitled, operated at a 0.2 for the 23rd straight week, tying NBCU’s out-of-production syndicated run of Jerry Springer, which stayed put for the 47th week in a row. 

The Olympic version of CMV’s Judge Judy lost 9% to a 4.7 with repeats on all five days, but still led the courts and ranked as syndicaiotn’s third-highest rated show behind Feud and Jeopardy!.

The Olympics verison of CMV’s Hot Bench broke even at a 1.4. Warner Bros.’ People’s Court, which was not retitled, crashed 13% to a new series-low 0.7. Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis and NBCU’s Judge Jerry, neither of which were retitled, held at a 0.6. Fox’s Divorce Court-Olympics recovered 25% to a 0.5 after settling at a new series-low 0.4 in the prior week. Repeats of Trifecta’s Protection Court continued at a 0.2.

Nothing in off-net was renamed for the games. Sitcom leaders Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory and Disney’s Last Man Standing stood pat at a 2.2 and 1.5, respectively. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men was minus 10% to a 0.9, tying Disney’s Modern Family, which was flat for the tenth straight week, and SPT’s The Goldbergs, which gained 13%. Disney’s Family Guy garnered a 0.8 for the fifth consecutive week. SPT’s Seinfeld slipped 13% to a new series-low 0.7. Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly and Mom and Disney’s Black-ish all remained in line with the prior week’s 0.6.   

While low ratings and empty arenas have painted a negative picture of the Tokyo Olympics, NBCUniversal said the games have made a strong impression, generating more than 100 billion minutes of viewing across all platforms as of Wednesday. 

NBCU did not have a comparable figure for the 2016 Rio Games.

NBCU said that the Olympics are on pace to deliver more minutes in consumption than the average month of Netflix and March Madness combined. Viewers have streamed more than 3 billion minutes of Tokyo Olympics coverage across NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports App and Peacock, the company said.

“With just a few days left in the Tokyo Olympics, it is evident that consumers’ appetite for the Games has them tuning in at all hours of the day and across all platforms, with the biggest moments dominating the conversation across all social platforms,” NBCU said in a statement.

“Audiences said they feel more connected during the Games than they have throughout the entire pandemic. It’s brought communities together in Tokyo and at home, a feeling that goes beyond the competition,” NBCU said. “Advertisers have been the benefactors through it all, acting as an extension of the Games in a totally new way, and consumers are connecting with them, leading to greater recall and positive long-term brand impact.”

The Olympics have faced difficulties ranging from a pandemic that has kept some star athletes from competing and fans from attending events to a changing media landscape in which traditional ratings are falling while digital and streaming grow. 

NBC planned more than 7,000 hours of coverage of a variety of platforms, but the first place most observers look to gauge the success of an event is prime time TV ratings, and those have not been good.

Through Tuesday, the games have been averaging 16.8 million viewers a night, down from 29 million during the Rio games in 2016.

The lower-than-expected viewership forced NBCU to offer make-good ads to sponsors who are paying more than $1 billion to advertise the games.

Despite the ratings, NBCU CEO Jeff Shell said he still expects the games to turn a profit for parent company Comcast, which has made a huge, multi-year commitment to the Olympics.

For advertisers NBCU said its research shows that  the games have been engaging and creating immediate impact. Viewers are 35% more likely to search for brands that advertise in Olympic coverage versus competitive broadcast and cable norms. That’s up 14% from the first weekend of the games.

Commercials in the Olympics are creating a 15% lift in brand recall and a 21% lift in message breakthrough for sponsors. 

Co-branded vignettes within the Olympics are delivering higher scores for the same brands than similar vignettes on competitive networks, with 50% stronger brand memorability scores and 36% higher likeability. 

In-show integrations are 7% more effective than non-Olympic integrations and 45% more effective than standard ads.

Brands are getting a halo effect for participating in the games, with NBC research showing that 69% of consumers said brands that support the game are helping the world come back together after the pandemic and two in three saying brands are helping bring families back together. Advertisers in the games are thought of as global leaders by 62% of consumers and leaders in their categories by 61%.

There have been some complaints that viewers are finding it difficult to find the Olympic events they want to see, but NBCU’s research shows that Olympic viewers are reporting feelings of patriotism and community pride.

The research found that 88% of consumers feel the Olympics are an important global event, with 69% saying they have increased pride in their country. Supporting their country is the number one reason to watch the Olympics.

NBC said that the Olympics are also reverberating in social media, with tweet value up 852% since the start of the games. On TikTok the @NBCOlympics account has more than 1.5 million followers and has generated 4.3 million views and 329,000 video creations.

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through Aug. 1.

A promo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, airing across the networks of NBCUniversal, is No. 1 — the third week in a row the Games top Promo Mojo.

With all eyes on NBC, the network takes the opportunity to hype two of its new fall dramas: La Brea in second and Ordinary Joe in fourth. Fellow traditional broadcaster CBS, meanwhile, promotes its summer reality fare — Love Island in third and Big Brother in fifth — helping to crowd out the cable networks that typically dominate our top 5.

Notably, the Tokyo Summer Olympics spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (122), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBCUniversal networks

Impressions: 364,381,019

Interruption Rate: 2.99%

Attention Index: 122 (22% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 85%, Local 12%, VOD/OTT 3%

In-network Value: $2,894,097

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $558,919

2)  La Brea, NBC

Impressions: 258,680,794

Interruption Rate: 3.51%

Attention Index: 97 (3% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $1,159,518

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 208,388,412

Interruption Rate: 2.44%

Attention Index: 88 (12% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 94%, Local 4%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $1,498,929

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

4) Ordinary Joe, NBC

Impressions: 183,681,930

Interruption Rate: 3.99%

Attention Index: 79 (21% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 94%, Local 5%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $873,744

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

5) Big Brother, CBS

Impressions: 171,878,176

Interruption Rate: 2.03%

Attention Index: 87 (23% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 90%, Local 8%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $712,581

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

Competition from the Tokyo Olympics, although far lower-rated than Rio in 2016, kept syndies benched in the week ended July 25 with events airing on NBC affiliates starting July 23. Big Three affiliates also preempted shows on July 20 to cover the launch of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos into space in his Blue Origins rocket and in general, levels of people watching television were typically low in the late-July frame.

CBS Media Ventures’ Entertainment Tonight was the only show in access to improve, gaining 5% to a 2.0 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. CMV’s Inside Edition led the group with an unchanged 2.1. NBCUniversal’s Access Hollywood, Warner Bros.’ TMZ and Warner Bros.’ Extra all held steady at a 0.8, 0.7 and 0.6, respectively. CMV’s DailyMailTV posted a 17% decline to a 0.5. Fox’s Dish Nation remained at a 0.3 for the 46th time in the past 47 weeks. 

Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts replaced her GMA co-anchor George Stephanopoulos as guest host on Jeopardy! during the week and the show downticked 2% to a 4.7, matching the show’s lowest rating of 2021. Fan favorite LeVar Burton is guest-hosting from July 26 through August 6.

Debmar-Mercury’s game leader Family Feud was flat at a 5.5 to remain in the syndication lead. CMV’s Wheel of Fortune spun to a season-low 4.5 for the fourth straight week. Fox’s 25 Words or Less and Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask held at a 0.7 and a 0.5, respectively. 

Disney’s internet video show RightThis Minute mustered a season-low 0.6 for the 17th time in 18 weeks.  

Disney’s Live with Kelly and Ryan registered a steady 1.7 to rack up its 11th straight win in the talk-show race, including one tie with CMV’s Dr. Phil. Live was also the only strip of any type to grow from the same week last year, improving 6%. 

Among women 25-54, Live led the talkers with a 0.8 among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, followed by repeats of Dr. Phil and NBCU’s Kelly Clarkson at a 0.5 and a 0.4, respectively. 

Phil fell back 7% to a 1.4 in households for second place among the talkers. NBCU’s Maury clocked a 0.9 for the seventh week in a row. Clarkson stayed at a 0.8, tying Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams, which weakened 20% as it began its summer hiatus. Disney’s sophomore Tamron Hall, which will move from Weigel’s WCIU Chicago to ABC’s WLS Chicago next season, stayed at a 0.7, despite going into repeats on four of the five days. That tied Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres, which dropped 13% to a new series low, CMV’s Rachael Ray, which was stable and NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which recovered 17% after four weeks at a series low 0.6.  

Also Read: 'Tamron Hall' Moving to ABC-Owned WLS Chicago This Fall

CMV’s rookie Drew Barrymore, which was the sole talk show to improve in the prior week, held at a 0.5 for a second week, tying Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz, which stayed put. 

Warner Bros.’ The Real realized a 0.3 for the tenth straight week. CMV’s The Doctors delivered a 0.2 for the 22nd straight week, tying NBCU’s out-of-production syndicated run of Jerry Springer, which held steady for the 46th consecutive week. 

CMV’s Judge Judy dipped 4% to a 4.7 but led the court shows and tied Jeopardy! as syndication’s second-highest rated show.

CMV’s Hot Bench backtracked 7% to a 1.4. Warner Bros.’ People’s Court and Judge Mathis maintained a 0.8 and a 0.6, respectively. NBCU’s Judge Jerry rebounded 20% to a 0.6 after six weeks at its series-low 0.5, tying Mathis. Fox’s Divorce Court tumbled 20% to a new series-low 0.4, while repeats of Trifecta’s Protection Court were constant at a 0.2.

Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang theory heated up 5% to lead the off-network sitcoms at a 2.2 after setting a new series low in the prior week. Disney’s Last Man Standing stayed at a 1.5 for the fifth straight week. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men moved up 11% to a 1.0. Disney’s Modern Family fostered a 0.9 for the ninth week in a row. SPT’s The Goldbergs eroded 11% to a 0.8, tying Disney’s Family Guy and SPT’s Seinfeld, both of which stood pat at a 0.8. Finally, Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly managed a new series low, losing 14% to a 0.6, tying Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls, Disney’s Black-ish and Warner Bros.’ Mom, all of which were on par with the prior week’s 0.6. 

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of July 26-Aug. 1, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

This year’s Summer Olympics has quickly taken over minutes watched on TV as audiences tune in to see Team USA vie for gold. During the week of July 26-Aug. 1, the Olympics races into first place with 17.13% of watch-time — more than 21 times the watch-time of the next-most-watched programming.

Good Morning America is No. 2 for the week, with 0.80% of minutes watched, followed by Today (0.77%), Major League Baseball (0.64%) and Friends (0.60%). Meanwhile, classic (1955-75) Western drama Gunsmoke has been rising rapidly through the rankings this summer, moving all the way up to No. 8 by watch-time this week.

Beyond the Olympics, sports still earns major audience attention. As mentioned above, MLB games are fourth by minutes watched. SportsCenter is No. 12 by watch-time at 0.44%, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup is No. 18 at 0.38%. The latter was assisted by some thrilling finishes by the U.S. men’s national soccer team, including an extra-time winner to clinch the title vs. Mexico on Aug. 1.

Some of the biggest week-over-week movers include Ridiculousness (up from 15th to seventh in minutes watched), NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (from 17th to ninth), Fox & Friends (24th to 14th) and SpongeBob SquarePants (22nd to 15th).

Also Read: Summer 2021 TV Premiere Dates

NBC high-jumps to the top of the watch-time ranking by network, with 14.54% of minutes watched from July 26-Aug. 1 (up from 10.26% the previous week). As was the case from July 19-25 as well, ABC, CBS, Fox News and Fox follow NBC in that order by watch-time this week.  

The Olympics also spur changes elsewhere in the ranking. USA Network, which has been airing events from the Games, climbs to No. 6 with 2.73% of watch-time, and NBC Sports Network moves up from No. 21 to No. 15, at 1.52% of minutes watched.

Also Read: NBCU Still Expects Olympics To Be Profitable, Says Jeff Shell

Top Shows and Networks By TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

With so many viewers tuning into the Olympics, it’s no surprise that the Games would also serve the most TV ad impressions. From July 26 to Aug. 1, the Olympics led all programming with 14.1 billion impressions, which was more than 14 times the impressions of No. 2 Today (969 million).

Beyond the top two, news and talk programs continue to deliver higher impressions numbers as well. Good Morning America is third with 910 million TV ad impressions, followed by (soap opera) The Young and the Restless (716 million) and Today’s third hour (694 million). CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell — one of 15 news and/or talk programs populating the top 25 — is No. 25 for the week with over 279 million TV ad impressions. Major League Baseball (No. 11) and the CONCACAF Gold Cup (No. 23) are the only other live sporting events included in this week’s ranking.

As the primary home of Olympics-related programming, NBC clearly tops the list for the week’s ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with nearly 13.5 billion from July 26-Aug. 1. Meanwhile, the network’s, main news shows, Today and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, are also experiencing TV ad impressions increases thanks to  more eyeballs on NBC overall.

ABC remains in second for the week, with 3.9 billion TV ad impressions, while CBS stays in third with 3.8 billion impressions. Fox News (3.6 billion impressions) and MSNBC (2.3 billion) complete the top five. USA Network impressions nearly triple, from around 660 million from July 19-25, to nearly 1.8 billion from July 26-Aug. 1.

NBCUniversal’s Summer Olympics coverage from Tokyo highlights this weekend’s live TV sports lineup with coverage of live volleyball, baseball, boxing, basketball and track and field events on NBC, NBCN, Golf Channel, Peacock and USA Network. A complete listing of weekend events can be found here.

Read Also: NBC Again Gives the Tokyo Summer Olympics TV's Biggest Promo Push 

Fox will step into the boxing ring Saturday night with primetime PBC Fight Night coverage featuring a heavyweight main event clash between Michael Coffie and Jonathan Rice, while ESPN enters the octagon with a Saturday primetime UFC Fight Night card featuring middleweights Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland.

ESPN will offer Sunday coverage of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, while Fox on Sunday will provide live drag racing coverage of the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals. 

Also on Sunday, CBS will feature live coverage of the Major League Rugby championship match between Rugby ATL and LA Giltinis and ESPN will telecast semifinal action of The Basketball Tournament. 

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game will feature an American League East divisional matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Read Also: Newest NHL Teams to Face Off as ESPN Returns to Hockey

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through July 25.

It’s no surprise that a promo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, airing across the networks of NBCUniversal, tops our Promo Mojo ranker for a second week in a row — this time racking up more than 668 million TV ad impressions in the week ended July 25.

Hallmark Channel takes second place to hype the series finale of Good Witch, while CBS shows some love for Love Island in third and Big Brother in fourth. Closing out the top five, TV Land promotes the final season of its original comedy-drama Younger.

Notably, the Younger spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (112), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBCUniversal networks

Impressions: 668,878,966

Interruption Rate: 2.84%

Attention Index: 99 (1% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 87%, Local 12%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $3,689,123

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $814,338

2)  Good Witch, Hallmark Channel

Impressions: 229,857,436

Interruption Rate: 6.53%

Attention Index: 105 (5% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 99%, Local 1%, VOD/OTT 0%

In-network Value: $1,169,674

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 222,052,593

Interruption Rate: 2.63%

Attention Index: 102 (2% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $1,942,904

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

4) Big Brother, CBS

Impressions: 186,536,056

Interruption Rate: 2.90%

Attention Index: 98 (2% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 93%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $888,799

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

5) Younger, TV Land

Impressions: 182,518,537

Interruption Rate: 2.17%

Attention Index: 112 (12% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 76%, Local 22%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $745,709

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

The below snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of July 19-25 highlights the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

After a thrilling NBA Finals, the Summer Olympics quickly hurdled into the lead for minutes watched on TV. During the week of July 19-25, the Olympics takes first place with 8.39% of watch-time. 

Good Morning America is No. 2 for the week, at 0.86% of watch-time, followed by the NBA Finals, despite just one game throughout the week (0.82%), MLB baseball (0.72%) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (0.70%). At No. 7, Friends is one of a handful of comedies sprinkled throughout this week’s rankings, including The Golden Girls (No. 12) and Two and a Half Men (No. 18). 

Despite the Olympics owning a lot of attention, it’s not the lone sports draw in this week’s rankings. As previously noted, both the NBA Finals and MLB are in the top five for minutes watched. PGA Tour golf is No. 11 (with 0.49% of watch-time), while SportsCenter is No. 14, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup is No. 21. 

Benefiting from the bump provided by the Olympics, NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt rises from 30th to 17th by minutes watched for the week. Additionally, SpongeBob SquarePants bubbles up from outside the top 50 to No. 22. The Olympics is, of course, the biggest mover on the week, after not airing at all from July 12-18.

Also Read: Summer 2021 TV Premiere Dates

With an obvious push from the Olympics, NBC soars to the top of the watch-time ranking, with 10.3% of minutes watched from July 19-25. ABC drops one spot to second place at 6.48% of watch-time. CBS is No. 3 with 5.33%, followed by Fox News (3.76%) and Fox (3.36%) to round out the top five. Fox News and Fox flip-flop from the previous week, when Fox was No. 4.

USA Network benefits from the Olympics as well, swimming from No. 14 to No. 9, while NBC Sports Network makes its own leap from No. 40 to No. 21. Bravo sits at No. 25 on the week, with 1.06% of minutes watched.

Top Shows and Networks By TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

It shouldn’t surprise that the Olympics deliver the most TV ad impressions on the week, with 4.8 billion — all coming between Friday, July 23 and Sunday, July 25. The NBA Finals is second with 1.18 billion TV ad impressions, followed by Good Morning America (902 million), The Young and the Restless (697 million) and MLB baseball (604 million).

News and talk programming continues to be a large portion of the top 25 shows by TV ad impressions. From July 19-25, six of the top 10 were either news or talk-related, as were 10 of the top 25 overall. The Olympics boost NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt impressions as well, as the show surges from No. 20 the previous week all the way to No. 7.

NBC is at the top of the podium for the week's ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with over 7.1 billion from July 19-25. The Summer Olympics are clearly the biggest part of that leap (from 4.6 billion the previous week), though, as we’ve already noted, some of the network’s other shows also benefited from the increased eyeballs on the Games.

ABC takes silver for the week, with 5.8 billion TV ad impressions, while CBS gets the bronze with 4.2 billion. Fox News (3.8 billion) and MSNBC (2.4 billion) round out the top five. USA Network has nearly five times more impressions week-over-week as a result of airing Olympic events.

Streaming has made big strides since the last Olympic games, according to a new report from Conviva.

During the opening ceremony, streaming activity was up 279% compared to the opening ceremony of 2018.

The quality of the streaming experience was also considerably better. There were 35% fewer start failures, 7% less buffering issues and a 1% higher bitrate than average.

Also Read: NBCU Plans Record 7,000 Hours of Olympic Programming

Most of the streaming activity took place on mobile and desktop, with each capturing a 27% share of viewing time. Connected TV devices had a 23% share and 14% were on smart TVs. 

During the games, NBCU will be heavily promoting Peacock, which will be streaming a lot of Olympic content.

“While we don’t know today what the future will hold for sporting events, or how the challenges of the past year will affect the 2022 Beijing Olympics, change is a given as we look towards the next chance to benchmark how dramatically the way people consume media has evolved,” the Conviva report said.

The streaming data for this report was collected from Conviva’s proprietary sensor technology currently embedded in 3.3 billion streaming video applications, analyzing nearly two trillion real-time transactions per day.

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through July 18.

NBC tops our ranking with a promo for the Tokyo Summer Olympics that racked up more than half a billion TV ad impressions. Fellow traditional broadcasters CBS and ABC follow in second and third place to promote, respectively, Love Island and the 2021 NBA Finals.

The previous chart-topping promo, for Discovery’s Shark Week, drops to fourth place. 

Closing out the top five, HGTV builds excitement for Battle on the Beach.

Notably, the Shark Week spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (126), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBC

Impressions: 549,084,028

Interruption Rate: 2.16%

Attention Index: 104 (4% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 89%, Local 9%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $3,417,056

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $155,164

2) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 280,827,851

Interruption Rate: 2.37%

Attention Index: 100 (0% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 92%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $2,123,147

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

3) 2021 NBA Finals, ABC

Impressions: 220,840,887

Interruption Rate: 1.24%

Attention Index: 111 (11% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 93%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $3,407,784

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $250,536

4) Shark Week, Discovery

mpressions: 218,069,987

Interruption Rate: 1.37%

Attention Index: 126 (26% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $642,404

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $239,485

5) Battle on the Beach, HGTV

Impressions: 214,442,322

Interruption Rate: 1.17%

Attention Index: 105 (5% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 99%, Local 0%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $664,895

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $0.00

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

Summer Olympics action begins July 20 with softball. Host Japan faces off against Australia at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Japan’s women’s team won the gold in 2008. The U.S. plays Italy in softball at 11 p.m. ET July 20, with NBCSN airing the action. The Americans are looking for their fourth Olympic gold medal in the sport. 

July 23 is listed as the start date for the Summer Olympics, but the action actually begins July 20. The Opening Ceremony happens in Tokyo Friday, July 23. NBC airs the gala. 

The U.S. women’s soccer team faces Sweden July 21 live at 4:30 a.m. ET on USA Network. The U.S. squad won the Olympic gold in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012. There are 11 players from the 2016 team, including Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd.

Germany won the gold medal in women’s soccer in 2016. 

USA also has Australia versus New Zealand in women’s soccer, live July 21 at 7:30 a.m. July 21 action on NBCSN includes China versus Brazil and Japan versus Canada in women’s soccer, while Olympic Channel will have Great Britain versus Chile in women’s soccer.

In men’s soccer, Brazil and Germany face off July 22. USA has the match live at 7:30 a.m. ET. Brazil holds the gold from 2016, beating Germany in the final.  

USA also has Mexico versus France in men’s soccer that day, and Egypt versus Spain.

All Tokyo Olympics coverage will be streamed live on www.nbcolympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

You may have heard—perhaps someone mentioned it in passing as you prepped for your Hot Vax Summer of louche parties and road trips and just getting the heck out of here—that the 2020 Olympics are about to start. Yes, it’s mid-2021, and no, there’s no name change or even much apparent introspection about holding giant international public events with a pandemic still raging in far-flung outposts from Arkansas to Africa, and also Japan, where the games happen to start Friday. 

That’s only the first of a bunch of issues that make the Tokyo 2020 Olympics unlike any in memory. Basically, these games are more fraught, more complicated, and less of a sure thing than any Olympics telecast in decades. 

And given the billions of dollars Comcast and its NBCUniversal unit have invested to carry the games, and how much they’re depending on huge viewership to make back that investment, watching the business side of these games may be nearly (and only nearly) as interesting as Simone Biles’ latest impossible gymnastic gyration. 

It’s also a chance for the Peacock streaming service to grab a much-needed boost at a time when Comcast CEO Brian Roberts reportedly is mulling the purchase of Roku or ViacomCBS because he fears Comcast isn’t yet big enough in digital video to truly compete.

At least Comcast had a good week last week. On the one-year anniversary of Peacock’s public launch, Comcast said the service has secured $500 million in ad commitments for the year, part of NBCUniversal's biggest-ever upfront season. NBCU’s 16 other broadcast, cable and digital networks collectively “delivered double-digit percent increases in volume and pricing” during the period.

I’m always suspicious of claims about big percentage hikes that aren’t connected to actual dollar amounts, particularly for an organization whose broadcast and cable operations had a  difficult spring and summer 2020. The comps should be easy, I might suggest. But as Australia’s medal-winning swimmers like to say, good on ya. 

Separately, data company iSpot.tv reported national linear TV ads rose 9% the first half of 2021, to an estimated $21.4 billion. NBCU absolutely benefited from that resurgent tide, as some variant of normalcy crept back into traditional TV viewing. 

The downside of that impressive revenue number: impressions continued to wilt, down 6.1% to 3.8 trillion, as viewers increasingly watch “TV” in other ways. It’s hard to believe that ad revenues will keep going up if ad watching keeps going down. But for now, the money’s very nice, so again, good on them. 

And speaking of records, as people do when talking Olympics, Kantar Media projects Comcast/NBCU will haul in $2.25 billion in U.S. Olympics ad revenue, up 20% from the previous high of $1.85 billion. And once again, if that comes to pass, good on them.

But this is going to be a complicated Olympics, with few guarantees for athletes, organizers, broadcasters, advertisers, and audiences. 

Many of the Japanese companies that splashed out big money for a piece of the Games in their backyard likely will be stuck with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of merchandise they had hoped to shill to attendees (that’s one big reason why it’s still called the 2020 Games). 

But with the pandemic surging in Japan, fans are banned from most events. Wait a month and you’ll be able to buy your very own, very special Tokyo Games commemorative vuvuzela or bento box for what’s likely to be an even more special low price. It’ll almost like being there, minus the exposure to a global pandemic. 

A lack of fans may also affect the quality of the games and the competition, even for those viewing on air or online. As we discovered in the NBA’s “bubble” playoffs last year, live sports minus live sports fans is just not the same thing.

On top of that, it turns out we Americans are really ambivalent about these games in general, related Kantar survey data suggests. 

The good news: About three in five Americans surveyed said they were interested in watching the Tokyo games. Based on my own recent 2,000-mile road trip around the Southwest, the rest of the American populace will be hanging out somewhere between St. George, Utah, and Buena Vista, Colorado, sitting in a rented RV. 

Also, though, some bad news: More than half the Kantar survey respondents “still believe the games should be postponed further, or cancelled altogether.” That suggests a certain lack of urgency to watch. 

So, to count this one up, many Americans are interested, though no fan from this or any other country can go in person, and plenty of them can’t shake a haunting feeling that maybe this isn’t the best time to barge ahead, corporate prerogatives be damned. 

And a full week before the Olympics start, we’ve already had the first cases affecting people in the Olympic Village itself. U.S. sports teams, including the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Bucks this week, haven’t had much better luck walling off their personnel from Covid-19, so random infectious outbreaks could become the backbeat of the Games, shaping who medals, or even gets to compete. 

There’s also that whole time-zone dislocation that viewers face whenever the Olympics are held on the other side of the planet. Whoever watches is either doing it at dawn (thank goodness for #WFH) or watching a highly processed version several hours later in prime time, after they’ve already had half a day to skim their social-media feeds. 

Last year, the Olympics were supposed to be the wind beneath the wings of Peacock, soaring above a tsunami of exclusive shows just days after its public launch. Instead, we got two months of Harry Potter movies before they cycled back to HBO Max. 

Minus the Olympics and a whole bunch of other pandemic-interrupted original shows, Peacock the streaming network flew about as high as peacocks, the land-hugging fowl with creepy surveillance feathers. 

So this could be a profitable Olympic Games for Comcast, with endless hours of programming available on more NBCU outlets than ever for viewers wherever they may be looking. 

But all that programming may end up bereft of that little thing that makes advertisers really happy: ardent viewers. Or maybe, in this extraordinary moment, the Olympics will reclaim some of the athletic magic so many still treasure. 

Comcast better hope so. It’s on the hook for Olympics rights through 2032, a deal signed in a different time, way back in 2014. As Ethiopia’s record-setting marathoners like to point out, it’s not a sprint. Rather, it’s a long run over many years across difficult terrain with no guarantee what the TV landscape will look like more than a decade from now.

The much bigger question is less about whether Comcast makes a couple of billion dollars during these crazy Tokyo Games, and more about whether audiences still hold a special place for the Olympics even while they radically transform all the rest of their TV viewing habits. As Olympians like to say, good luck. 

Broadcasting + Cable's Kent Gibbons and Michael Malone chat about new HBO show The White Lotus, if Loki stuck the season one landing, and what to expect from NBC’s Olympics coverage.

B&C has partnered with always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv to bring you a weekly chart we call Promo Mojo: exclusive data showing the top five TV promos ranked by ad impressions. Our data covers the 7-day period through July 11.

On the strength of 385.5 million TV ad impressions, a Discovery promo for Shark Week tops our chart.

Traditional broadcasters sweep the next three spots: CBS gives some love to Love Island in second, NBC sets the stage for the Tokyo Summer Olympics in third, and ABC promotes the NBA Finals in fourth.

Closing out the top five, TNT hypes the fifth season of its original drama Animal Kingdom.

Notably, the Shark Week spot has this week’s highest iSpot Attention Index (109), meaning viewers were on average highly likely to watch it all the way through (vs. interrupting it by changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

1) Shark Week, Discovery

Impressions: 385,503,136

Interruption Rate: 1.52%

Attention Index: 109 (9% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 97%, Local 2%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $1,179,241

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $394,406

2) Love Island, CBS

Impressions: 279,083,496

Interruption Rate: 2.50%

Attention Index: 106 (6% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 92%, Local 6%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $1,818,531

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $53,838

3) Tokyo Summer Olympics, NBC

Impressions: 274,385,379

Interruption Rate: 1.95%

Attention Index: 101 (1% fewer interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 90%, Local 8%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $1,838,356

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $2,318

4) NBA Finals, ABC

Impressions: 238,583,625

Interruption Rate: 1.82%

Attention Index: 98 (2% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 96%, Local 3%, VOD/OTT 1%

In-network Value: $4,942,549

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $349,528

5) Animal Kingdom, TNT

Impressions: 198,282,269

Interruption Rate: 3.42%

Attention Index: 85 (15% more interruptions than avg.)

Imp. Types: National 93%, Local 5%, VOD/OTT 2%

In-network Value: $669,806

Out-of-network Est. Spend: $600,772

*Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands*

Impressions - The total impressions within all US households including National Linear (Live & Time-shifted), VOD+OTT, and Local.

Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.

Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs. the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.

Imp. Types - Impression types tracked include National (Live + Time-shifted), Local, VOD & OTT. See below for further details.

In-network Value - Estimated media value of in-network promos.

Out-of-network Spend - The estimated amount spent on TV airing time for this promo's spots during a given date range.

National: Live - A national promo which was viewed during live linear television broadcast or same day, via DVR or on-demand.

Local - A promo that was aired during a local ad break slot.

VOD - This includes promos that run in on-demand content past three days (i.e. do not contain the linear promo load)

OTT - On-demand streaming content (i.e. Hulu, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast).

Below is our snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of June 21-27, shining a spotlight on the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

There are just four teams left in the NBA Playoffs, but having fewer games hasn’t eliminated the NBA’s lead by minutes watched on TV. During the week of June 21-27, the NBA retained first place with 2.1% of minutes watched — though that is down from 3.54% the previous week. Meanwhile, audiences are starting to catch Olympic fever, with U.S. Olympic Trials taking second place for the week, with 0.95% of watch-time.

Once again, sports are a fixture in the top 10 of the rankings. Beyond the NBA and Olympic Trials, MLB games are third with 0.94% of watch-time. The 2020 UEFA European Championship is No. 6 with 0.84%, while the College World Series is No. 7 with 0.82% of minutes watched. SportsCenter sits at ninth, with 0.74%.

A week after the U.S. Open, the PGA Tour Golf is still going strong at No. 15, while SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt and Below Deck Mediterranean are newcomers among the top 25. The College World Series also jumps 23 spots from the previous week. Two and a Half Men (syndicated reruns) closes out the top 25 this week, with 0.40% of minutes watched.

Also Read: NBCU Plans Record 7,000 Hours of Olympic Programming

NBC stays atop the watch-time rankings for the second consecutive week, with 5.95% of minutes watched — just barely edging out ABC, which had 5.94%. The top four all stay the same week-over-week, with ABC followed by CBS (5.67% of watch-time) and Fox News (4.07%). ESPN is up two spots to No. 5, with 3.86% of watch-time. 

NBC Sports Network is the biggest mover, up five spots on the strength of the Olympic Trials and Stanley Cup Playoff action, to sit in 25th overall. History Channel also moves up three spots from No. 25 to No. 22, with 1.25% of minutes watched.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Early conference finals games in the NBA Playoffs delivered plenty of TV ad impressions, keeping the league on top of these rankings once again. There were over 2.1 million TV ad impressions during the NBA Playoffs from June 21-27 — 2.4 times the total for No. 2 show Good Morning America. U.S. Olympic Trials had the third-most TV ad impressions (786 million), followed by The Price Is Right (759 million) and SportsCenter (744 million) to round out the top five for the week.

Though it doesn’t crack the top 10, the College World Series still climbs all the way to 12th (from 59th the previous week) while more than tripling TV ad impressions week-over-week.

And while live sports take up plenty of real estate near the top of the charts, soap operas are also all over the rankings. The Young and the Restless are among the top 10 shows by TV ad impressions, and General Hospital, Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful all make the list as well.

After a week out of the top spot, ABC overtakes NBC once again for No. 1 in these ad-impressions-by-network rankings for the week. ABC’s top programs are largely news (morning shows and evening), along with The Bachelorette. Beyond ABC (5.1 billion TV ad impressions), CBS is second with 4.8 billion. NBC (4.8 billion), Fox News (4.3 billion) and ESPN (2.8 billion) rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the timeframe.

NBC Sports Network continues its week-over-week climb, from 15th to 12th and now 11th, as a result of the NHL and Olympic Trials. ESPN2 also rises due in part to College World Series games airing on the network. The CW climbs four spots on the week, and Food Network is up two. CNBC is No. 25 in the rankings for the second straight week.

NBCUniversal will be using the Olympics to get people to sample its streaming service Peacock, which will feature both live events and original programming during the games.

Peacock will launch its Olympics destination on July 15 and it will have live coverage of gymnastics and track & field. It will also have U.S. men’s basketball, but live coverage of the team will be available only on Peacock Premium.

Original programming on Peacock will include daily live shows, Olympic channels, even replays and highlights from NBC Olympic coverage. 

Rich Eisen will host Tokyo Gold, a daily look at the compelling performances with analysis and athlete interviews.

Lindsay Czarniak, Lolo Jones and MJ Acosta-Ruiz will host On Her Turf at the Olympics, dedicated to covering women’s sports at the games. Katie Ledecky, Allyson Felix, Alex Morgan, April Ross, and Alix Klineman will be among athletes featured. 

Cari Champion and Kenny Mayne will host Tokyo Tonight, which will bring fans into the Games with highlights, as interviews and feature stories every evening. Jac Collinsworth will serve as contributor to Tokyo Tonight on-location in Tokyo. 

Those shows will appear on the Tokyo Now channel. Other Olympic channels on Peacock include Great Moments, Meet the Olympians, Must-See Moments, Team USA and Tokyo Flame, an Olympic version of the yule log.

Other featured programming will be:

Olympic HIghlights with Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg: This commentary series, co-hosted by sports and Olympics enthusiasts Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg, will recap the Olympics’ most impressive displays of athleticism, as well as the moments that don’t go as planned. The series is produced by LOL Studios. Paul Pawlowski will serve as showrunner and executive producer, along with executive producers Kevin Hart, Jeff Clanagan, and Candice Wilson Cherry.

For Ball And Country: With the USA Men’s Basketball Team’s fourth consecutive gold medal on the line at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, there is much at stake. For Ball and Country will follow the star-studded team as they represent their country. In addition to an all-access look at the 2021 team’s training camp in Las Vegas, the series goes into USA Basketball video vault with never-before-seen footage of this storied program. For Ball and Country is produced by Winik Media in association with USA Basketball and NBA Entertainment.

Golden: This series follows elite American gymnasts Laurie Hernandez, Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Konnor McClain, and MyKayla Skinner on their individual and intertwining journeys as Team USA hopefuls leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. The series is produced by UNINTERRUPTED, a division of The SpringHill Company.

The Sisters of ‘96: The 1996 USA Women’s Olympic Soccer Team:  When the U.S. Women’s National Team made it to the Olympic soccer in Atlanta, their gold medal match was not fully televised. Now, Peacock is making it available in full for the first time and debuting an hour-long special that reunites stars Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, Shannon MacMillan, Briana Scurry, and Tisha Venturini. 

Peacock also said  Amber Ruffin, host, writer and executive producer of Peacock’s late-night series The Amber Ruffin Show, will be on the ground in Tokyo providing her own unique, comedic analyses of the competition, as well as a look-back at her own experiences in the world of sports. 

NBC’s primetime Olympic show during the Tokyo Games will be broadcast live in 4K Ultra High Definition with High Dynamic Range and ATMOS Sound.

The 4K presentation includes coverage of Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

NBCUniversal will also be televising live Olympic competition coverage on Golf Channel and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA in 4K HDR.

“The Olympics have been a consistent driver of technological advancements, and even with the challenges of the past year, Tokyo will be no different,” said Gary Zenkel, president, NBC Olympics. “With the rich cultural backdrop of Tokyo combined with the world-class competition of the Olympics, we’re excited to provide the American audience a look at the Games and, for the first time, the live Olympics primetime show with this impressive new 4K HDR technology.” 

NBCUniversal will distribute the 4K HDR coverage to U.S. distribution partners, who will choose how to make the content available to their customers.

Earlier this week, NBCU disclosed plans to present more than 7,000 hours of Olympic programming during the Tokyo Games. NBC will have 250 hours of coverage. Cable networks USA, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel and Golf Channel will show more that 1,300 hours of coverage. NBCU will also be streaming more than 5,500 hours of coverage, including all 339 medal events and the opening and closing ceremonies. 

NBC Sports’ 4K UHD programming provides pictures in ultra-high resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) that is four times that of current HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), High Dynamic Range (HDR), which produces wider contrast and a richer range of colors, and Dolby ATMOS, which provides a fully immersive overhead surround sound experience. 

The Tokyo Olympics take place from July 23 – Aug. 8 on the networks of NBCUniversal.

NBCUniversal said it will have 7,000 hours of coverage of the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

The Olympics will appear on NBCU’s broadcast and cable networks, its digital platforms including Peacock and Telemundo Deportes.

Also Read: Telemundo Upfront: 1,000 Hours of Original Content in 2021-22

“After a devastating year, the world comes together again, finally, in Tokyo this summer,” said Molly Solomon, executive producer and president, NBC Olympics Production. “We are going to deliver the most comprehensive — and accessible — coverage for any sports event in history. The depth and breadth of our broadcasts will be unprecedented, showcasing once-in-a-generation athletes and storylines that will capture the incredible uniqueness of these Games and our times.” 

NBC has been airing but the Summer and Winter Olympics since 2000. In 2014, NBCU, part of Comcast, signed a $7.65 billion deal covering games between 2021 and 2032. (The Tokyo games were supposed to be held in 2020, but were postponed because of the pandemic).

Also Read: NBCU Claims $1B in Olympic Advertising Sales

An NBC Sports spokesperson said the organization has been doing remote production for many Games and already planned for a very significant home operation for Tokyo. "After requests by the IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee for everyone to reduce their footprint, we moved 300 additional workers home and will now have 1,600 in Tokyo," the spokesperson said. Asked what impact diminished live attendance might have, the spokesperson said "as we have seen over the past year, coverage of sporting events can be very successful even with reduced capacities."

NBC will have 17 consecutive nights over primetime coverage and 250 hours of Olympic programming over all. NBC’s primetime will be live across all time zones, with coverage spilling into late night following local newscasts. Mike Tirico will host NBC’s primetime coverage, will will focus on swimming, gymnastics, track & field, diving and beach volleyball.

The women’s and men’s gold medal basketball games will both air in primetime, on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7.

NBC Sports will also stream more than 5,500 hours of the Olympics on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. All 41 sports and 339 medal event will be streamed, plus the opening and closing ceremonies.

Current plans call for Peacock to have studio studio shows coverage the Olympics. Additional Olympic activity on Peacock will be announced at a later date.

NBCU cable networks USA, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel and Golf Channel will present more than 1,300 hours of Tokyo Olympic coverage. USA’s coverage starts with the USA playing Sweden in soccer.

The Olympics will be a big sendoff for NBCSN, which is being shut down at the end of the year. NBCSN will televise 440 hours of Olympic programming, more than any other NBCU network, starting with live softball on July 20, three days before the opening ceremony.

Telemundo Deportes, is the exclusive Spanish-language home of the Olympic Games in the U.S. It will have more than 300 hours of programming across Telemundo and Universo.

Both The Today Show and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt will be on site with live coverage. Each morning, Today will bring viewers live interviews with Olympians and provide the latest news from the Games. Each night, Nightly News will profile a member of Team USA, as well as report on all the news surrounding the Games. 

The Games of the XXXII Olympiad will take place July 23-Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo.

NBC Olympics and Twitter have extended their agreement to work together on Olympic content through both the postponed Tokyo summer games, now scheduled for 2021, and the winter games in Beijing, set for February 2022.

The agreement, originally struck in July 2019, initially covered the Tokyo Olympics, which were supposed to be held in 2020 but were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Extending our now multi-Games relationship with Twitter to Tokyo for the Summer Games in 2021 and Winter Games in 2022 from Beijing will again put NBC Olympics’ coverage in front of the vast and very active Twitter audience with great Olympic moments, great Olympic programming and a nightly peek into our primetime broadcast for those not yet in front of their televisions,” said Gary Zenkel, president, NBC Olympics. “This agreement also allows us to extend the reach of our Olympic advertisers to those audiences that view the content we have custom produced for Twitter.”

NBC Olympics and Twitter will be creating daily original content live from the Olympic host city.

There will be a live, 20-minute studio program produced by NBC Olympics each morning that can be watched exclusively on Twitter during both the 2021 and 2022 games.

Twitter users will be able to vote daily for a live look-in at an event being aired as part of NBC’s primetime or primetime-plus coverage.  

Twitter users will also get real-time highlights of action at both the Summer and Winter games, including some Spanish-language clips. Highlights will include medal-winning moments and scenes from the opening and closing ceremonies.

Before the games start, beginning in June 2021 and counting down to the opening ceremonies in Tokyo, NBC Olympics will provide Twitter with highlights of coverage of the Olympic Team Trials and other events. A similar countdown will be on Twitter for Beijing 2022.

“Few events bring to the world together like the Olympics and we truly anticipate that both the upcoming Summer Games and Winter Games will be massive global celebrations like no other,” said TJ Adeshola, head of sports partnerships at Twitter. “We can’t wait to join forces with a fantastic content partner like NBC Olympics to pair real-time Twitter conversation with premium sports action to give fans a unique real-time Olympics experience they won’t find anywhere else.”