A lot is going on in TV today. You may have read about the issues between Nielsen and the Media Rating Council. What may happen is that TV stations begin to look for alternative TV measurement methods. Regardless, the word of Ratings is now under review.

Beyond the ratings dustup, the numbers for the Summer Olympics are worth reviewing. You probably read that the Olympics ratings were down:  This year’s games average 15.5 million viewers nightly across NBC’s primetime and digital offering. Americans tuning in added up to 150 million. It may not be a gold medal Olympics in these Covid times, but it certainly won the silver.

Yet something else caught my eye: The majority of “streaming viewers of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony spent the most time watching on desktop computers and mobile phones,” according to eMarketer.

Streaming captured more than half the time for a combined share of 54%. This is a worldwide number, but it shows that you really need to think onmi-screen even for the most significant TV events in the world.

Is this a trend, or are these results Covid related is the question we will be asking of all 2020 and 2021 marketing efforts. The good news, in just a few months, the winter Olympics in Beijing will feature opening ceremonies on February 4. 

I will get my phone ready.