NBC Tokyo Olympics ratings 'faceplanted,' finishes with smallest Summer Games audience in network history

NBC’s coverage of the Tokyo Olympics finished as the lowest-rated summer games in the network’s history. 

Outkick media columnist Bobby Burack feels sports are about passion and fandom but "American viewers no longer share those emotions toward the Olympics" after years of fans bickering about athletes getting political. U.S. Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry arguably set the tone during the medal ceremony at her trials when she turned her back on the American flag as the national anthem played. The move caused outrage by some would-be viewers, but Berry maintained she represents "oppressed people" tuning in to the games. Other athletes kneeled in an attempt for force social change on the world stage, further angering some viewers.