Left: Jimmy Fallon ( Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue) Right: Art at Long Island’s Bored & Hungry restaurant, which uses NFT art in its branding (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Bieber, Madonna, and other celebrities who spent a fairly embarrassing chunk of the last few years trying to convince fans that ugly pictures of monkeys were both a) cool and b) a lucrative investment opportunity, are now getting hit with a lawsuit. Specifically—and per THR—a number of famouses have found themselves defendants in a new suit this week that accuses at least some of them of, among other things, failing to disclose a financial stake in a company that facilitates purchases of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, even as they were publicly promoting the brand.
Said suit is being put forward by Adonis Real and Adam Titcher, two Ape buyers who lost money on their purchases, and who are hoping to develop a class-action suit against all involved. Their targets include BAYC parent company Yuga Labs, a number of celebrity promoters who endorsed the brand (Paris Hilton, Diplo, Post Malone, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Curry, Kevin Hart, DJ Khaled, and more are also named as “Promoter Defendants”), and well known music industry manager Guy Oseary, who’s being accused of setting up low-key payments through a company called Moonpay (which many of the named celebs are purportedly investors in) to pay them for their endorsements.
Much of the lawsuit’s focus rests on Oseary, the long-time manager for Madonna (as well as U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more), who’s referred to in the legal docs as “the Fifth Ape.” (Alongside the four founders of Yuga Labs, all also defendants.) Oseary is accused of leveraging his considerable network of contacts—the lawsuit specifically calls out his help in Fallon booking U2 in the first days of the host’s tenure on The Tonight Show—to rope in celebrity investors and promoters to build up the Bored Ape brand.
Jimmy Fallon buys his first NFT with MoonPay
Highlighting a November 2021 Tonight Show interview with web artist Matt “Beeple” Winkelmann (who’s allegedly in business with Oseary, and also a named defendant in the suit), the lawsuit accuses Fallon of being paid to promote the brand when he talked about getting his own ugly monkey picture through Moonpay, writing that, “Fallon did not disclose that he had a financial interest in MoonPay or that he was likewise financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the increased saleand popularity of Yuga securities.” The lawsuit goes on to allegedly detail a number of other transactions in which celebrities appear to have been paid, either in cryptocurrency or NFTs, in exchange for their endorsements.
A Yuga Labs spokesperson responded to the suit this week, calling the claims “Opportunistic and parasitic. We strongly believe that they are without merit, and look forward to proving as much.” This isn’t the first celebrity-focused NFT/crypto lawsuit to crop up in recent months, as the entire market continues to rest comfortably in the toilet. (Trading of the Bored Ape NFTs has reportedly dropped by 93 percent since its launch.) A number of paid promoters (including Larry David) were recently named as defendants in a suit for promoting crypto exchange FTX.
You can read the full text of the Bored Ape suit over at THR.
Get ready to toss out your Netflix confetti (made from shredded red envelopes and DVDs), because Netflix is having another parade in its own honor. As usual, the parade is in honor of a new thing on Netflix that got way better numbers than every other thing on Netflix, proving that Netflix is a good company that makes good stuff, and each new thing is better and more popular than the last new thing! Hip hip hooray!
So yeah, we’re as skeptical of this as we always are, but Deadline is reporting that Netflix is reporting that new Addams Family reboot/spin-off Wednesdayjust had the biggest week of any English-language series in Netflix history. It was apparently watched for 341 million hours in its debut, with more than 50 million households tuning in to see what Jenna Ortega’s angry goth child would be up to at the mysterious and magical Nevermore Academy. The series is directed by Tim Burton, and it also stars Gwendoline Christie, Jamie McShane, Percy Hynes White, Christina Ricci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Luis Guzmán.
The previous English-language record-holder was the first block of episodes for Stranger Things’ fourth season, which were viewed for 335 million hours at their highest. The current record-holder overall, separated from the English-language (and its bizarrely inconsistent grammatical rules), is Squid Game, which was watched for 571 million hours in its highest week. These numbers all come from Netflix, and “hours watched” is kind of a purposefully vague metric that has nothing to do with how a viewer felt about the thing they watched or even how much of the thing they actually watched—we know 50 million households put Wednesday on, but what if 10 of them watched 300 hours and the other 40 only watched one hour? That would be confusing data!
With this brilliant episode, Atlanta is over. I tried to go into this series finale with zero expectations, but of course I had some. I expected it to be non-traditional in that Atlanta way, which for me defaulted to chill. Even the trailer looked fairly calm, although it would obviously be a Darius adventure. And still, with my expectations to not expect anything, I nevertheless wan’t prepared for the absolute perfect mind-fuck of this quintessentially Atlanta episode, directed by Murai and written by Glover. Bravo, y’all.
The episode started in the chill mode that I initially thought, with Darius zoning out to Judge Judy as Earn and Al prepared to go out. Everything about this scene is so intentional yet subtle; it isn’t apparent until the second watch that the opening shot of Darius is framed to look like a tank, with that groovy soundtrack, Judge Judy, and the Popeyes commercial serving so much importance later. The conversation with our main trio of men is so natural, as Darius sets off on his own before they all go meet up with Van (though I wish they axed the Johnny Depp joke). Also, I appreciated that there were nods to the characters’ arcs in the prior few episodes, with Earn sharing Van’s wants and the “Old MacDonald” song about Al’s Safe Farm.
When Cree Summer (!!!!) popped up, I was hoping that Darius had found his perfect transcendental soulmate and they would finish the episode together, but I also appreciated the conversation as a lovely bit of exposition, since I didn’t know about sensory deprivation besides the Simpsons episode. Part of the brilliance of this episode is that Atlanta has two modes: the heightened reality and the grounded surrealism. When he runs into London, his wild former friend who can pass a sobriety test while cross-faded, it’s a segment that feels very much like the reality of Atlanta. She seems like a character who could’ve popped up in something like season one’s “The Club,” even up to stealing the cop’s gun. After she runs over the kid, and Darius drops the stolen gun, that wake-up moment as the gun fires and he awakes is a complete surprise, because everything was so thoroughly set up…except how it actually feels to be lost to the senses. So from here on out, I’m questioning everything that happens with him.
The “tea in the tea room” moment and the excessive laughter: Is Darius still in the tank, or are the excessively-laughing women? It really seems like it could be both, but then Darius gets kicked out. We then get this lovely, simple scene of Darius visiting his brother, the only time we’ve interacted with his personal history besides the Nigerian restaurant in “White Fashion.” It all feels so real, until he sees thick Judge Judy. Then there’s the moment of him awaking and waking up, and that final shot of him screaming in the tank with the door closed. Did he ever get out? Has he ever gotten out?
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Meanwhile, Earn, Al, and Van are in a completely different storyline where it’s heavily hinted that Darius is gonna show up late after the story’s over. Van’s friend (Candice?) has invested in Atlanta’s first Black-owned sushi restaurant, run by a chef who studied under sushi masters in Japan. It’s Black-sushi fusion, in a spot that used to be a Blockbuster and still has the candy on the racks. The towels aren’t all white, but a random assortment. The apparent sous chef calls out “Sup” instead of “Yes, chef.” Al (and I) are immediately skeptical, and he’s staring at a Popeyes right across the street. (Van is less antagonistic, but quickly decides the meal ain’t it.)
Zazie Beetz as Van and Donald Glover as Earn Marks Photo: Guy D’Alema/FX
When the main meal comes out, the infamous potentially-poisonous blowfish (another bit of Simpsons knowledge), Al’s done, Van’s done, I’m done…and Earn still wants to support the culture. Then master chef DeMarcus shows up and serves a truth-telling monologue similar to Kirkwood Chocolate’s. (Based on a quick Google, sushi is traditionally served at room temperature to get the best flavor experience, and chefs do make the meal bare-handed.) The man has a point that the phrase “Black-owned sushi” shouldn’t automatically bring pause (though the Blockbuster of it all probably doesn’t help). It’s a very honest, hilarious speech that raises intra-cultural questions. But then Darius storms in and punches the mad chef in the face before he can force them to eat the blowfish. They all speed off in a stolen pink Maserati.
The final scene is some Inception-type shit in the best way, not a corny reproduction but a clever instance in which Glover takes the belief that the audience has suspended ever since the invisible car and shoves it back onto us all for a brief moment. Have the past four seasons of the show just been Darius’ tank dreams? The Teddy Perkinses, Thomas Washingtons, and the white Earnest Marks would have you believe so. But in the end, the episode leaves it up to the audience. We don’t see whether or not Judge Judy is thick. The contingent who think that “It Was All A Dream” is a brilliant subversion of the trope, and the others who will be mad that the trope was even a possibility can fight it out on Reddit. But you can’t deny that it’s such a greatAtlanta ending.
I’m really glad that this is how the show left us. I assume there will be naysayers about the ending, because you can find a naysayer about literally anything. I’m focusing on the craft of storytelling, the way the episode tricked us along with Darius multiple times, fit another social-commentary monologue into the B-plot, and did it all pretty much flawlessly. Tomorrow I’ll be sad that such a show has ended, but tonight I’m leaning back with a smile on my face, happy that Glover and the Atlanta team got to make their weird, indescribable, creative, excellent show.
Stray observations
I’m writing this in a bit of a rush, but I’m super excited to find the two bookend tracks for this episode later.
Seriously, I will be making derivatives of the “Old MacDonald” song to roast my friends for the next few months.
I think this episode has the most hidden Atlanta logo yet, and I’m very happy about it. It’s like they’re going, “Bruh, you know what you’re watching. You know our style. We don’t have to say it.”
I’m kind of surprised there hasn’t been Popeyes discourse on Atlanta yet. It’s a topic that would’ve felt extremely dated if they didn’t find a unique angle. (Glad they did.)
Sooooo many good jokes in this episode. Like Al about the Popeyes: “Smell like the manager mean as hell.”
I really do think that London would be just as wild if it wasn’t a tank dream. Maybe not steal a cop’s gun, but probably the weed, vodka, and beer bottle.
That shot of Darius looking at Al, Van, and Earn through the window was sweet. I’m gonna miss the four of them.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle took a month or so off from her Spotify podcast Archetypes—presumably out of respect to her husband and his family and not because she knew she’d say something about how the Queen treated her if she got in front of a podcast mic. But now, with the show’s latest episode, the Duchess Of Sussex has decided to take some shots at a different surprisingly beloved institution: The old NBC reality/game show Deal Or No Deal. One of Markle’s early show business jobs was serving as one of the show’s briefcase models during its second season, and speaking with Paris Hilton on Archetypes, she said that she would get a pit in her stomach during the show because, “I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.”
Markle added that she was “forced to be all looks and little substance” and that she was “reduced to this specific archetype: the bimbo.” The premise of the show, for those who don’t recall, was that a contestant would pick a numbered briefcase containing a secret amount of money from a big collection of briefcases that all had a model… standing by them. The contestant would eliminate briefcases and then find out how much was in each one, narrowing down the options of what would be in their briefcase. Then they would get calls from an unseen “Banker” who would offer to buy their briefcase for an insultingly low number, and they’d have to decide whether to take it or to keep playing. It was an unbelievably huge hit. Everybody went briefcase crazy.
But now people are mad about Markle’s representation of what Deal Or No Deal was like, and we don’t mean regular people; We mean famous people. During a recent episode of The View (via Entertainment Weekly), Whoopi Goldberg argued that nobody watching Deal Or No Deal was objectifying the models, saying, “they’re just thinking, ‘I want the money.’” Goldberg went on to suggest that Vanna White isn’t objectified on Wheel Of Fortune because she’s “always in something interesting and beautiful” and if Markle felt like the models on her show were being objectified then that’s on her because they’re just doing their jobs as performers.
It’s a hell of a point, and her The View cohost Sunny Hostin noted that Markle’s comments did make her think about the way women with certain body types are treated by the entertainment industry, but Goldberg shot that down by saying, “That’s TV, baby. But what did you think you were going to? You know that’s what the show was.”—And it kind of seems like we’re soooo close to putting it together there. “That’s the point of the show” and “it objectifies women” can both be true!
Anyway, Goldberg isn’t the only one who doesn’t agree with Markle’s take on Deal Or No Deal. Fellow former Deal Or No Deal model (and former Real Housewives Of Atlanta cast member) Claudia Jordan told TMZthat nobody was forcing them to be “bimbos,” but that it was a modeling job and they all knew that going in. Another former Deal Or No Deal model, Donna Feldman (who is also on The Oval), told HollywoodLifethat nobody was ever treated like a “bimbo” while they worked on the show, but that even if the show is only interested in how she looked, it didn’t stop her getting other jobs with her personality or intellect or work ethic.
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It seems unlikely that Markle will address any of this again, since her podcast seems very Produced and she’s smart enough to know that it wouldn’t help her or anyone else to keep this whole thing going, but we’ll see.
Few talents in recent memory have had the reach and impact of Megan Thee Stallion over the collective cultural landscape. It’s why she is one of the rare celebrities and personalities who can successfully serve as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Not to mention, she delivered a terrific album in August this year with Traumazine.
Talented with an infectious natural charm and charisma, she is the perfect host to bring eyes back to SNL. Her hosting duties already earned headlines when it was revealed that her LA home was robbed while she was preparing this week, and she’s already announced that she will take a much-deserved break from the spotlight following her hosting duties. Let’s get to the best (and most meh) of this week’s episode.
Best sketch of the night
Hot Girl Hospital – SNL
SNL is at its best when it understands the host and can create content suited to their skills and unique persona. That understanding was best captured in “Hot Girl Hospital,” combining Megan Thee Stallion’s nursing degree and her hot girl brand. Joined by Punkie Johnson and Ego Nwodim, Megan Thee Stallion’s hospital dedicated to “bad bitches” was a sketch that could only really be done with her as host. The New York Times quote, “Somehow empowering and regressive at the same time,” was the perfect summation of a tongue-in-cheek sketch.
Most relatable sketch
We Got Brought – SNL
“We Got Brought” was one of those universal SNL sketches that captures the anxieties of social gatherings. With Bowen Yang, Nwodim, and Megan Thee Stallion as the plus-ones of a trio of old friends, forced conversations and awkward silences created perfectly calibrated cringe comedy. Structuring the sketch as a music video was perfect for Megan Thee Stallion. The peak of the sketch was really her forceful exit line about going to the bathroom to escape those two strangers.
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Most emotional moment
Megan Thee Stallion: Anxiety (Live) – SNL
You don’t expect too many serious moments during SNL. However, during her performance of “Anxiety,” Megan Thee Stallion seemed overcome with emotion. The performance was simple with a strong point of view, but her visible emotion reflected the authenticity that she exudes that has earned her such a wide and devoted fanbase. It’s worth pressing play.
Worst technical direction
Workout Class – SNL
The premise of “Workout Class” is promising. Channeling Megan Thee Stallion’s uniquely confident “hottie” energy into an exercise instructor in contrast to Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman as assistant instructors focused on maintaining a flat butt works well in theory. It was strange technical decisions and hiccups that hindered the sketch. The awkward transitions between shots only seemed to highlight the odd blocking of the scene. There were three focal points throughout the scene that felt oddly siphoned off from one another. Both Megan and Yang seemed to be breaking during the scene, which can always be amusing on SNL, but the confusing geography of the scene created a disconnect.
MVP of the week
Classroom – SNL
While she has always been great on the show, Nwodim really got the chance to shine in this episode. She was great in everything and appeared in most sketches of the night. Her delivery of “they can” in “Girl Talk” was particularly hilarious, but it was “Classroom” that really showed off Nwodim’s unique talents. Riffing off films like Dangerous Minds or Freedom Writers, Nwodim comes in as a substitute teacher with mistaken assumptions and expectations. The way that she attempts to save face as the fool in the sketch is precision comedy.
Stray observations
The cold open felt really stale. It would be great if they went wilder with the political comedy. It always feels like they are a little too tied to the reality of the situation.
Would have been great if Cecily Strong had been available for the Hocus Pocus mom segment. That feels like her wheelhouse.
The Dunder Mifflin sweatshirt was the highlight of “Women’s Charity.”
“Deer” was one of those SNL sketches that eventually wins you over with its stupidity.
Roy Wood Jr.; Trevor Noah; Desi LydicGraphic: Robin L Marshall; Allen Berezovsky; Dia Dipasupil (Getty Images)
Rest easy, political comedy fans, The Daily Show existed before Trevor Noah (led by Craig Kilborn and, more notably, John Stewart) and it will continue to exist without him. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the series will not only continue but remain on Comedy Central rather than switching to Paramount+.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the network told the outlet, “In time, we will turn to the next chapter of The Daily Show and all of our incredible correspondents will be at the top of that list. Until then, we are focused on celebrating Trevor and thanking him for his many contributions.”
One of those contributions, apparently, is shocking the hell out of Comedy Central by announcing his departure last Thursday, according to THR sources. Noah had reportedly extended his option to stick with the show for at least two if not three years. (He’d even supposedly had lunch with Paramount exec Chris McCarthy the day previous and made no mention of his impending announcement, sources say.) As such, the network is now scrambling to nail down his exit before making any decisions about a new host.
Now, take this next bit with a grain of salt, but Comedy Central sources have allegedly told TMZ that Roy Wood Jr. is a heavy favorite to replace Noah right now. Not only is he one of the most prominent correspondents, but the outlet claims his contract is coming up for renewal and network execs are eager to keep him with the network. Apparently, the higher-ups have communicated that they “want to meet with him to discuss his future… but he’s NOT been personally told he’s even a candidate to replace Trevor.”
So it’s still anyone’s game–and per TMZ, “there’s talk the next host could well be a woman.” (How radical!) Other Daily Show correspondents include Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, and Dulcé Sloan, and any one of them could be the next Daily Show host. Start placing your bets now!
Ken JenningsPhoto: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
This may be hard to believe, coming from the game show institution that went through a very long run of trial hosts only to give the job to the show’s producer (at least temporarily), but Jeopardy! seems to have gone for the least surprising and least interesting choice when deciding who should be its permanent post-Alex Trebek host. Would it be Ken Jennings? Would it be Mayim Bialik? The two of them have been trading off for nearly a year, but now Jeopardy! has decided that… they’ll both just keep trading off.
That’s according to Variety’s sources, which say that both Jennings and Bialik have “entered into long-term deals” to keep splitting the Jeopardy! host job, with Bialik also doing special primetime versions of Jeopardy! and an upcoming version of Celebrity Jeopardy! (for real, not the SNL sketch, which wouldn’t be as much fun these days for, you know, sad reasons). This comes exactly one month after the show’s producers announced that they would have an announcement about who will permanently host Jeopardy! “very, very soon,” which seems like a real stretch of what “very, very soon” means. But what would the producers of Jeopardy! know about sticking to the exact letter of the law? Surely they’re not sticklers for specificity over at Jeopardy! HQ, right?
It doesn’t sound like this has officially been confirmed or announced by the Jeopardy! producers or Sony Pictures Entertainment, but Variety seems confident that it’s just a matter of letting the ink dry. Or whatever they use on those Jeopardy! answer boards, which are probably digital pens and not actual pens. Either way, don’t be surprised if you keep seeing Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik asking for answers in the form of a question on your TV every afternoon before or after Wheel Of Fortune.
Tony Sirico, Steve Van Zandt, and Michael Imperioli in 2005Photo: Evan Agostini (Getty Images)
Tony Sirico died yesterday, prompting an outpouring of tributes from fans and former co-workers alike—and especially from The Sopranos, where he played mobster Paulie Walnuts across all six seasons of the HBO show.
Said mourners today include series creator David Chase, who (per THR) issued a statement today recognizing what Sirico—who spent years in and out of prison before turning to the world of acting—brought to the part of the temperamental, frequently hilarious Paulie:
Tony was a jewel. The way Buddhists refer to a jewel—supernatural and a master. But certainly not a Zen master. He was so uproarious, so funny, so talented. I’m very happy for him that in his mid-50s and 60s he finally learned how talented and loved he was. I was just thinking about him yesterday, strangely enough, and was reminded that he was a main reason for the success of The Sopranos. I will miss him greatly, Gennaro. As will the world.
Meanwhile, Lorraine Braco—who also appeared alongside Sirico in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas—wrote on Twitter, “A stand up guy who always had my back and who loved my children and my parents. I have a lifetime of memories with Tony–starting with Goodfellas to The Sopranos and way beyond but my God, did we have fun doing the Bensonhurst Spelling Bee. I hope he’s in heaven cracking everybody up now. Love you, my pal.” And see also Steve Van Zandt, who wrote “RIP Tony Sirico. Legendary. Silvio’s best buddy “Paulie Walnuts” in The Sopranos, Frankie “The Fixer’s” older brother Antonino “Father Tony” Tagliano in Lilyhammer. A larger than life character on and off screen. Gonna miss you a lot my friend. Deepest condolences to the family.” These, in addition to a message yesterday from Sirico’s frequent Sopranos scene partner Michael Imperioli, who helped spread news of his death, and wrote about his own heartbreak. “I am proud to say I did a lot of my best and most fun work with my dear pal Tony. I will miss him forever. He is truly irreplaceable.”
In addition to those who worked with him, fans have continued to make their own tributes as well, sharing their favorite Paulie Walnuts quotes, and repeating many of the colorful anecdotes that surrounded Sirico—including an-oft repeated story that his major condition for accepting the role of Paulie was that the show’s writers never make him a rat. And, of course, many people have reposted one of the sweetest, strangest moments of Sirico’s career: When he and Steve Schirripa appeared on Sesame Street, briefly taking over the roles of Bert and Ernie.
Sesame Street: The Bert and Ernie Christmas Special with Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa
Now this is how the sausage really gets made. Of course Disney, being a cautiously conservative mega-corporation that trades mostly in children’s media, is obnoxiously hands-on about the content they put out. But we rarely get to see behind the curtain of what goes into monitoring their creatives.
Thanks to Gravity Falls’ Alex Hirsch, we now have a better idea of what goes on behind the scenes, and it’s… pretty bonkers. Hirsch has been celebrating the Disney Channel cartoon’s 10-year anniversary, and he concluded the festivities with some of the messages he exchanged with the network’s Standards & Practices department during the series’ tenure.
“One last treat. Ever curious about the fights I had with the censors on Gravity Falls?” He wrote on Twitter. “I probably shouldn’t share this buttttt here are some REAL NOTES from DISNEY S&P and my REAL REPLIES. You are not prepared #10YearsOfGravityFalls”
The back-and-forth is as boggling as Hirsch promised, from warning that the word “‘chub’ has a sexual connotation” (“This is silly. It’s an image of a fat dog.”) to fretting that a line “about dressing as a giant teddy bear” might remind the audience of a “‘furry’ fetish.” (“Do I even have to respond to this?”) In one hilariously stuffy note, censors requested Hirsch revise a limerick about “a man from Kentucky” because “S&P is worried that unsavory rhymes could be gleaned from it.”
The S&P complaints even include a predictable whiff of homophobia regarding a moment where Blubs, a cop, puts his arm around his partner Durland. “As noted in previous concerns, their affectionate relationship should remain comical versus flirtatious,” read the censor note. “Nope. They’re… buddies. Chill out,” Hirsch replied. “The gesture is approved in this context,” the censors grudgingly conceded.
“I have literally *thousands* of these. Each one still haunts me,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. To his credit, Hirsch valiantly pushed back on the mind-numbing censorship, from simply bemoaning “How is this my life” to heroically arguing, “Why should we be held hostage to whatever imaginary knee-jerk career complainers who would conceivably go out of their way to pretend to be offended by this?” (This earned him a, “Will review in context.”)
Seems like thwarting ridiculous S&P notes is a full-time job on its own. If you’ve ever thought Disney content felt incredibly sanitized, well, now you know why.
Norwegian Olympian Daniel Andre TandePhoto: CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images
The 2022 Winter Olympics are occurring at the moment—which you might need reminding of, given the ratings numbers NBC is apparently pulling for the event. Bloomberg reports tonight that the 2022 Games in Beijing are currently set to have the worst TV viewership in Olympics history, currently operating at roughly half of what the 2018 games in PyeongChang, South Korea four years ago.
To be fair to NBC, it clearly knew things weren’t going to be great this year going into the Games; the network, which paid $7.75 billion back in 2014 to secure broadcast rights to the Games through 2032, had already issued notices to advertisers before the Games even started to expect a lower-than-average return on investment for whatever big sacks of money they’d spent on ads. (Among other things, NBC skipped out on offering its usual expensive guarantees of certain viewership levels to major advertisers.)
There have been a few major factors that people are using to explain the dip. For one, there’s the whole political and diplomatic angle, with the United States declining to send official representatives to China for the Games, citing human rights abuses including the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur people living within its borders. On a more prosaic level, the time zone difference between the States and China means NBC has to pick between airing events in the middle of the night, or holding them back until primetime (as results propagate wildly online). That’s all compounded by the pandemic of it all; last year’s make-up Summer Games in Japan also plummeted in viewership, marking record lows.
A few caveats here, though. For one, “low ratings” doesn’t mean NBC didn’t kick seven kinds of hell out of every other offering in primetime this past week; fewer people might be watching them, but these are still the Olympics we’re talking about. And Bloomberg quotes NBCUniversal’s president of advertising as saying that, despite the loss of regular ratings, the company expects to make back plenty of its ad revenue by streaming the Games through Peacock and other platforms. Which might be the way forward, anyway: An emphasis on streaming gets around the time zone issue neatly, and also lines up with the ways a lot of people would rather experience the Games in the first place.
For now, the 2022 Games are set to cruise toward a record low; we’ll have to wait until 2024, in Paris, to see if this is a more permanent shift.