In response to a newsletter question about why these games have been underwhelming, readers offered, "The coverage is difficult to follow with streaming, and we know everything before we get to see it. But between the tape delays and the streaming options, the Peacock-only events and the impossible-to-follow listings, this time it felt like a mostly personal experience." complicating live broadcasts, meant the Olympics lost its unifying feel as confusion reigned among viewers.Īs Washington Post editor Dan Steinberg wrote in his daily Tokyo Olympics newsletter Saturday, "The Olympics used to be one of the fleetingly rare events that we all watched together. The fragmented options scattered across different apps, websites, and channels, not to mention the massive time difference between Japan and the U.S.
It also offered replays and highlights of the long list of events (table tennis, canoeing, or archery, anyone?) beyond the traditionally popular ones.īut just because NBC increased engagement with its new Peacock platform, that doesn't mean its Olympics showcase was a successful viewing experience. If you didn't want to pay and lacked a cable login, Peacock was the only option to see Team USA race and take to the balance beam. Apptopia reported 25,617 YouTube downloads on July 27, up only slightly from where it was before the games (on July 16, YouTube TV had 20,987 downloads). But by July 27 (when gymnastics was well underway), the app was downloaded 210,689 times in a day.Ī paid option like the YouTube TV app wasn't grabbed nearly as much, even during the popular gymnastics events. Data from app analytics firm Apptopia showed how App Store and Google Play downloads from the first part of July were as low as 94,921 a day. With limited, affordable options, the Peacock app, which launched in April 2020, had a late July download boost. Basketball was also available live, but only on the paid $5 per month tier. For this Olympics, the Peacock app was the most widely accessible place to stream gymnastics and track and field events, live and for free.
The event also brought a new way to watch Olympians in action: on Peacock, the new streaming service from NBC that offers free, ad-supported viewing along with paid subscriptions. Without access to broadcast and cable channels showing the COVID-postponed tournament on TV for the past two weeks, the only streaming options were through services like Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV, both $65 per month an app and website from NBC Sports, which requires a cable subscription to sign in and the donations-supported network TV streamer, Locast. For many cord-cutters, attempting to watch the Tokyo Olympics meant downloading a new app.
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