With significant business interests in China, NBC is facing tough choices about how to cover the Olympic host country.
Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC
The 2008 Beijing Olympics were packed with made-for-TV moments. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set three world records, often smiling as he crossed the finish line. Michael Phelps, the American swimming superstar, won an improbable eight gold medals. And the opening ceremony, held in the Bird's Nest Stadium, dazzled an international audience with thousands of drummers and fireworks lighting up the night sky.
Such images helped forge a narrative of the Beijing games as a successful "coming out" party for first-time host China. For U.S. broadcaster NBCUniversal [NBC], meanwhile, it added up to a ratings bonanza. Over sixteen days, 211 million viewers tuned into its coverage, making it the most watched television event ever in the United States.
In less than two weeks, the Olympics will return to Beijing for the 2022 Winter games. But with China facing a new Covid surge caused by the Omicron variant and ten countries — including the U.S. — staging a diplomatic boycott
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