Olympics broadcasting outlook as clear as Rio's diving pool

It is better to watch highlights rather than events in real time.

I guess the Brazilian timezone is about as inconvenient as possible for Asia-Pacific, so a huge chunk of viewers are lost there. Even for West and EMEA, the timing would have resulted in a lot less live viewership

Tokyo will be an interesting situation for U.S. broadcasters who pay billions for the rights. In Rio, the men's 100-meter final was held at 10:30 p.m. local time so it could be shown in prime time on the U.S. East Coast. But in Tokyo, that would mean holding the 100-meter final at around 9 a.m., which would be impossible. It will most likely be held at around 8 p.m. in Tokyo, making it early morning for the U.S. and Europe - not good for ratings.

But there will be a mammoth ratings audience in Asia, at least. Sports like judo, gymnastics, badminton, diving, swimming, taekwondo, hockey and others will bring in huge audiences.

Anyway, who knows what broadcasting technology will be around in 2020. Personally, I would never watch the Olympics on social media. I have a 55-inch TV and it was great watching the opening ceremony live and the races on that big screen. YouTube or a smartphone can't match that.

Anyway, who knows what broadcasting technology will be around in 2020. Personally, I would never watch the Olympics on social media. I have a 55-inch TV and it was great watching the opening ceremony live and the races on that big screen. YouTube or a smartphone can't match that.

I watch videos streamed from my iphone, including from YouTube on my iphone to my 60" TVs all the time.

I have a 55-inch TV and it was great watching the opening ceremony live ...... from YouTube on my iphone to my 60" TVs

I dont mean to boast or anything, but I watched the games on my 68" unit. (anyone wanna up us in the inch stakes?!) And its gotta be live, gokai - there is no way this sports nut can watch anything delayed, the excitement just isnt the same!

The enormous Chinese/Indian markets should ensure big prime-time ratings come 2020.

If Japan.Inc is smart they step on the streaming platform and make everything more easily accessible for people abroad. They could make a shitload of money from it.

The point wasn't the size of the TV. The difference between 55" and 60" is negligible. The point was that smartphones and YouTube don't prevent watching in HD on a large screen TV.

Strangerland

As far as I know, you can't watch the Olympics live on YouTube or any streaming service. So why not watch it live on the big screen as it happens? Furthermore, I read today that NHK is working on an 8K format, which is supposed to be 16 times clearer than the current HD images. The incredibly sharp definition must be mind-boggling. I doubt streaming services can compete with that.

But anyway, as I said before, the media landscape is changing so fast that maybe in 2020, it will be virtual reality broadcasting. We'll put on a helmet and find ourselves in the 100-meter race along with the sprinters.

Well, I'm in the majority, meaning one of the people who doesn't watch the Olympics. We don't care about how much money the media makes or the IOC makes.

Less than 15% of US households watched the Rio Olympics. I don't know what the numbers are for Japan, but you guys go ahead and rah, rah, rah all you want. You got to see commercials for McDonald's and Coca Cola, which I'm sure made you run out and buy carloads full, since you had never heard of these products before the Olympics.

As far as I know, you can't watch the Olympics live on YouTube or any streaming service.

That depends on the broadcaster. I was using the Canadian's CBC to stream some events live on my TV. I don't know if YouTube offered any live streaming.

Furthermore, I read today that NHK is working on an 8K format, which is supposed to be 16 times clearer than the current HD images. The incredibly sharp definition must be mind-boggling. I doubt streaming services can compete with that.

There is nothing preventing them from being able to stream at this rate, the question is whether people's internet lines can handle that level of data in real time.

People are probably tired of the non stop chatter of the commentators. They seem to think they are being paid by the word and simply won't stop talking about tine nuances of whatever sport (no matter how obscure) that they think is so great.

I didn't watch any of it, and I've got a big flat-screen, too. Managed to avoid the coverage in newspapers, too. The IOC has let the Olympics as a true amateur sports event deteriorate into a commercial mess. Anyone know the medal count? Just joking, don't tell me, otherwise I'll have to read SOMETHING about it. Would rather not. Rio was a true blunder of a magnitude I've never seen for what's now professional sport.

Don't know how it is in other countries, but in the USA, NBC coverage of the games ruin it for me. I hate the coverage, their talking and the stories.

For the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I much prefer a more neutral coverage, I would pay a Premium if that means I can get away from the awful NBC coverage.