NBC has been scoring weak ratings ever since the opening ceremony last Friday. While the network is dominating other broadcasters, nightly viewership is down from London, particularly in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic.
After six days of prime time coverage, the NBC broadcast network is averaging 28.1 million viewers, about 20 percent fewer than it had during the London games in 2012. The totals are almost 10 percent lower than the Beijing games in 2008, according to money.cnn.com.
This year NBC is showing more events via cable and Internet streaming than it did in 2012 or 2008. Still, the combined viewership figures are lower than London. And live-streaming represents just a tiny fraction of overall viewership, according to CNNMoney's analysis.
Experts say changing viewing habits and increased competition are likely culprits. While Olympics live-streaming isn't impacting the TV ratings in a serious way, overall streaming is -- because people can watch clips online. Or skip the games and watch something on Netflix instead.
"There isn't that pressure now to have to watch the entire Olympics live except if there's a big event people are talking about," Gold said. "I'm not saying that didn't exist in 2012, but people are getting more familiar with watching highlights, and it's becoming second nature."
Outsized excitement about the record-high-rated London games are also causing tough comparisons four years later.
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