Hey, did you know Snoop Dogg will be attending the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris?
Well, if you watched a few minutes of NBC’s coverage, the answer is almost certainly yes.
The hip-hop legend seems to be attending all the major events, and he always Wearing his NBC branded jumpsuit.
Of course, he’s usually not alone in the VIP area.
A star-studded Olympics
Tom Cruise is in the spotlight at this year’s competition, with Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Steven Spielberg, Ariana Grande Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Peyton Manning, etc. are also among them.
Of course, this is not surprising.
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After all, Paris is probably the number one international destination for American celebrities.
Celebrities descend on the City of Lights for relatively small events like spring and fall fashion weeks, so it makes sense that they would show up en masse at a major event like the Olympics.
But that doesn’t mean NBC needs to fill our screens with famous faces every night — does it?
Actors better than athletes?
Look, this is a pop culture site, and as you might expect, we love our favorite actors, directors, and musicians.
But part of the appeal of the Olympics has always been its opportunity to showcase the unique talents of individuals who are not used to taking center stage.
Sure, LeBron James and Simone Biles are household names, but that’s no That’s true for most of the American athletes who shine at this year’s Olympics.
Simone’s fellow gymnasts are mostly unknown.
Fencers, skateboarders, archers and other esoteric athletes also make this year’s competition so much fun so far.
But Jagger Eaton, 23, of Mesa, Arizona, is unlikely to draw eight-figure crowds, no matter how well his 540 McTwist performs
NBC executives may have realized this.
Note that the network just spent more than $7 billion to purchase exclusive rights to the Olympics through 2032.
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It’s a huge investment and they need massive viewership to justify the expense.
The battle for golden ratings
Despite the hype and excitement surrounding the Paris Olympics, it faces several major obstacles:
The first is the controversy over the opening ceremony.
If you’ve been living under a rock, many Christians will be outraged by the graphic imagery, which they believe makes a mockery of the Last Supper.
Whether you think the uproar is completely justified or downright ridiculous, there’s no denying the magnitude of the uproar, and the intensity of the controversy that’s most accurate. the opposite How NBC hopes to start this year’s game.
This is just one of the factors that can drive away viewers.
Of course, the aforementioned Simone Biles will be in attendance, as well as A-list athletes like LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
But outside of its gymnastics and basketball teams, Team USA lacks a big-name star on par with Michael Phelps.
This may help explain why photographers focus so much attention on the stands.
Olympic-sized indifference
We can also point to a few other issues that might explain why enthusiasm for these Olympics seems to be less than in past years.
Political tensions have left many Americans feeling there are more important issues that require their attention.
(Also, it’s hard to root for your country when you believe it’s under attack from within, a surprisingly common feeling among both parties today.)
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Additionally, due to time zone differences, many of the night’s big events took place in the middle of the workday for stateside audiences.
Still, NBC reports a huge jump in ratings
But there are two caveats:
First, the majority of viewers are reportedly watching on Peacock, and streaming data is often harder to verify than data reported by broadcast or cable media.
Another reason is that in the absence of compelling storylines – such as Phelps’s pursuit of a personal medal record – Olympics ratings tend to start strong but then fade away as the Games enter their second week. interest, the ratings will drop.
Of course, the actual numbers don’t matter, as our main complaint is that no Factors beyond NBC’s control, but decided to try to boost ratings by shifting the focus away from the athletes and onto the stars in the stands.
Americans may have always been obsessed with celebrities, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.
Of course, there’s the occasional Taylor Swift-level A-lister who attracts a loyal following.
But nowadays, it’s IP, not actors, that plays the biggest role in a movie’s box office.
Much of the “famous-for-famous” environment that led to the rise of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian has faded from the mainstream and retreated into the realm of TikTok.
If Ellen DeGeneres posed for an “epic” selfie with a group of famous actors in 2024, as she did in 2014, the public reaction would likely be a collective shrug.
We’re not sure what caused this relatively sudden shift.
Maybe it’s the deepening political divisions of the past decade, or maybe it’s the pandemic that has highlighted that most celebrities live very different lives than we do.
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Regardless, stars no longer fascinate us as they once did.
But apparently, NBC hasn’t gotten the memo yet.
TV fans, what do you think? Are the Paris Olympics too celebrity-oriented?
Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts.
