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It was no surprise when NBCUniversal announced that it would close Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA on September 30, less than a year after the profitable NBC Sports Network closed. Cable clippings and cable clippings are taking a toll on linear cable networks as viewers continue to switch video subscriptions from cable and satellite to over-the-top (OTT) services like NetflixNFLX.
, Disney + and eleven other online video subscription packages.
But the case for the Olympic Channel is unusual. The channel should never have been launched if the NBCU had not put the Olympic Games on the channel. The economy wouldn’t make sense, given that the Olympic Channel has fewer than 50 million subscribers, compared to NBC, which has nationwide reach.
Launched in 2017, the company launched a number of Olympic-related sports, such as world championships. But it wasn’t until last year that the channel broadcast some Olympic events from Tokyo, but it was tennis and wrestling, not the biggest draw for spectators.
NBCU is clearly focused on its OTT service called Peacock and it is unlikely that the Olympic Channel would gain more transportation from traditional cable and satellite operators. Today, the channel is generating more than $ 40 million in annual cash flow. However, over time, this number would decrease as the number of subscribers decreases, and will eventually be negative.
