TOKYO — A nurse at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo comforted a dying COVID patient by showing him the recent Peacock ratings bump on an iPad during his last moments.
“The recent spike in COVID patients has been devastating to see,” the nurse said, who was sixteen hours into a twenty-hour shift. “Knowing that I can ease the pain of any of my patients, even just a tiny bit, by reminding them that the Olympic Games, which went forward here despite the nation declaring a state of emergency and protests demanding it be canceled or postponed, has led to increased viewership among the coveted 18-49 demographic for NBC’s streaming platform, that really makes it all worthwhile. Not for that guy, obviously, but you know what I mean.”
Miura Rokiro, a patient who was recently released from the same hospital, confirmed that the sight of Peacock’s streaming numbers helped him pull through his darkest days in the ICU.
“There were several moments over the past two weeks when I didn’t think I’d make it,” said Rokiro, who continues to suffer from brain fog and exhaustion since his release. “I had been in and out of consciousness for days, and I knew that if my breathing didn’t stabilize, I’d be put on a respirator. But when I heard that Peacock could potentially triple the viewership of ABC, CBS, Fox, and The CW combined, I felt a renewed will to live another day.”
Pete Bevacqua, the President of NBC Sports Group, said that giving people stories of hope is what NBC Sports is all about.
“We realized there was a significant risk in going forward with the games this year,” Bevacqua said, “but the glory of professional sports has always been about risking health and safety for the personal enrichment of a few. The surge in hospitalizations and positive cases in Tokyo has coincided with great things for our bottom line, and that’s what inspires me.”