NBC's Beijing Olympic ratings called a 'disaster' for network: 'I'm stunned ... There is karma in the world'

Democratic strategist Kevin Walling and GOP strategist Quill Robinson weigh in on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Freedom Convoy protests and the Beijing Olympics.

A sobbing Russian figure skater berated by one of her coaches for a poor routine. Grim-looking cooling towers in the background of acrobatic snowboard jumps. Diplomatic boycotts. Half-empty stands. Announcers covering the games from Connecticut.

It all played out in a host country engaged in human rights atrocities that was also the origin site of a global pandemic.

For NBC, it wasn't exactly Olympic glory in China. 

BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 10: Aaron Ness #42 of United States in action against Team China during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A match on Day 6 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium on February 10, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Fred Lee/Getty Images)

The media adjectives pouring in to describe the legacy of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics aren't pretty: "Disaster." "Joyless." And NBC's $7.75 billion investment in 2014 that gave it exclusive American media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032 is under question after a second consecutive ratings dud. 

BEIJING OLYMPICS A ‘COMPLETE FAILURE’ FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST

Through Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, an average of 12.2 million watched the Olympics in primetime on NBC, cable, or its Peacock streaming service, a 42-percent dip from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Only 10 million watched NBC alone, a 47-percent drop from 2018, and through early last week, it was down 57 percent in the critical 25-54 age demographic from the Seoul games. That was even taking into account the Super Bowl