North Korea Televises Olympics 2 Days After They Finished, Showing A Soccer Match With No Commentary

north korea televised olympics two days late

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  • North Korea did not televise the Olympics until two days after the closing ceremony.
  • The country broadcasted 70 minutes of a random soccer match.
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The 2020 Olympics are over, they’re officially in the rearview mirror, but citizens of North Korea are just now getting their first look at the Games.

According to NK News, North Korea first televised action from the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, two days after the Olympics officially ended.

Central Television (KCT) reportedly televised the women’s soccer match between Great Britain and Chile, which took place almost three weeks prior to it being televised in the country.

KCT only aired 70 minutes of the match, and according to the report, the broadcast was shown in low quality and had zero commentary. Great Britain won the match 2-0, but North Koreans likely didn’t see the second goal as it was scored in the 73rd minute of the contest.

North Korea did not send any athletes to the Tokyo Games citing the pandemic as the reason behind its decision. On top of that, North Koreans do not have access to international television or the internet. So, Tuesday was in fact the first time they saw a moment from the 2020 Olympics.

2020 Olympics Were The Least-Watched Ever

The ratings for the Tokyo Games across NBC’s various television and digital platforms were abysmal. In fact, the 2020 Olympics became the least-watched ever, including both the Summer and Winter Games.

Related: Olympic Ratings Are Abysmal And Advertisers Are Not Happy About It

According to Sports Media Watch, the Tokyo Summer Olympics averaged 15.6 million viewers per night across NBC’s platforms. The primetime average from Tokyo marked a 42% decline from the previous Summer Games in Rio.

The 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang held the previous record for the least-watched ever averaging 19.8 million. The Tokyo Games averaged over 4 million fewer viewers, which is not good, not good at all.