Tokyo Olympics ratings climb to 19.8m after hitting 33 year low, but fall far short of 31.8m who watched Rio 2016 Games as Alaskan gold medalist swimmer Lydia Jacoby becomes breakout star and Simone Biles crashes out

Olympics TV ratings gathered steam to hit 19.8 million Sunday - but are still lower than they were during Rio 2016, after hitting a 33-year slump. 

Viewership of the Tokyo Games leapt 61 per cent between Friday and Sunday, with Sunday's coverage averaging out to 19.8 million. That was the largest increase ever in the first three nights of a Summer Olympics,' NBCUniversal said.

But the positive words came despite Sunday's 19.8 million viewers - the latest figures available - falling far short of the 31.8 million who tuned in to the second night of the Rio 2016 Games.  

Sunday's figure was up 4.5 million from Saturday's prime-time broadcast, which saw 15.3 million watch as the competitions began. 

That was down from the 23.5 million who watched the first night of contests in Rio five years ago.  

But viewers are climbing steadily from the 12.3 million who watched Friday's eerie opening ceremony  highlights package, which was devoid of spectators because of COVID-19 precautions. Around twice as many people watched the Rio kick-off celebration in 2016. 

NBC said a further five million people watched the opening in real time using its online platforms. 

Those opening ceremony ratings also represented a sharp drop on the previous worst-watched opening ceremony, which saw 22.7 million turn in to see the 1988 Games kick off in Seoul, South Korea. 

Lydia Jacoby has become Team USA's latest breakout star after winning gold at the 100m women's breaststroke, as Olympics TV ratings start to climb 

There was further drama on Tuesday after gymnast Simone Biles, pictured competing on Monday, announced she was quitting the contest 

Primetime viewership for NBC's broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic Games picked up momentum Sunday, compared with a lackluster audience received during Friday's opening ceremony, the network revealed Monday

Primetime viewership experienced a 61% ratings jump from Friday through Sunday, with Sunday's coverage averaging out to 19.8 million - 'the largest increase ever in the first three nights of a Summer Olympics,' NBCUniversal said.

USA Gymnastics team stand together at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Simone Biles, pictured second from left, announced she was quitting the games on Tuesday 

Ariarne Titmus (pictured, right) is on track for another showdown with US star Kate Ledecky   in Tokyo after winning the women's 400m freestyle on Sunday

NBC said those results marked the first time since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, that the network's prime-time Summer Games delivered successive viewership increases from the opening ceremony through the first two nights of competition.

It also marked the largest television audience for any prime-time show since Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 7, according to NBC. 

However, the three-night climb for Tokyo began with a 33-year low.  

The size of NBC's audience Saturday and Sunday nights, including broadcast television and streaming, was down substantially, compared to previous games, including the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro drew 26.5 million viewers. That was in itself a vast decrease from the record-setting audience for London’s opener in 2012, which attracted 40.7 million viewers. The 2012 opener was directed by Oscar-winner Danny Boyle, and widely-hailed as one of the most original opening ceremonies of all-time. 

The size of NBC's audience Saturday and Sunday nights, including broadcast television and streaming, was down substantially, compared to previous games, including the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro .

According to The Wall Street Journal, the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro drew in 26.5 million viewers, a vast decrease from the record-setting audience for London’s opener in 2012, which attracted 40.7 million viewers.

The 12.3 million viewers who tuned into Friday's opening ceremony from Tokyo, marked the smallest U.S. audience for an Olympics opening since 1988, when 22.7 million tuned into the Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Sunday night's presentation from Tokyo, featured swimming, women's gymnastics, women's beach volleyball and the triathlon, averaged roughly 19.8 million prime-time viewers across all platforms, including NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app, according to Comcast-owned NBCUniversal.

It was unclear how much the deflated ratings might be a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Friday's scaled-down ceremony staged before fewer than 1,000 spectators inside the Olympic Stadium under strict social-distancing rules. 

Many TV viewers have claimed that the lack of cheering and crowd noise deadens the atmosphere, and makes the sporting contests less exciting to watch.  

Teen sensation Lydia Jacoby became the first American woman to strike gold in the Tokyo Olympic pool after winning the final of the women's 100-meter breaststroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Simone Biles remains on track to win six Olympic golds after successfully qualifying across all individual and team competitions, despite taking a backwards tumble after a botched dismount on the balance beams 

After being delayed a year due to COVID-19, a number of cases have already emerged among athletes and other people involved with the Games, including an alternate on the US women's gymnastics team, and an American men's beach volleyball player.  

In addition, six British Olympic athletes and two team staff are also self-isolating in Tokyo after being identified as close contacts of a passenger who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus on their plane to Japan.  

In addition, the director for the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony was fired over a decades-old comedy skit referencing the Holocaust, organizers said Thursday, in the latest blow for the pandemic-delayed Games.  

Viewership for big-event broadcasts has been trending downward in recent years among live sports and awards shows.  

Sunday night's presentation from Tokyo, featured swimming, women's gymnastics, women's beach volleyball and the triathlon. 

On Tuesday, teen sensation Lydia Jacoby became the first American woman to strike gold in the Tokyo Olympic pool on Tuesday.

She has become the first breakout star of Team USA after winning the women's 100 meter breaststroke.  

Jacoby's win came a day before USA Gymnastics darling Simone Biles failed to win a qualifying round for the first time since 2010, finishing second behind Russia. 

She has since quit the contest, despite establishing herself as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time after winning four gold medals in the Rio 2016 games.  

Team USA's medal haul now stands at 10 after the swimmers bagged six in their best ever first day in an Olympic finals, putting them third in the medals table behind China and Japan.