briefs for Wednesday

SILVER SPRING, Md. – U.S. consumer confidence was largely unchanged between June and July, holding to the lofty heights that were last seen near the beginning of 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic throttled the U.S. and global economies.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index inched up in July to 129.1, above last month’s reading of 128.9.

It’s the sixth straight month that the measurement has risen.

The appraisal of current business conditions among Americans ticked up slightly to 160.3, from 159.6 in June. Short term expectations came in at 108.4, down from 108.5 last month.

Consumer spending makes up about 70% of all economic activity in the U.S., so economists pay close attention to the numbers for a better idea of what’s to come for the national economy.

Olympics losing viewership

NEW YORK – If there’s going to be a surge in viewership interest in the Tokyo Olympics, NBC Universal is still waiting.

For three straight nights, viewership for the Tokyo Games has been down more than 30% compared with the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

And, the network has been hit by a steady stream of bad news regarding American competitors.

The Nielsen company said 16.9 million people watched Sunday night’s coverage on NBC, down 43% from the corresponding night in Rio. Saturday’s audience of 12.6 million was down 39%.

From wire reportsThe numbers improve slightly when alternatives are figured in: People could follow the Olympics Sunday night not just on NBC, but also on USA, NBCSN, CNBC and live streaming.

Adding in those alternatives lifts NBC’s “total audience delivery” that night to 20 million.

Variety reported Tuesday that NBC Universal is already discussing “make goods” with advertisers, the traditional term for describing how extra ads are given to make up for viewership goals not being met.