NBC Asks Olympics To Reorder Parade Of Nations For Better American Ratings
Inside The Games, citing a report from Brazilian paper Agora São Paolo, says NBC has submitted a formal request to the Rio organizers that the 207 Olympic teams enter the Maracanã Stadium in English alphabetical order, instead of the Portuguese alphabetical order that is currently planned. (The opening ceremonies have always used the language of the host nation to set the order.)
Why? Well, in English, the United States team enters near the end. In Portuguese, the Estados Unidos team comes in at the start, and NBC is afraid its American viewers will tune out after that.