The article talks a lot about the sentiment towards China, and the covid protocols. I'm sure these are factors, but I think an important point that's not really covered is that right now a lot of people just aren't interested in the Olympics. The war for attention, plus the fact we've mostly been sitting at home for two years, has eroded many people's interest. So has demographic and TV consumption shifts overall. When I was younger, I knew the names of all kinds of Olympians competing for my country. I'd be challenged to name one now.
Edit: also just realized this thread is going on discussing the same thing, making this one largely redundant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30234367