Tarnished Olympics? NBC blasted for blunders as ratings tumble

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US takes the lead as Summer Olympics open in Rio

2016 Olympic summer games are underway in Rio, as Team USA looks to build on early momentum and add to medal count

Is NBC's Olympics coverage the worst ever?

Viewers are slamming the network for controversial commentary from announcers as well as endless commercial breaks and tape delays from Rio.

And the early ratings should give NBC bigwigs reason to worry as numbers have slipped dramatically from previous Olympics.

Dan Hicks was called out for sexism when he said Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu's husband Shane Tusup, who is also her coach, was "the man responsible" for her world-record breaking gold medal performance in the 400 meter individual medley.

In one outraged tweet, viewer Lauren Rankin wrote, "Newsflash. It was Hosszu in the pool. It was Hosszu who smashed a world record. But her husband is the one responsible for it? That's sexist."

Announcer Hicks later explained Hosszu herself has credited Tusup for his support.

While Hicks admitted, "With live TV, there are often times you look back and wish you had said things differently," he added, "It is impossible to tell Katinka's story accurately without giving appropriate credit to Shane, and that's what I was trying to do."

But Hicks isn't the only NBC reporter raising eyebrows in Rio.

Many critics disagreed and also cringed when NBC's Jim Watson said of the U.S. women's gymnastics team members, speaking to each other on the sidelines, "They might as well be standing around at the mall."

And as FOX411 has reported, social media erupted when gymnastics announcer Al Trautwig implied that Simone Biles' parents through adoption aren't really her parents.

The Olympics standout, 19, and her sister were adopted by their maternal grandfather, Ron Biles, and his wife, Nellie, in 2000. However, during NBC's Sunday gymnastics coverage, Trautwig referred to Ron and Nellie as her grandparents.

When a woman told Trautwig via Twitter he should call them Simone's "parents," Trautwig tweeted back, "They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents."

Biles' coach Aimee Boorman complained on Twitter: “@AlTrautwig actually they are her parents.”

Trautwig deleted his tweet and apologized in an NBC statement: "I regret that I wasn’t more clear in my wording on the air... To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone’s parents."

NBC said in a statement, "We became aware of the situation...and addressed it with Al quickly."

Meanwhile, viewers have blasted an opening ceremony that caused critics to re-name NBC "Nothing But Commercials"; Matt Drudge took to Twitter to complain that there were an astounding five commercial breaks in the first 30 minutes of the ceremony.

And although Rio is only an hour ahead of American East Coast time, the marquee events, including gymnastics, are being shown on tape delay, forcing many viewers to stay up until midnight.

As frustrated fan Emily Donahue tweeted on Monday night, "is there a way to tell when gymnastics will actually be aired on TV? I've been waiting for almost three hours."

But John Miller, NBC Olympics chief marketing officer, claimed (a month before the Olympics) that the female demographic drove the pre-tape decision.

Miller said, "The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the [Olympic] games than men, and for the women, they're less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. It's sort of like the ultimate reality show and mini-series wrapped into one."

A user with the Twitter handle Teresa fumed, "Saying women want the olympics to be a reality show is one of the most sexist things I have ever heard."

Although previous Olympics broadcasts have also faced criticism, NBC execs might have reason to wonder if the network's approach isn't working in the fast-paced social media age; ratings for the summer sports spectacular are the worst in years.

According to Deadline, opening weekend numbers showed the Rio games are way behind 2012, 2008, and even 1992 in total primetime viewers.