NBCUniversal Wins Gold Medal at Paris Olympics: Ratings Soar 82%
Forget Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Coco Gauff. The real gold medal winner for Team U.S. at the Paris Olympics was Comcast and NBCUniversal. The media giant is celebrating a major triumph with its coverage of the 2024 Games. The two weeks of sports on the Seine attracted a combined average of 30.6 million viewers across NBCU’s platforms, marking an impressive 82% increase in viewership compared to the Tokyo Games. This achievement makes this year’s Olympics the most-streamed Games of all time.
NBCU reported a remarkable 23.5 billion minutes of streamed content, a 40% increase over all previous Summer and Winter Games combined. The “Paris Prime” — afternoons and prime time in the U.S. — brought in 4.1 million daily viewers on Peacock and NBCU’s digital platforms. Additionally, Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage saw a 26% rise in viewership compared to 2021.
Gary Zenkel, President of NBC Olympics, credited the Games with uniting the American media audience through the extensive coverage of the 594 Team USA athletes and their stories. “That shared experience extended over 17 consecutive days across NBC, Peacock, NBCU’s linear channels, and also in short form on social and digital platforms,” Zenkel noted.
The men’s basketball gold medal game, where the U.S. defeated France 98-87, was a standout event, averaging 20.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. This made it the most-watched gold medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Peacock, Comcast’s streaming service launched in 2020, played a significant role in this success. Despite facing stiff competition from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Peacock showcased its capabilities by streaming up to 60 simultaneous live events during the Games’ first week, with a total of over 3,200 live events. New features like Peacock Discovery Multiview and the A.I.-powered “Daily Olympic Recap” enhanced the viewing experience, with more than a quarter of viewers using the multiview feature.
This increase in viewership contrasts sharply with the Tokyo Olympics, which experienced a record-low average viewership of 15.6 million due to pandemic-related delays and the absence of in-person audiences.
NBCUniversal’s big investment in 2024, like getting NBA broadcast rights, is expected to increase subscriptions and ad revenue. Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, pointed out the financial success, saying, “We sold more ads for the Paris Olympics than for any other Games and delivered for all our partners.”
As NBCU enjoys this success, the challenge will be to retain the surge in Peacock subscriptions and sustain this momentum in the competitive streaming market.
Source: Cnn
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Forget Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Coco Gauff. The real gold medal winner for Team U.S. at the Paris Olympics was Comcast and NBCUniversal. The media giant is celebrating a major triumph with its coverage of the 2024 Games. The two weeks of sports on the Seine attracted a combined average of 30.6 million viewers across NBCU’s platforms, marking an impressive 82% increase in viewership compared to the Tokyo Games. This achievement makes this year’s Olympics the most-streamed Games of all time.
NBCU reported a remarkable 23.5 billion minutes of streamed content, a 40% increase over all previous Summer and Winter Games combined. The “Paris Prime” — afternoons and prime time in the U.S. — brought in 4.1 million daily viewers on Peacock and NBCU’s digital platforms. Additionally, Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage saw a 26% rise in viewership compared to 2021.
Gary Zenkel, President of NBC Olympics, credited the Games with uniting the American media audience through the extensive coverage of the 594 Team USA athletes and their stories. “That shared experience extended over 17 consecutive days across NBC, Peacock, NBCU’s linear channels, and also in short form on social and digital platforms,” Zenkel noted.
The men’s basketball gold medal game, where the U.S. defeated France 98-87, was a standout event, averaging 20.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. This made it the most-watched gold medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Peacock, Comcast’s streaming service launched in 2020, played a significant role in this success. Despite facing stiff competition from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Peacock showcased its capabilities by streaming up to 60 simultaneous live events during the Games’ first week, with a total of over 3,200 live events. New features like Peacock Discovery Multiview and the A.I.-powered “Daily Olympic Recap” enhanced the viewing experience, with more than a quarter of viewers using the multiview feature.
This increase in viewership contrasts sharply with the Tokyo Olympics, which experienced a record-low average viewership of 15.6 million due to pandemic-related delays and the absence of in-person audiences.
NBCUniversal’s big investment in 2024, like getting NBA broadcast rights, is expected to increase subscriptions and ad revenue. Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, pointed out the financial success, saying, “We sold more ads for the Paris Olympics than for any other Games and delivered for all our partners.”
As NBCU enjoys this success, the challenge will be to retain the surge in Peacock subscriptions and sustain this momentum in the competitive streaming market.
Source: Cnn
Share:
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