The Olympics proved to be a massive windfall for NBCUniversal, as the media giant announced that the Paris Games pulled in a combined 30.6 million viewers across its platforms.
According to Comcast, NBCU’s parent company, the number is an 82% increase in viewership compared to the Tokyo Games in 2021 — making the Paris Olympics the most-streamed Olympics ever.
On Monday the company revealed that 23.5 billion minutes of airtime was streamed, with the programming during “Paris Prime” being watched by 4.1 million viewers daily across all of NBCU’s platforms. “Paris Prime” events usually occurred during afternoon hours in the U.S.
The Olympics reestablished its unique power to reassemble the American media audience,” said Gary Zenkel, NBC Olympics president. “That shared experience extended over 17 consecutive days across NBC, Peacock, NBCU’s linear channels, and in short form on social and digital channels, as America rallied around the 594 Team USA athletes and their stories.”
NBCU’s coverage of the Paris Games started with a boost during the opening ceremonies and captivated viewers as gymnastics, swimming, track and field and basketball were among the most anticipated events.
The men’s basketball gold medal game on Saturday between the U.S. and France proved to be a stunner, with the American beating France 98-87 due to the heroics of Stephen Curry. The game drew 20.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock and was the most-watched gold medal game since the Atlanta Games in 1996.
NBCU’s ratings bump were largely because of its streaming platform, Peacock, which launched in 2020.
Peacock streamed up to 60 simultaneous live events during the first week of the Games, according to Comcast, and up to 300 live events per day.
The Games marked a groundbreaking moment for Peacock, which delivered a flawless user experience and cutting-edge innovation while shattering all-time Olympics streaming records,” said Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. “USA Network went around-the-clock and ranked #1 in cable sports and entertainment for the past two weeks.”
Peacock also allowed viewers to take advantage of features specific to the platform, including its multiview, which allows for the simultaneous watching of multiple events. According to Comcast, one-quarter of its Olympics viewers on Peacock used the feature.
—
