Record Viewership for 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris achieved a remarkable average of 30.6 million viewers across NBCUniversal's platforms, representing an 82% increase in viewership compared to the Tokyo Games. This surge makes the Paris Games the most-streamed Olympics in history, with a staggering 23.5 billion minutes of streaming time recorded—an increase of 40% over all previous summer and winter Games combined. NBCU's "Paris Prime" viewing slots attracted 4.1 million daily viewers, underscoring the event's ability to unite the American audience, according to NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel. The men's basketball gold medal match, where the US triumphed over France 98-87, drew an impressive 20.3 million viewers, marking the highest viewership for a gold medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The success of the streaming service Peacock, which launched in 2020, was particularly notable, as it streamed up to 60 simultaneous live events during the Games' first week and over 3,200 events in total. The platform's multiview feature, allowing viewers to watch multiple events at once, was utilized by over a quarter of its audience. In contrast to the Tokyo Games, which suffered from a year-long delay and a lack of live audience, the Paris Olympics revitalized interest in the event. NBCUniversal's investment in sports broadcasting, including securing future NBA rights, is expected to bolster subscriptions and revenue, especially following the Olympics' successful presentation. The Olympics also positively impacted NBCU's other programming, with "NBC Nightly News" averaging 7.6 million viewers and the "Today" show attracting 3.1 million viewers during the two-week event. While specific subscription numbers for Peacock have not been disclosed, the company anticipated a significant increase in signups as viewers flocked to the platform for Olympic content.