Damian Bazadona, Situation’s President & Founder, and I recently discussed the importance of the Olympics on building enthusiasm for the live events industry. There’s no question that the Olympic Games are a source of inspiration, joy, and connection for so many people across the country and around the globe. They’ve been playing in our office non-stop, and I’ve loved hearing the conversations sparked and seeing the camaraderie and excitement the Games have fostered, exemplifying the unifying power of live sports.

But the ongoing shifts in viewership trends, especially for linear TV, haven’t painted the prettiest picture in recent years. Remember when we talked about the value of measuring The Tony Awards’® live viewership in an increasingly online world? The Olympics, once guaranteed to be a ratings juggernaut, have seen declines in linear TV audiences over the last few cycles, and this year was no different. So the question becomes: How exactly do we best reach that audience and make an impact? And what learnings can we take away from this year’s Games for the future?

The Olympics remain a rare and important moment of monoculture, globally. But with the way viewership of live events has changed, Peacock had to evolve. So how did Peacock meet the moment?

• Access: In a move to adapt for the 2024 Paris Games, Peacock gave users unprecedented access to every minute of the Games via one of the most seamless user experiences I’ve personally had in recent memory. And don’t get me started on the fantastic inclusion of Gold Zone!
• Celebrity Hosts: NBC also went all-in on pop culture to attract non-traditional audiences. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Colin Jost, Kevin Hart, and others were brought in to cover events, bridging the gap between sports and mainstream entertainment. 
• Bite-Sized Content: The inclusion of an AI-powered highlights feed with the recreated voice of announcer Al Michaels added an innovative touch, enhancing the viewer experience and keeping fans in the app and engaged.

This year also brought significant appeal for advertisers as, for the first time, NBC sold Olympic ad inventory programmatically through private marketplace deals. This streamlined the buying process and allowed for more precise targeting and real-time optimization. 

I touched base with my colleague, Media Buying Specialist, Diego Diaz on this. As someone who oversees programmatic buying daily, Diego shared:

“This shift of live sports programming being available outside of traditional linear TV and in Connected TV environments (where consumers log into an account on a television) is a boon for advertisers and sports fans alike. As more and more folks cut the linear TV cord, advertisers have a newfound ability to leverage programmatic targeting data to find sports fans efficiently. This will essentially mean that a household watching sports will get ads that are more suited towards their interests. Improving upper funnel targeting leads to opportunities to enact lower funnel tactics, with data to prove conversion paths and return on investment. Better for fans, better for brands.” 

And with an event as high-profile as the Olympics, the ability for more brands to quickly place the right message in front of the right audience at precisely the right time at an efficient cost was a game changer.

Providing that fully integrated streaming experience driven by adapting to viewership habits clearly paid off.

An average of 34.5 million viewers tuned in over the first three days across both cable platforms and the Peacock app. A 79% viewership rise from the 2020 Tokyo Games where 19.3 million people were counted by the same metric. 

The viewership trend continued throughout and on Wednesday, August 7th, just about halfway through the Games, NBC announced streaming on Peacock and key NBCU digital platforms crossed 17-billion-minutes, nearly four times the total streaming minutes from the Tokyo Olympics, which had 4.48 billion minutes.

When the games concluded, Peacock reported subscribers streamed more than 23.5 billion minutes of the 2024 Games. That’s 40% higher than the total amount of minutes streamed of the 2020 Summer Games and 2022 Winter Games combined!

It’s clear that innovation in how we watch is ongoing and inevitable. And innovation and flexibility in how we market in real-time is essential. By staying attuned to these changes and adapting strategies accordingly, marketers can continue to connect with audiences in impactful ways. And it’s important to note that I’m not just talking about future Olympics. 

A recent DISQO report shared that almost two-thirds of sports viewers said they would subscribe to a streaming service to access their favorite sports programming. Case in point, Peacock had its biggest audience ever, 23 million viewers, this past January for the Chiefs-Dolphins wild-card game. 

The way we consume sports content is evolving rapidly. The 2024 Paris Olympics are an important study in how these shifts are unfolding and how we need to think about navigating them. The challenge and opportunity lie in understanding these shifts and crafting strategies that not only reach audiences where they are but also mirror the seamless, integrated experience they enjoy in the app – creating deeper connections and lasting impact across all platforms.