Sports
Nearly 29 Million Tune In for Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics attracted nearly 29 million viewers on Friday night, marking the highest viewership since the 2012 Games.
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Why it matters: Ratings for the Olympics had suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving uncertainty about whether they would recover.
In contrast, the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 saw a 33-year low with only 17.9 million viewers for its opening ceremony. The following year's Beijing Winter Olympics also faced significant viewership declines, with pandemic restrictions limiting spectator attendance.
Zoom in: The Paris opening ceremony set a record as the most-watched live event ever on NBCU's streaming service, Peacock, drawing 28.6 million viewers across both NBC and Peacock, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. Additionally, 666,000 viewers tuned in via Telemundo Deportes.
This figure surpasses the 26.5 million viewers for the Rio 2016 opening ceremony, NBC Sports reported.
The big picture: NBC is under significant pressure to deliver strong ratings for the Olympics, having invested heavily in the Games through a long-term contract. In 2014, NBC and its parent company, Comcast, committed $7.65 billion to secure media rights through 2032. NBC Sports has reported generating over $1.2 billion in advertising revenue for the Paris Games.
The opening ceremony also provided a boost for brands, with advertising during the event leading to a 320% increase in search volume compared to the Tokyo opening ceremony.
What to watch: The opening ceremony often serves as an indicator of how well the Olympics will perform on television over the subsequent two weeks of competition. The Paris Olympics, which began on July 26, will conclude on August 11.
