Paris games already proving a boon to NBC

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Media Writer

Less than a week into the Paris Olympics, NBC Universal executives are climbing atop the medal stand.

The event has been a significant success for the company broadcasting and streaming it in the United States. NBC already has set a record for advertising revenue, viewership is up significantly and its biggest fear — that people would tune out NBC’s prime-time telecast because they could watch events live during the day — hasn’t materialized.

Related: Check out our full coverage of the 2024 Olympics

“Clearly, the Olympics are back,” Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group, said Thursday. A strong performance by the U.S. team has helped, he said.

Surfing - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 2
American actor and screenwriter Colin Jost films a segment as he covers Olympic surfing in Tahiti for NBC on July 28, 2024 in Teahupo’o, French Polynesia. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) 

It’s a relief to NBC, after the Beijing Winter Games in 2022 and COVID-19-delayed Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 were comparative duds. Through five days beginning with Friday’s opening ceremony, the company averaged 34 million people a day watching on NBC, cable networks and Peacock, up from 19 million over the same period in Tokyo.

The company said it has taken in more than $1.25 billion in advertising revenue, its best-ever for an Olympics, and still has more time to sell.

“It’s hard to paint it as anything but rosy,” said Andy Billings, a University of Alabama journalism professor and author of “Olympic Television: Inside the Biggest Show on Earth.”

Even though they are reruns, the prime-time telecasts can be easier to watch because they cut out some of the dead time, Billings said. NBC said it didn’t have statistics yet on double-dippers — people who may have seen an event live then watched it again in prime time.

NBC said the number of people streaming “Gold Zone” on Peacock — a whip-around feed that takes viewers to different high-profile events, modeled after pro football’s “Red Zone” show — has doubled since it premiered on Saturday.

If NBC Universal can keep a significant number of people who subscribed to Peacock for the Olympics from cancelling when the torch is snuffed out, that could make the difference between a success and a smash for the company, Billings said. So far, Peacock has avoided the technical glitches that plagued it in Tokyo.

The network is standing by its decision to make the Olympics more celebrity-focused, saying it creates a social media buzz that helps its telecasts. Cameras frequently catch movie and sports stars alike rooting on Olympic athletes from the stands.

“The only surprise so far is that a Kardashian hasn’t made it to one of the events yet,” wrote Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s still early.”

2024 Team USA Media Summit
A view of bread with NBC logos and the Olympic Rings at The TODAY Show at Rockefeller Plaza on April 17, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images for the USOPC) 

Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning’s performance during the opening ceremony illustrated how it’s a challenging job even for professional broadcasters. Solomon said roving correspondent Snoop Dogg’s reception from fans and athletes alike has been positive, so expect plenty more airtime from him.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by his popularity, but you never underestimate Snoop Dogg,” Solomon said. “He’s this wonderful mix of swagger and positivity.”

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

Originally Published:

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Swift Telecast is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – swifttelecast.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a Comment