Yospace has released data showing insights into ad traffic during Paris 2024.
Gathering information from broadcasters across four continents, the dynamic ad insertion company showed that it stitched 4 billion one-to-one addressable ads during the Games’ 19 days. The company’s Side Server Ad Insertion (SSAI) solutions enabled users to handle the unpredictable nature of the Games, from high-traffic events to sudden surges across pop-up channels.
The findings revealed viewing surges during key moments such as swimming and track finals, with an afterglow effect leading to long streaming sessions as news spread, often increasing traffic after the results had been decided. Ad breaks 10-15 minutes after the event often received more views than those immediately prior to the start.
Significant surges were reported for both the Men’s and Women’s 100 metre Finals, with higher ad viewership both before and after the races.
There were also unexpected standout events, for example the kayak cross event, which was debuted in Paris, saw an 8 per cent spike in traffic despite only lasting for 1 minute 15 seconds.
Local competitors had an effect in their own regions, with traffic boosted in countries that had a representative in the events. French swimmer Leon Marchand’s performance in the Men’s 200m Butterfly drove a 14.7 per cent surge in ad views in some countries, with viewers remaining over the following two hours as his second gold delivered the most watched ad break of the session.
Tim Sewell, CEO at Yospace, said: “These trends show that, for the streaming and adtech industry, the Olympics are all about seizing the key moments. Events like the kayak cross final, which can unfold in a flash, demonstrated how quickly these audience spikes can occur and how crucial it is to react instantly to capitalise on the advertising potential. With the event spanning just 1 hour and 30 minutes from quarter-final to gold medal, there’s little room for error — every second counts for advertisers looking to engage with the most captive audiences.”
