Figures released by both Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) and the BBC show record audiences for Paris 2024.
Following the launch of its Max service in 25 European countries, WBD saw record levels of engagement across all platforms including free-to-air, pay-TV and streaming throughout the tournament. Across Europe, more than 215 million people viewed Olympics content on WBD’s platforms, said the company, an increase of 23 per cent over Tokyo 2020.
More than 7 billion minutes were streamed over the course of the Games, a sixfold increase on Tokyo 2020, with Max and Discovery+ subscribers streaming 600 million minutes in one day on 4th August.
Subscription numbers exceeded Tokyo after four days of competition in France, said WBD, with 27th July marking the company’s highest ever number of new paid subscribers in a single day in Europe. “Significant growth” was reported across all major European markets.
The company also saw average linear television audiences double those of Tokyo 2020 with audience shares of more than 80 per cent for a number of events across Free-to-Air (Finland, Norway and Sweden) and Eurosport’s pay-TV network.
Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director, Warner Bros. Discovery U.K & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, said: “Paris 2024 has again demonstrated the value of bringing premium sport and entertainment together to drive audience and engagement at scale. We’ve maximised this opportunity at these Games, delivering world-class production featuring outstanding on-screen experts and local country storytelling that has again proven to be a winning combination. Max has proven to be a game-changer for sports viewing with an enhanced product experience and new interactive features which encouraged more subscribers to come on platform and stay engaged for longer.”
BBC Sport more than doubled its figures over the Tokyo Olympic Games, with its Paris 2024 content streamed 218 million times. In addition to the 12.2 million people who signed into BBC iPlayer to view coverage, BBC One enjoyed “consistently high viewing figures,” said the corporation. Some 59 per cent of the UK population (36.1 million) watched the Games on BBC TV, with a peak of more than 6 million on 14 separate days. BBC One’s live coverage of the Closing Ceremony was watched by an audience of 7 million.
Director of BBC Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, said, “The Paris 2024 Olympic Games during this remarkable summer of sport has seen some truly incredible medal moments and we have witnessed a host of new sport stars emerge on an international level. With world-class on-air performances and production, BBC Sport has been there to champion the athletes and to take the audience on a journey across multiple sporting disciplines. It is not an easy job, but these figures across digital, linear, online and audio demonstrates that BBC Sport’s unique multiplatform offer is capable of uniting the nation with the very best of British storytelling.”
