Paris Olympics fuel Peacock surge in subscriptions

Field Level Media|published: Fri 1st November, 24:17 2024

A gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics is displayed during a media tour Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 at the newly-opened Goldfish Swim School in St. Johns, Fla. Five-time Olympic gold medalist, Ryan Murphy, and parents Pat and Katy run the family-owned swim-teaching business. The new 8,600-square-foot state-of-the-art facility is geared for swimmers 4 months to 12 years old, though older first-time swimmers would be considered, according to Pat.

Peacock parent company Comcast reported Thursday that its streaming service added 3 million subscribers during its live broadcast of the Paris Olympics.

Comcast, which also owns NBC Sports, said it made $32.1 billion in total revenue during the third quarter, which was boosted by Peacock's 9 percent subscription growth from the prior quarter. Peacock now has 36 million subscribers and saw its revenue jump 82 percent to reach $1.5 billion.

"It was probably the proudest moment that I can think of since we've owned NBCUniversal, or certainly right up there," Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said. "Just a tremendous team effort, really bringing the whole country into the drama. ... We really look forward to (Los Angeles) in four years, we've got Milan in between (in 2026), and we go on from there."

After the prior two Games were marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, viewership jumped 82 percent from the 2021 Olympics that were held in Tokyo. The Paris Games averaged 30.6 million viewers in the U.S. -- the most for the Olympics since 2012 -- on NBCU platforms. The earnings report Thursday was the first since the Paris Olympics, which lasted 17 days.

The next Winter Games are scheduled to be held in Milan in February 2026. Los Angeles is set to host the Summer Games in July 2028.

--Field Level Media