NBC's Paris Olympics coverage could boost Peacock streaming

The Paris Olympics will offer Comcast Another opportunity to boost its streaming platform, Peacock, as it aims to not only attract more subscribers but also retain them.

While these Olympics are the third since Peacock debuted in 2020, they are shaping up to be the first real opportunity for Comcast’s NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company, to use its long-standing U.S. media rights to boost the streaming service.

“In some ways, Comcast is starting from scratch, as this will be the first Olympics for Peacock since the pandemic and skewed time zones ruined the games,” said analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson. “But they've also had the opportunity to learn quite a bit, so they'll be much better prepared than before to capitalize on the Olympics.”

There are a handful of reasons why these Olympics seem like a better fit for Peacock than recent Games, such as the favorable time zone: Paris is six hours ahead of the US East Coast, versus 13 hours for Tokyo in 2021. The end of restrictions from the early days of the Covid pandemic is also a big factor, along with the appeal of the host city of Paris.

But most importantly, Peacock will stream the entire Summer Olympics for the first time.

“These were different times, as Peacock didn't have the rights to show the entire Olympics in 2021,” said Molly Solomon, executive producer of NBC's Olympics. “But we're in a different era of streaming with rights deals. Peacock is now the streaming home of the Olympics, and there are no limits whether you're a big fan or a casual fan, as everything will be available on Peacock.”

Some fans were confused during the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo about what exactly was available live on the streaming platform.

“I don't think you can make a very accurate comparison,” said Kelly Campbell, president of Peacock. “This will be the most comprehensive Olympic destination in U.S. history.”

The Olympics come at an important time for Peacock, as traditional media companies are pushing to make their streaming services retain customers and be profitable in a tumultuous industry landscape. Live sports, in particular, have drawn the most viewers to traditional television and online streaming.

The Olympics have long been an important part of NBCUniversal's sports portfolio. The relationship dates back to 1936, when NBC Radio covered the events. NBC first broadcast the games during the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Paris marks NBC's 18th Olympics. Comcast paid $7.65 billion to renew its broadcast rights deal through 2032.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drew the lowest audience ever for a Summer Games. The Beijing 2022 Olympics had the lowest audience ever for a Winter Games, which are notably smaller than the Summer Games.

Between the favorable time difference and the backdrop of France this year (for example, the opening ceremony will be broadcast Friday afternoon from the River Seine, equestrian teams will compete at the Palace of Versailles and beach volleyball will be played next to the Eiffel Tower), NBCUniversal and others are betting on a return to a large audience for the Olympics.

Most U.S. consumers expect to watch the Olympics this year: 60% will likely stream and 47% plan to watch on traditional television, according to a recent Numerator survey of more than 10,000 consumers.

Advertisers have also flocked to the Paris Games. NBCUniversal said in April that it had already sold more than $1.2 billion in advertising for the Summer Games, a record for the Olympics.

Ad-supported streaming services, including Peacock, and digital companies have seen an influx of advertising dollars as the market recovers.

While the competitions will take place live during the day in the US, NBC has dubbed the evening “Primetime in Paris” and will replay big events alongside in-depth programming such as interviews.

Overall, there will be more hours of the Olympics on NBC than in years past, and cable networks including USA will also offer plenty of live content. All events will be streamed live on Peacock and available to stream, so fans will be able to watch the entirety of the Games without a traditional cable subscription.

Additionally, American audiences are likely to tune in for events such as men's and women's basketball, which feature star-studded lineups; Simone Biles' final run with the gymnastics team; and the U.S. swim team's heated rivalry with Australia.

“I'm sure that basketball will tell its own story in terms of ratings and all the viewers, but [the] “The part about this that there's no guaranteed big win is something that's going to keep everyone watching when Team USA plays in men's basketball,” NBC's primetime and daytime Olympic host Mike Tirico said during a news conference this week, referencing the fact that the U.S. men's basketball team faces a tougher path than ever to a gold medal.

Live sports remain the last chance to attract large television audiences and for streaming services to sign up and retain their customers.

This has been especially true in the case of Peacock.

The streaming platform, which costs $7.99 with ads or $13.99 without, has benefited from its parent company’s sports rights portfolio. The National Football League, English Premier League, Nascar, Big Ten college football, golf and Spanish-language broadcasts of the World Cup have all played a role in customer retention.

Earlier this year, Comcast said the exclusive NFL Wild Card game on Peacock helped it add more customers than expected.

“We use the Wild Card game as a hook to attract millions of new subscribers, but we also use that opportunity to expose them to new content,” Campbell said. After a large number of viewers flock to watch a major sporting event, he said, 90% of what they watch afterward is entertainment.

According to TV data provider Antenna, over a three-day period, roughly 3 million people signed up to watch the NFL wild-card game on Peacock. Comcast had said it had retained more customers than expected from the game, and Antenna data showed that 71% of those customers remained subscribers seven weeks after the game.

The longevity of those customers, however, remains to be seen. Peacock had 33 million paying customers as of June 30, the company reported earlier this week. The total was about 500,000 fewer customers than in the period ending March 31.

Previous Olympics that aired on Peacock also saw a surge in registrations, according to Antenna data.

NBCUniversal has also deepened its commitment to sports, announcing this week an 11-year media rights deal with the NBA, including exclusive games on Peacock, beginning with the 2025-2026 season.

“None of this promises that Peacock is going to be a successful business,” Moffett said. “It doesn't change the fact that streaming is almost certainly a worse business than linear TV.”

“But I think it's much clearer now than before that Peacock's plan is all about sports,” he said.

In addition to thousands of hours of live events, Peacock will also offer reruns and its own original content. That includes a live-streamed show hosted by Alex Cooper, who hosts the popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” and “Gold Zone,” hosted by “NFL Red Zone’s” Scott Hanson and in a similar format.

“I wanted to try a companion show to 'Watch With,' where a popular personality would be watching along with the audience,” Solomon said. The expectation is that fans of Cooper, who is a former college football athlete, will tune in to the show, as well as fans of the Olympics. “We've picked some of the biggest events of the Olympics and we're hoping to create new fans.”

Peacock will also introduce an artificial intelligence feature for the Olympics. Users will be able to get daily highlights voiced by Al Michaels, the longtime Sunday Night Football host who is now part of Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcast.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics holds the U.S. broadcast rights to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.