NBC's strategy for the 2024 Olympics has paid off so far

from Comcast NBCUniversal has long been betting on the Olympics, but this summer the company put all its resources into the Games in an attempt to capture more viewers, especially for its growing streaming platform, Peacock.

So far, it appears to have paid off: More than 30 million people tuned into NBC's television and streaming platforms to watch the games, and a record $1.2 billion in advertising revenue was generated.

NBC executives, after touting the Olympics as a growth driver and differentiator in the increasingly crowded streaming and live sports landscape, are now looking to extend the benefit beyond the Games and into future live sports.

“We completely changed the game plan internally. We tore up the playbook two years ago,” said Jenny Storms, NBCUniversal's chief entertainment and sports marketing officer. “At the time, it was very scary to take the institutional knowledge that we had for so long and rip it up and start over. We really started fresh and new across the board, from production to counterparts across the company.”

The Olympics have long been a key event for NBCUniversal. Paris was the 18th edition of the Olympics broadcast by NBC in the United States. The company renewed the rights in 2014, agreeing to pay $7.65 billion for the Games between 2022 and 2032, which is more than $1.2 billion for each one.

Just before Paris, efforts had failed. The Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022 Olympic Games attracted the lowest audiences ever for a summer and winter Games, respectively.

Storms noted that there were factors at play in those last two Olympics that were largely outside of NBCUniversal's control.

Both Games were caught up in the early stages of the pandemic. Tokyo was postponed for a year and fans and families were not present at either Games. The time difference with respect to Asia also hampered broadcasting in the United States.

But Peacock’s strategy during those Games appeared to be the biggest mistake. In Tokyo, very few events were available to stream live on Peacock. In Beijing, the live content was there, but fans had trouble finding what they wanted to watch.

“We made the claim that Peacock would be the home of the Olympics, but we didn’t exactly deliver,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. “We were nervous about how much content to put on there, how to schedule it and how to distribute it across channels.” [with traditional TV]. And fans rightly told us that we didn't deliver on what we said we would do.”

Executives across the company have credited Paris with the success of this year's Olympics, between the eye-catching scenery (with the opening ceremony on the Seine River and beach volleyball played in front of the Eiffel Tower, to name a few) and the favorable time zone that plays into NBC's hands.

The company also began promoting the Olympics much earlier this time around, employing various parts of NBCUniversal to get the word out, from news programs and talk shows to various forms of advertising, Storms said.

Both Storms and Lazarus also highlighted the success of broadcasting the Olympic trials in the weeks leading up to the games.

“We've never pushed too hard with testing before,” Storms said. “But these were the most live-streamed tests in history and it was important to get Americans fired up.”

And then there was the star factor of NBCUniversal's internal roster.

According to executives, the company used its own talent more strategically in 2024. In addition to airing content promos, NBC celebrities were integrated into the events themselves, co-hosting and reporting from the sidelines. Fan favorite Snoop Dogg, a special correspondent for NBC Olympics, generated buzz on social media and drew more eyeballs to the live events. And his prominent presence in Paris helped promote his upcoming role on NBC’s “The Voice” this fall.

“We had a great experience with Snoop, we're definitely in the Snoop business with 'The Voice' and we look forward to being in the Snoop business in the future,” Lazarus said, adding that NBCUniversal does not yet have a commitment to Snoop Dogg for future Olympics.

Other NBC talent also attended the Games to promote their projects. Mariska Hargitay, who has played the character Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU” since 1999, was in Paris promoting the show’s 26th season. Several “Saturday Night Live” cast members were in attendance, including Colin Jost, who covered surfing in Tahiti and had to pull out early due to health issues.

NBC and Peacock shows were also promoted at the Games, and Universal's upcoming film “Wicked” was often highlighted, with stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo appearing on the Opening Ceremony red carpet.

The “Wicked” cast also lent their voices to a promotional spot featuring U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, and an exclusive clip from the film aired during the “Today” show from Paris. NBC said that among movie viewers, “'Wicked' gained ground on every measure during the Olympics, doubling our level of awareness in viewers' minds and increasing overall awareness,” according to a survey.

Arguably no NBC property shined brighter during the Olympics than the streaming platform, Peacock.

Thanks in large part to Peacock, 23.5 billion minutes of the Olympics were streamed, 40% more than all previous Summer and Winter Olympics combined, according to a statement.

“Peacock met all the requirements we had previously provided,” Lazarus said.

In addition to having all the live coverage, exclusive shows like “Gold Zone,” hosted by “NFL Red Zone’s” Scott Hanson, gave fans more viewing options throughout the day. There were also features designed exclusively for the Olympics, like an AI feature featuring daily highlights voiced by Al Michaels, a longtime voice of NFL highlight reels.

According to data provider Antenna, an estimated 2.8 million consumers signed up for Peacock during the first week of the Summer Games, averaging nearly 400,000 daily subscribers. That figure nearly matched the subscriptions generated by Peacock’s exclusive NFL Wild Card game in January, according to Antenna. The game is considered the most-streamed live event in history with 27.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

While Comcast recently reported that Peacock had 33 million paying customers as of June 30 (down 500,000 from the prior period, and largely attributed to the loss of customers who left after the Wild Card game), analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson said it’s worth highlighting the customers who remained since the Wild Card game.

“I suspect they will have the same experience with the Olympics,” Moffett said. “No doubt some of those customers will leave, but there are likely to be many more who will stay.”

Still, traditional television made up the bulk of viewership during the Paris Games: Nearly 90% of viewers watched the games on broadcast and cable channels, Lazarus said. Aided by the more favorable time zone, NBC aired live events on TV and Peacock during the day and rebranded the evening broadcast as “Primetime in Paris,” rehashing the big events with supplemental programming and interviews.

The strategy used in Paris will serve as a roadmap for future Olympics (Milan Winter in 2026 and Los Angeles Summer in 2028) as well as other live sports broadcast on NBC and Peacock's television networks, executives said.

Shortly after the 2024 Olympics, new seasons for the English Premier League, American college football and the National Football League will begin. NBC will also hold the rights to National Basketball Association matches starting with the 2025-2026 season.

“I think Peacock is getting a lot more sophisticated, as we've seen with the Olympics, in how they can do sports coverage,” said Shirin Malkani, co-president of the sports industry group at Perkins Coie.

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.