NBC has abandoned its original plan for the 2024 Olympics, and the new approach has been successful so far.

• NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, devoted all its corporate resources to the Summer Olympics.
• Over 30 million viewers watched the event on NBC's TV and streaming platforms.
• The NBA and future Olympic events will likely employ many of the same strategies as executives have previously used for live sports.

NBCUniversal has consistently invested in the Olympics, but this summer the company intensified its efforts to boost viewership, particularly for its streaming service, Peacock.

The games have been a success, with over 30 million viewers and a record-breaking $1.2 billion in advertising revenue.

NBC executives are now seeking to leverage the Olympics' growth potential and distinguish themselves in the competitive streaming and live sports market by extending its benefits to future live sports events.

"NBCUniversal's chief marketing officer, Jenny Storms, revealed that the company completely changed its game plan internally two years ago by ripping up the playbook. Despite the fear of losing institutional knowledge, the company started over from scratch, rethinking everything from production to company-wide strategies."

The Olympics have been a crucial element to NBCUniversal for many years. The 18th Olympic Games broadcast in the U.S. by NBC took place in Paris. In 2014, the company renewed its rights to broadcast the Games, committing to pay $7.65 billion for the Games between 2022 and 2032, which amounts to more than $1.2 billion for each.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Olympics drew the lowest-ever audiences for Summer and Winter Games, respectively.

The last two Olympic Games had factors beyond NBCUniversal's control that affected the storms.

The early stage of the pandemic obscured both Games. Tokyo was delayed by a year, and neither games had fans or family present. Additionally, the time difference from Asia hindered U.S. broadcasts.

In Tokyo, Peacock's strategy for the Games was the biggest misstep, as only a few events were available to stream live. In Beijing, while live content was available, fans struggled to find what they wanted to watch.

"Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, admitted that their claim that Peacock would be the home of the Olympics was not entirely accurate. They were unsure about the amount of content to include, how to program it, and how to cross-deliver it with traditional TV. The fanbase rightly criticized them for not delivering on their promise."

NBC family plan

The success of this year's Olympics has been attributed to Paris by executives across the company, thanks to its stunning scenery, such as the Opening Ceremony on the Seine River and beach volleyball matches held in front of the Eiffel Tower, as well as the advantageous time zone that worked in NBC's favor.

NBCUniversal utilized various platforms to promote the Olympics earlier this time, including news programs, talk shows, and advertising, according to Storms.

The Olympic trials were aired before the games, and both Storms and Lazarus noted their success.

""Although we didn't exert much effort in the trials previously, they were the most viewed, and it was crucial to prepare America for them," Storms stated."

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

In 2024, the company utilized its own talent more effectively, according to executives. NBC A-listers were integrated into the events themselves, co-hosting and reporting from the sidelines. Snoop Dogg, a special correspondent for NBC Olympics, generated social media buzz and drew more eyes to the live events. Additionally, his stand-out presence in Paris helped promote his upcoming role with NBC's "The Voice" this fall.

Lazarus stated that we had a fantastic experience with Snoop and are now officially in the Snoop business with 'The Voice.' However, NBCUniversal has not yet made a commitment to Snoop Dogg for future Olympic events.

In addition to the NBC talent mentioned, other NBC talent also attended the Games to promote their projects. Mariska Hargitay, who has played Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: SVU" since 1999, was in Paris promoting the show's 26th season. Several "Saturday Night Live" cast members were present, including Colin Jost, who covered surfing in Tahiti and had to make an early exit due to health issues.

The NBC and Peacock shows were advertised at the Olympics, and Universal's "Wicked" film was frequently featured, with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo appearing on the Opening Ceremony red carpet.

During the Olympics, the "Wicked" actors voiced a promotional piece for Simone Biles, and an exclusive clip of the film was aired during the "Today" show from Paris. According to NBC, the movie gained ground among moviegoers, doubling its level of top of mind awareness and increasing total awareness.

Plumping up Peacock

Peacock was arguably the brightest NBC property during the Olympics.

The Olympics were streamed for 23.5 billion minutes, up 40% from all previous Summer and Winter Olympics combined, thanks to Peacock.

Lazarus stated, "We hadn't anticipated the delivery of a peacock in every way before."

In addition to live coverage, the Olympics provided exclusive shows and features for all-day viewing, including "Gold Zone" hosted by Scott Hanson and an AI function featuring daily recaps in the voice of Al Michaels.

During the first week of the Summer Games, approximately 2.8 million consumers signed up for Peacock, with an average of nearly 400,000 new subscriptions each day, according to data from Antenna. This sign-up rate was nearly equivalent to the number of consumers who signed up for Peacock's exclusive NFL Wild Card game in January, according to Antenna. The NFL Wild Card game is considered the most streamed live event in history, with 27.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson pointed out that it's worth noting the number of customers that remained with Peacock after the Wild Card game, despite a decrease of 500,000 paid customers from the prior period.

"Moffett predicted that some customers may depart, but they will likely retain a significant portion of their clientele."

During the Paris Games, nearly 90% of viewers watched on traditional TV, with NBC airing live events on TV and Peacock during the day and rebranding the evening broadcast as "Primetime in Paris."

The strategy employed in Paris will serve as the blueprint for the Milan Winter Olympics in 2026 and Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028, as well as other live sports broadcast on NBC's TV networks and Peacock, according to executives.

The 2024 Olympics will be followed by the new seasons of English Premier League soccer, American college football, and National Football League. Additionally, NBC will acquire the rights to broadcast National Basketball Association games starting from the 2025-2026 season.

According to Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at Perkins Coie, Peacock has become increasingly sophisticated in their sports coverage, as demonstrated by their coverage of the Olympics.

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.