NBC's Peacock is being put to the test through the Paris Olympics to determine if sports can attract subscribers.

• Peacock, NBCUniversal's four-year-old streaming service, aims to profit from the Paris Summer Olympics.
• NBCUniversal has planned exclusive content for the Summer Games on Peacock, marking the first time the entire event will be offered on the streaming service.
• The Paris Olympics are expected to cause a similar increase in subscribers for Peacock, as live sports have been particularly popular on the platform during big events.

Peacock, the streaming platform of NBCUniversal, will have another opportunity to increase its subscriber base and retain them during the Paris Olympics.

For the first time, NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, can utilize its long-standing U.S. media rights to enhance its streaming service during this Olympics, which marks the third since Peacock's debut in 2020.

"According to analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson, while Comcast is starting with a clean slate as this will be the first Olympics for Peacock since the games were disrupted by the pandemic and time zones, they have also had the opportunity to learn and will be better prepared to capitalize on the Olympics than before."

The Olympics in Paris are expected to be more advantageous for Peacock compared to previous Games due to several reasons. These include the favorable time zone, with Paris being six hours ahead of the East Coast in the U.S., compared to 13 hours for Tokyo in 2021. Additionally, the end of Covid restrictions and the allure of the host city of Paris contribute to this positive outlook.

For the first time, the entirety of the Summer Olympics will be broadcast on Peacock.

"During the 2021 Olympics, Peacock did not have the rights to show all of the events. However, with the current era of streaming and rights deals, Peacock is now the streaming platform for the Olympics. Both super fans and casual viewers can access all events on Peacock without any limitations."

During the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, some fans were perplexed about the live streaming platform's content.

""Kelly Campbell, president of Peacock, stated that there is no great comparison for the upcoming Olympic destination in the U.S. history," said Kelly Campbell, president of Peacock."

The Olympics are crucial for Peacock, as legacy media companies are striving to maintain their customers and achieve profitability amidst a volatile industry environment. Traditional TV and streaming platforms have garnered the highest viewership due to live sports.

Olympics TV gold

NBCUniversal has a long-standing relationship with the Olympics, dating back to 1936 when NBC Radio covered the events. The company first broadcast the games during the 1964 Summer Olympics.

NBC's 18th Olympic Games will be held in Paris. Comcast renewed its media rights deal with NBC through 2032 for $7.65 billion.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed to 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, drew the lowest-ever audience for the Summer Games. The Beijing Olympics in 2022 had the lowest viewership ever for the Winter Games, which are notably smaller than the Summer Olympics.

The Olympics are expected to attract large viewership this year due to the favorable time difference and the picturesque backdrop of France, with events such as the opening ceremony, equestrian competitions at the Palace of Versailles, and beach volleyball next to the Eiffel Tower.

According to a survey of over 10,000 U.S consumers conducted by Numerator, a majority of consumers are anticipating watching the Olympics this year. Of those, 60% plan to stream the Games, while 47% intend to watch on traditional TV.

The Summer Olympics have attracted a record amount of advertising revenue with NBCUniversal selling over $1.2 billion in ads by April.

The market's rebound has led to an increase in ad revenue for ad-supported streamers, including Peacock, and digital companies.

In the U.S., competitions will be broadcast live during the day, while NBC has branded the evening as "Primetime in Paris" and will replay major events along with in-depth programming such as interviews.

The Olympics will have more hours of broadcast on NBC than ever before, and cable networks like USA will also have a lot of live content. Peacock will live-stream every event and allow fans to rewatch it later without a traditional cable TV subscription.

The U.S. audience is likely to watch men's and women's basketball, gymnastics, and swimming events, which feature star-studded lineups, including Simone Biles' final run and the U.S. swim team's rivalry with Australia.

According to NBC prime-time and daytime Olympic host Mike Tirico, the no-guaranteed-big-victory aspect of the U.S. men's basketball team's journey to a gold medal will keep everyone watching when they compete in men's basketball at the Olympics.

Peacock's sports playbook

Streaming services are still able to retain customers by attracting large TV audiences through live sports.

This has been especially true for Peacock.

The streaming platform, which costs $7.99 with ads or $13.99 commercial-free, has benefited from its parent company's portfolio of sports rights. The National Football League, English Premier League, Nascar, Big Ten college football, golf, and the Spanish-language broadcast of the World Cup have all played a role in keeping customers.

This year, Comcast announced that the NFL Wild Card game on Peacock attracted more customers than anticipated.

Campbell stated that we utilized the Wild Card game to attract millions of new subscribers and subsequently used that opportunity to introduce them to new content. After a significant number of viewers tune in for a major sporting event, she revealed that 90% of what they watch afterward is entertainment.

According to TV data provider Antenna, over three days, approximately 3 million individuals registered to view Peacock's NFL Wild Card game. Comcast reported that they retained more customers than anticipated from the game, and Antenna's data indicated that 71% of those customers remained as subscribers seven weeks after the game.

The number of Peacock's paid customers decreased by 500,000 from March 31 to June 30, resulting in a total of 33 million customers. It is uncertain how long these customers will remain with the company.

According to Antenna data, the prior Olympic Games that aired on Peacock resulted in an increase in sign-ups.

NBCUniversal has further strengthened its commitment to sports by signing an 11-year media rights agreement with the NBA, which grants Peacock exclusive access to NBA games starting from the 2025-2026 season.

"Moffett stated that streaming is likely to be a less profitable business than linear TV used to be, despite Peacock's potential success."

"Now, it's clearer than before that Peacock's plan centers on sports," he stated.

Peacock will provide replays and original content in addition to thousands of hours of live events. This includes a watch-along show led by Alex Cooper, who hosts the popular podcast "Call Her Daddy," and "Gold Zone," hosted by Scott Hanson of "NFL Red Zone" in a similar format.

"Solomon expressed interest in trying out a "Watch With" program featuring a popular personality, with the expectation that fans of Cooper, a former collegiate soccer athlete, would also tune in, along with Olympics fans. The program aims to showcase some of the biggest events in the Olympics and attract new fans."

An artificial intelligence function will be introduced by Peacock for the Olympics, allowing users to receive daily recaps in the voice of Al Michaels, who is now part of Amazon's Thursday Night Football broadcast.

Disclosure: Comcast's NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.