American interest in watching the Paris Olympics next month appears to be up from the Tokyo 2021 edition, according to recent polling released by Seton Hall University and Nielsen Sports.
The Seton Hall poll, which surveyed 1,611 American adults between June 19-21, found that 59% of respondents plan to watch the Paris Olympics — up from 49% for Tokyo from a May 2021 poll. It also showed 63% were somewhat or very interested in the Olympics, more than the NFL (61%) and MLB (51%). Swimming was tied for the most popular sport with gymnastics.
Among self-described sports fans, the expected TV viewership is even higher at 75%, a boost from 65% ahead of the Tokyo 2021 edition.
“Clearly, interest in the Paris 2024 Olympic games is the strongest in recent years,” said Seton Hall professor Charles Grantham. “Beyond being in Paris, one of the most visited and famous cities in the world, these games feature a better time difference to see more competitions live, and less off the field distractions such as the pandemic (Tokyo 2021) or human rights concerns (Beijing 2022). This figures to be a sensational ratings success for NBC and its affiliates.”
Recent data from Nielsen Sports indicated only about 35% of Americans are interested in the Paris Olympics, but 58% intend to tune into NBC for the Summer Games from July 26 to August 11. Mexico, Spain, and Italy topped the list of countries with the highest levels of Olympic interest and intended viewership, according to Nielsen.
For the first time at a European Olympics, swimming finals in Paris will be broadcast live on network television in the United States.
In the past, NBC has saved the most anticipated events of the day for its primetime programming. But now swimming, gymnastics, and track and field will be televised live in the morning or late afternoon since Paris is six hours ahead of New York.
NBC will feature nine hours of weekday daytime coverage along with 11 hours on the weekends. Its streaming service, Peacock, will carry every sport and event live from July 26-Aug. 11, 2024. It will mark a dozen years since streaming first debuted at the London 2012 Olympics.
NBC is looking for a ratings rebound at Paris 2024 after the postponed Tokyo 2021 Olympics attracted an average of 15.6 million primetime viewers from cable and streaming combined — a 42% decrease from the Rio 2016 Olympics. The decline in viewership meant that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had less revenue to distribute than expected, leaving World Aquatics (then FINA) with $8 million less than anticipated. Beijing 2022 brought in a combined average of just 11.4 million viewers.
