Comcast’s streaming service Peacock managed to pull in nearly 3 million new subscribers during the first week of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, according to data furnished by tracking firm Antenna.
The data, which uses opt-in metrics from things like bank records and credit card charges, showed 2.8 million new customers signed up for a Peacock account during the last full week of July. The 2024 Summer Olympic Games were offered through Peacock and began with the Opening Ceremony on July 26.
Sign-up data for August was not immediately available.
Around 4 million streamers watched some or all of the Olympic Games daily on Peacock, according to The Desk‘s review of viewership data reported by Adobe Analytics and Comcast’s NBC Universal.
Peacock offered novel features during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, including live coverage of every competition, replays of all events, multiview and a whip-around channel called “Gold Zone” that offered live look-ins during key competitions.
The majority of people who watched the Olympic Games did so through traditional linear television channels, according to Nielsen data, which showed NBC’s daily average audience to be around 30 million. The games were available on NBC and cable networks CNBC, E!, Golf Channel and USA Network, with simulcasts available on Peacock.
Most Olympics viewership took place on NBC’s broadcast network itself, which offered live coverage of key events during what NBC Universal called “Paris prime-time,” as well as replay coverage during U.S. prime-time hours.
Broadcast executives who spoke with The Desk said NBC was an attractive destination for fans of the Olympics because the channel is available for free with a conventional antenna and offered most of the highly-anticipated competitions. They also said network affiliates offered localized news reports and special features that brought the games home to viewers, to include reports on hometown athletes who were competing on the international stage.
