Media and entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Max streaming service has helped set record viewership numbers for the opening days of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The total unique streaming viewers for Paris 2024 on WBD’s streaming platforms have already exceeded those from the last summer Olympics (three years ago in Tokyo) after only day two in Paris.
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Day one and two of the Olympics were held on Saturday and Sunday (27 and 28 July) but sports events at the games commenced on July 24 with the opening ceremony held on July 26.
Across both Max and Discovery+, Paris 2024 has delivered almost one billion streaming minutes, more than seven times higher than at the same point of Tokyo 2020 and already representing 75% of the total minutes from those games.
The time viewers are spending on Max and Discovery+ is also significantly increased with average minutes consumed per viewer up 63% compared to Tokyo 2020 so far.
The opening weekend also saw WBD set a new record for retail gross subscriber acquisitions in a single day across Europe.
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By GlobalDataFive times more streaming viewers have watched Paris 2024 when compared to the same period of Tokyo 2020.
Max has accounted for 80% of the total streaming audience to date. Saturday saw a record number of streaming viewers for WBD at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, average linear television audiences on WBD’s pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport have increased in all major markets from Tokyo 2020 and are up 98% through the games so far.
The linear TV audience covers Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the UK.
Engagement on Eurosport’s websites, offering free Olympic news and short-form video, is also up more than 43%.
In the UK, unique viewers are up 256% compared to the same point in Tokyo 2020 on Discovery+, while total viewers on the platform for Paris 2024 have already exceeded the whole of Tokyo 2020, and streaming minutes (up to July 28) were up six times more than the last Olympics at the same point.
The first five days of live Paris 2024 coverage on Eurosport 1 in the UK have seen an increased average audience of 151% compared to Tokyo 2020 – whilst live coverage on Eurosport 2 has received five times more average audience.
The Eurosport 1 and 2 channels combined have over 168% more audience share over the last five days compared to the previous edition of the games.
The channels combined to reach 93% more viewers via Paris 2024 compared to the same point in Tokyo 2020.
Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, said: “There has been much anticipation for Paris 2024, so it is hugely rewarding to see the quality of our sports production and user experience of our streaming platform resonate so strongly with viewers across Europe.
“In only a few days, we’ve seen how the combination of premium sport and entertainment brings an audience together on all platforms.”
WBD initially launched Max in 20 European territories in May before rolling out in additional markets in June and July.
Broadcasting its first Olympics as Warner Bros. Discovery, the Paris games are being shown across nearly 50 markets in 19 languages on Max, Discovery+, and Eurosport.
Paris 2024 runs until the closing ceremony on August 11.
