Olympics 2024: The aftermath of digitalization and news coverage
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The Paris 2024 Olympics was not just a showcase of athletic prowess but also a groundbreaking event for digital engagement and media coverage. As the world gathered to witness incredible feats of sport, the Games also set a new standard for how audiences engage with major events in the digital age. With an estimated reach of two trillion readers and a massive presence across both traditional and digital media, the 2024 Olympics proved that the future of sports coverage is more interactive and immersive than ever before. From live blogs to social media, the digital footprint of these Games highlights a shift towards real-time, dynamic content that keeps audiences engaged and coming back for more.
News coverage: Over one million articles published
The Paris Olympics 2024 has set a new benchmark for digital presence and audience engagement, reflected in both traditional and digital media metrics. Over one million articles were published about the event, reaching an estimated global audience of two trillion readers. The top ten countries driving this media coverage include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Brazil, France, India, China, and Spain (Source: World Athletics)
Online engagement metrics were equally impressive. World Athletics reported over 15 million page impressions on its website during the Olympics, marking a 40% increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Games. This surge in digital traffic across platforms underscores the growing public interest in live coverage and whether these are through live blogs, news articles, short videos on social media and live broadcasts, for real-time updates.
Across the journalistic content palette:
Data from Chartbeat’s network indicates that total engagement with content created around the Paris Olympics 2024 increased more than 2x compared to the previous Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
“The Average Engaged Time started climbing during the opening ceremonies and peaked at more than 876,000 hours on August 2nd, the day Simone Biles won gold in all-around gymnastics and Léon Marchand won his fourth gold medal in a swimming event”, shares Chartbeat. Other observations about the 2024 Olympics specifically included:
- Total page views: 1.35 billion
- Page views peaked on August 2nd at about 89 million
- The average engaged time with Olympics content was 33.5 seconds
Live blogging events minute-by-minute:
National broadcasters and news outlets saw daily readership of their Olympic live blogs ranging from 2,600 up to 15,000 visitors on a given day. The format of live blogs providing timely updates and the amount of returning visitors coming back to check on latest updates demonstrate the evolving landscape of sports journalism where immediate and immersive coverage is key. Read our blog post to find out more about when a live blog makes most sense for your newsroom
Left to right: ABC News (Australia), NRK (Norway), Sky Sports (UK)
Television and Broadcast Streaming
The Olympics traditionally draw massive global audiences, and the 2024 Games were no exception. Although detailed final numbers are still being compiled, early reports indicate that the Games attracted a worldwide television audience in the billions, consistent with previous Olympics. Major broadcasters like NBC in the United States, BBC in the UK, and other global networks have reported strong viewership numbers.
30.6 million viewers
NBCUniversal, which holds the broadcast rights in the United States, reported a skyrocketing number of 30.6million viewership across both their television and streaming platforms, Peacock and NBC Sports.The network utilized a combination of traditional TV broadcasts, live streaming, and on-demand content to cater to various viewer preferences, ensuring wide accessibility and high engagement.
“From the most-watched Opening Ceremony since 2012 through last night’s Closing Ceremony, NBCUniversal posted a Total Audience Delivery* of 30.6 million viewers across the combined live Paris Prime (2-5 p.m. ET) and U.S. primetime (8-11 p.m. ET/PT) time periods – up 82% from Tokyo (16.9 million).” (Source: NBC Universal)
In Europe, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) provided comprehensive coverage across multiple member broadcasters, offering free-to-air television access in many countries, which significantly boosted viewership numbers.
“More than 215 million viewers across Europe, up 23% from Tokyo 2020, on all platforms.” (source: Sportpromedia)
Digital Platforms and Streaming:
The digital footprint of the Paris Olympics was substantial, with live streaming services playing a key role. NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service, for example, saw millions of viewers tuning in for live events, replays, and highlights. Social media platforms also played a crucial role in real-time updates and interactions, with billions of impressions generated on platforms like Instagram, Twitter (now X), and TikTok.
Claiming social media channels
Social media played a significant role in the viewership and engagement for the Paris 2024 Olympics.The International Olympic Committee had minutiously planned out all the factors to enable and maximize the games sharing across digital platforms and to reach to millions of followers worldwide, all while considering localisation of languages and of popular social media channels in various countries.
As a result, the amount of social media activities related to the Olympic games reached an impressive number.
On its social media channels the World Athletics organisation alone witnessed the following:
- 543,000 new followers
- More than 1200 posts
- 42 million views
- 217 million impressions
- 12.5 million engagements
But not only during the olympics – Nielsen rightly points at a very large popularity and social media influence of some of the biggest athletes that were heading to Paris and shared follower numbers ahead of the games.
These figures demonstrate not only the broad appeal of popular athletes and the Olympic games, but also the substantial digital footprint left by the 2024 games, illustrating the global audience’s strong engagement with news and live updates throughout the event.
It’s a wrap!
As the dust settles on the Paris 2024 Olympics, one thing is clear: the landscape of sports journalism and audience engagement has forever changed. The substantial digital footprint, from live blogs and streaming services to social media interactions, underscores a growing demand for real-time content and continuous updates. This shift is not just a trend but a signal of what’s to come.
Future sporting events will likely see even greater integration of digital platforms, providing audiences with unprecedented access and interaction. The success of the 2024 Games in leveraging these technologies points towards an exciting future where the boundary between viewers and the event continues to blur, fostering a deeper connection and enthusiasm for global sports.
As we look forward to the next Olympic Games, the lessons from Paris 2024 will undoubtedly shape how audiences experience and engage with the world’s biggest sporting events.
