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.
They need to legalize all drugs. We really enjoy watching records broken. And I like looking at beefy women. Its down because Russia is not present. lol
Swimming and track & field are exciting and legit—but the IOC has largely ruined the sport with all the absurdly silly events that it has added in recent years to appeal to young people. It’s a freakin’ joke. Break-dancing is an Olympic event, as is BMX bike racing (looks like a kiddie race at the state fair), disc golf and 3v3 basketball. Why the IOC decided that it needed to include 3v3 basketball in the Olympics is anybody’s guess–but it’s utterly stupid. Still to come–I’m sure–jump roping and pick-up sticks.
I sure hope they add pick up sticks. That would be amazing! lol
I know that swimming will be played live in the US (so afternoon), but anyone know any details about the “prime time” showing? Like what time does that start? Will it just be a replay of the whole thing or is it going to be abridged (likely removing “boring semis” or those without Americans)?
Anyway – since there seems nowhere else to say it – *hint* maybe there should be permanent ‘US swim chat’, ‘AUS swim chat’, ‘CAN swim chat’ (etc where needed) threads on SwimSwam?
The AUS commentary team for Paris has been announced.
Mat Thompson (caller) – guess we can deal with him – he’s not the worst we have had since 2000
Cate Campbell – yay! – finally someone who has swum in the last decade
Ellie Cole – ok
Ian Thorpe – umm ok
Giaan Rooney – not that ok for me but would be tolerable if she only did post-race interviews
No matter what role they fill, I hope the last two do some recent… Read more »
Cate Campbell is so annoying as an American!! I hope the American have a bunch of cowbell now just to make her mad
Surprising considering so many were locked-down in 2021 and many would’ve watched two flies crawling up a wall for entertainment…
I think the biggest events do better when they’re peaks, not just washed in the constant stream of *television entertainment*.
Across the board I am a bit concerned by how little discourse there seems to be in introspecting about the pandemic and what actually happened to society during it.
The whole “sports must go on thing” I think deserves reexamination and discussion. At the time it was presented as a taste of normaly and entertainment for the masses, a symbol of human perserverance, and went ahead with little dissent.
But there’s something extremely uncanny about revisiting the 2021 and 2022 games and the empty sterile environments especially as they were built for mass attendance. They’re hardly a triumphic or happy images to look back on for the spectators, and it’s well documented that it wasn’t all that great for… Read more »
The reasoning in the provided argument presents a thoughtful critique but contains several flaws. It focuses heavily on the negative aspects of continuing sports during the pandemic without acknowledging potential benefits, such as the sense of normalcy and mental health benefits that sports provided to many people during a difficult time. This one-sided view weakens the argument.
Additionally, the argument assumes a widespread negative sentiment towards professional sports during the pandemic, without evidence to back this up. People’s opinions about sports during this period likely varied, and some may have viewed the continuation of sports positively.
The argument also relies on abstract concepts like “uncanny” and “sterile environments” without providing concrete evidence or examples, making it feel subjective. It… Read more »
Who taught dad how to ChatGPT?
Surely an AI wouldn’t just make up a word like triumphic.
Things WERE fine, we just overreacted and some people made a lot of money on that overreaction
You could feel the lack of energy with no fans in the stands l:
Valid claim or not, it seems crucial that USA Swimming continue putting on more events with pomp and circumstance.
Trials were an amazing show – and we will attract more and more fans (and young athletes) to swimming with events like such.