NBC’s Olympics Won Gold in Social Video Despite Disappointing Ratings

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NBC Sports’ reach doubled to 26.6 million unique users

Tokyo Olympics
(Image credit: NBC)

Though ratings for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Tokyo Summer Games were mostly lower than the Rio Games four years ago, the Olympic grabbed viewers attention in social video, according to an analysis by Tubular Labs.

Tubular Labs Olympics

(Image credit: Tubular Labs)

Tubular said that from June to August, NBC Sports nearly doubled its U.S. reach to 26.6 million unique viewers with Olympic-related content from 13.9 million.

Also Read: NBCU Claims Tokyo Olympics Have Generated 100 Billion Minutes of Viewing

Watch time soars to 908.3 million minutes in August from 379.5 million in June, despite the Olympics wrapping up on Aug. 8.

NBC Sport was among the most prolific media and entertainment creators on Facebook and YouTube during August.

Tubular Labs Olympics

(Image credit: Tubular Labs)

Tubular said Olympic viewers were more engaged on Facebook in 2021 than they had been during the 2016 games from Rio in Brazil.

Also Read: NBCU Still Expects Olympics To Be Profitable, Says Jeff Shell

Hard-to-get audiences were found watching the official Olympics Channel on YouTube. Facebook’s Olympic audience was 64%, with females 18 to 24 making up 17% of its audience.

On Twitter, NBC Olympics topped all U.S. media and entertainment creators. NBC had the exclusive rights to be the go-to Twitter feed for all things Olympics throughout the games.

Similarly on YouTube, NBC Sports accounted for 22 of the top 25 Olympic videos.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.