As fans await the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the U.S. Olympic Trials have determined who will represent Team USA. And there’s been plenty of fanfare surrounding the trials.
NBC issued a press release about the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday, revealing that an average of 7.6 million viewers tuned into Sunday’s conclusion of the trials on NBC and Peacock. The coverage featured Simone Biles qualifying for her third Olympic team.
Gymnastics was the big winner in terms of viewership by event on Sunday night. Viewership peaked at 8.2 million viewers from 10-10:15 p.m. ET as the gymnasts completed their final rotations.
Throughout the entirety of the 2024 trials from June 15 to June 30 on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network, viewership was up 58% from the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming, diving, track & field, and gymnastics.
This is obviously promising for NBC as we approach the start of the Paris Olympics later this month. Not only does it show that there is a ton of interest around the Olympic competition, but it also shows that the network’s strategy of using celebrities as a part of the coverage may also be helping with interest around the events.
The likes of Snoop Dogg, Terry Crews, and Peyton Manning have provided commentary on select trial events and will continue to do so throughout NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games. Snoop Dogg will also be featured heavily on NBC’s rebranded primetime Olympics show called Primetime in Paris alongside Mike Tirico.
Thus far, it seems as though NBC’s celebrity-heavy coverage strategy appears to be a promising one. But only time will tell whether that remains the case when it comes to the 2024 Olympics.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.