NBCUniversal’s Bet on Paris Olympics Pays Off Big Time
By Movieguide® Contributor
NBCUniversal’s gamble to reinvent its coverage of the Olympic Games appears to have paid off as marketers spend a record amount on ads during the event.
“The 2024 Paris Games have delivered a uniquely powerful halo for brands at an incredible scale with a highly engaged and passionate audience,” said Mark Marshall, NBCUniversal’s chairman of global advertising and partnerships. “We are proud to have secured the highest Olympic and Paralympic advertising in the history of the Games, and are grateful to our advertisers for their partnership.”
The Games’ previous record had been set during Tokyo 2020 — delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic — at $1.25 billion. By April of this year, the Paris Games were on track to beat this record, with a $1.2 billion spend already slated. In the four months since, additional ad spend has brought it over the record.
NBCUniversal has also received interest from a wider variety of partners, with the number of companies they have worked with for the Paris Games topping that of Tokyo and 2016’s Rio combined. These new partners have been crucial to the increased ad spend as new sponsors have accounted for over $500 million of the Games’ gross.
The popularity of this year’s Games comes largely from NBCUniversal’s work to reinvent their coverage. To attract a larger audience, they introduced new segments including color commentary from celebrities like Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning, man-on-the-street interviews with Snoop Dogg, daily recaps with Kevin Hart and Keenan Thompson and a “Gold Zone” view that switches between the most exciting currently live events.
“Everything we’ve done has been starting from scratch,” said Jenny Storms, chief marketing officer of entertainment and sports for NBCUniversal. “It’s been an exercise in bravery, taking something you have done for so long ad starting as if you’ve never done it before.”
Movieguide® previously reported on this year’s unique Olympic coverage:
Friends of SESAME STREET stopped by the TODAY show to share their excitement to join NBC Sports’ coverage of the Paris Olympic Games.
“[Elmo is] very excited to go to Paris to cheer on all the athletes at the Olympics,” Elmo told TODAY. “And Elmo is also excited to do a little sightseeing. Elmo can’t wait to get an eyeful of the Tower. Get it? Eyeful Tower! Paris, here we come! Gooooo teams!”
“Me love sports almost as much as me love cookies!” added Cookie Monster. “Me so excited about all da events, but especially da discus throw. Dat one really look[s] delicious.”
The inclusion of the SESAME STREET stars comes as NBC looks to reinvigorate interest in the Games through a revamped approach to its coverage. While previous iterations of the Olympics have been hosted by the network’s normal news anchors, this year’s coverage is set to be hosted by big-name celebrities such as Peyton Manning, Kelly Clarkson, Mike Tirico, Snoop Dogg and Jimmy Fallon. NBC hopes this will help draw in an audience larger than just sports fans.
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