NBCUniversal Will Earn Over $1.25 Billion from Paris Olympics Ads

NBCUniversal will surpass $1.25 billion in ad revenue for the Paris Olympics, a record for the network that has held the rights to the Summer Olympics since 1988, according to Variety reporter Brian Steinberg. This number is slightly higher than the $1.2 billion that was reported earlier this year. In 2014, NBCU renewed its rights deal for both the Summer and Winter Games through 2032 for $7.65 billion.

NBC faced headwinds due to declining viewership in the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and held several major events in the middle of the night in the U.S. But the Paris Olympics have started strong for NBC, as the opening weekend garnered a 79% increase in prime-time viewership, while Gold Zone, its whip-around product on Peacock, has received rave reviews.

Additionally, three million viewers watched the USA women’s basketball team win its first game against Japan on Monday, more than any non-gold-medal game during the Tokyo Olympics. The team is chasing its eighth straight gold medal and has won 56 games in a row in the Olympics, but faced scrutiny last month after leaving Caitlin Clark off the roster.