The International Olympic Committee generated $7.6 billion in revenue in the 2017 to 2020-21 cycle, compared to $5.7 billion in revenue for the previous Olympiad, according to the organization’s financial statements for FY2021.
The IOC reeled in $4.2 billion in revenue in 2021 alone driven by the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games.
- Television broadcasting rights made up $3.1 billion of the revenue that year.
- Cash and cash equivalents hit $548.9 million in 2021, down from $866.6 million in 2020.
- Total assets as of Dec. 31, 2021, were $5.6 billion, down from $5.7 billion the year prior.
In addition to the IOC, the Olympics have deepened the pockets of broadcasters. Comcast, the owner of NBCUniversal, generated $1.5 billion in revenue in Q1 2022 from the Beijing Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI, which collectively accounted for 21.6% of NBCUniversal’s media revenue in the quarter. The Beijing Games alone generated $963 million in revenue.
Digital Age
The Olympics have benefited from a digital age that continues to evolve. The IOC deemed Tokyo 2020 “the most digital Games ever,” behind the 3 billion unique viewers it garnered across linear TV and digital platforms for the 17-day event.
Discovery reported that more than 372 million people in Europe watched coverage of the Games, a 10% increase compared to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
