Warner Bros. Discovery saw record viewership and engagement across all platforms – spanning free-to-air, pay-tv, streaming, web and social – during Olympic Games Paris 2024, which came to an end with the Closing Ceremony on August 11. The company achieved a cumulative reach of over 215 million viewers in Europe, a 23% increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This reach was spread across Warner Bros. Discovery’s diverse platforms, including Max, discovery+, Eurosport TV channels, and free-to-air networks in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Streaming played a pivotal role, with more than 7 billion minutes streamed throughout the Games, a figure six times higher than that of Tokyo 2020. A record-breaking day was Sunday, August 4, when Warner recorded 600 million minutes streamed in a single day, driven by high-profile events such as the Men’s 100m final, Novak Djokovic's tennis match, and the final day of swimming events.
The surge in streaming engagement also translated into significant subscriber growth. During the Games, WBD saw a record number of new paid streaming subscribers, with figures surpassing those of Tokyo 2020 by 77%. Remarkably, after just four days of competition in Paris, the number of new paid subscribers exceeded the total for the entire Tokyo Games. Saturday, July 27, set a new benchmark as the single largest day for new paid streaming subscribers in Europe.
In addition to streaming, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 also saw impressive engagement across other platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Olympics-related social media posts garnered over 4.5 billion video views, nearly ten times more than Tokyo 2020. TikTok and Instagram were particularly instrumental in driving these views, demonstrating the power of social media in amplifying the reach of the Games.
Traditional television also witnessed a surge in viewership, with linear TV audiences for Paris 2024 doubling those of Tokyo 2020. More than 80% for a number of events were seen across both Free-to-Air (Finland, Norway and Sweden) and Eurosport’s pay-tv network, including increasing share vs free-to-air partners in many territories. Notable moments included an 82% TV audience share in Sweden when Armand Duplantis won the men’s pole vault, and a 9.7% audience share in Poland on Eurosport, making it one of the highest viewed days for the channel during the Games.
JB Perrette, CEO and President, Global Streaming and Games, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “Paris 2024 has exceeded all expectations for fans and audiences, and for Max and Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming business. We’ve added millions of new paying subscribers, and engaged millions of viewers daily on streaming who have watched billions of minutes of content during the Games. Our streaming growth momentum is only gaining strength, and we’ve still got almost half the global addressable market to go. Congratulations and thank you to our great partners at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee for an epic Olympic Games.”
Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Discovery U.K & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, added: “Paris 2024 has again demonstrated the value of bringing premium sport and entertainment together to drive audience and engagement at scale. We’ve maximised this opportunity at these Games, delivering world-class production featuring outstanding on-screen experts and local country storytelling that has again proven to be a winning combination. Max has proven to be a game-changer for sports viewing with an enhanced product experience and new interactive features which encouraged more subscribers to come on platform and stay engaged for longer.”