The Winter Olympics boosted Discovery+ figures in Europe

Discovery+'s 2022 Winter Olympics coverage has driven the event's viewership figures to record levels, surpassing PyeongChang 2018 only four days after the competitions commenced. The globally anticipated games have garnered eight times more than the last set in 2018. “The audience and engagement growth we have experienced during the opening stage of the Games really demonstrates the additional value Discovery brings to its audiences and partners,” Andrew Georgiou, President of Sports, Discovery, said. “Through our network of free-to-air, Eurosport, discovery+ and free digital and social platforms, we are driving more people to our Olympic content for longer.”

The streamer presents the games in 50 markets across Europe, featuring 11 national productions and coverage in 19 languages. It is the only place in Europe to offer ‘All of the Olympics,’ available on discovery+ and its Eurosport digital services. Nearly three-quarters of a billion streaming minutes have been consumed on Discovery’s subscription services so far, more than 18 times higher than the same period of PyeongChang 2018. Average minutes consumed per viewer across discovery+ and Eurosport streaming services has more than doubled, as well as people on average watching 29% longer on television vs. PyeongChang 2018. 

The first week of competition drove significant increases in engagement on discovery+ and Eurosport digital services and strong overall linear viewership across Europe.  Eurosport's average linear audiences remain strong and are in line with the last Olympic Winter Games, despite total TV usage being down more than 10 percent since 2018. Linear television audience shares in the Nordics, including Sweden and Norway, where Discovery is both the pay-tv and free-to-air broadcaster, remain strong versus PyeongChang 2018 with continued stellar results reaching 87% in Norway, 83% in Sweden, and 71% in Finland.

"The Olympics are off to a strong start across all our platforms, with discovery+ at the forefront of this early success as the growth of our streaming service continues to significantly outperform," Jean-Briac Perrette, President & CEO, Discovery Streaming & International, said. "This is also a testament to the outstanding coverage being delivered, the powerful stories we are telling focused on local heroes at their core, together with innovative technology, and our exceptional line-up of the most credible team of experts in the sport. We can't wait to bring viewers the rest of the action and all the biggest stories to come from the Games."

Since the start of the Olympics, nearly twice as many people have visited the ad-supported Eurosport.com site, together with its multiple local country versions, compared to the same stage of PyeongChang 2018. The platform has continued to extend its offering and bring fans to live updates, news, and on-demand video based on the games.“It is also reaffirming the power and value of integrating sports into our discovery+ entertainment service," Perrette said. "As well as attracting a significant number of new discovery+ subscribers, sports broadens its appeal throughout the whole household and provides consumers an even greater, more retentive value proposition. Through just this first week, more than a third of new discovery+ Olympics subscribers have already consumed other entertainment content on the platform.”