Did Live Olympics on Peacock Hurt Primetime Ratings?

Matt Strauss says putting every event live on Peacock did not pull viewers off NBC primetime. The daytime stream and the nighttime broadcast did different jobs, and the Winter Olympics still drew about 20 to 25 million viewers, a rating about 96 to 97 percent higher than Beijing.

There is no way to day-part 3,200 hours on one network. For the Paris Olympics, every event went live on Peacock, a decision long feared to cannibalize NBC primetime. Gold Zone and Multiview were built to surprise viewers and make the choices easy to find. People still tuned in to NBC at night because the broadcast leaned on storytelling, the backstory of the athletes, and how Mike Tirico framed the day. Put together, the Winter Olympics rating ran about 96 percent higher. On digital, minutes were double the digital minutes of every other Winter Olympics combined, and advertising revenue doubled.

In the past, not everything was available on streaming, and some viewers found the choices confusing. The organization put its shoulder behind managing the lineup as one portfolio. Maximum reach and engagement are also where the best monetization comes from.