Media company Comcast Corporation
Could the strong viewership help the struggling media stock?
What Happened: The 2024 Summer Olympics kicked off with the opening ceremony on July 26 and continued with highly anticipated coverage of USA Gymnastics, swimming, beach volleyball and Team USA Men's Basketball over the opening weekend.
Viewership for the opening ceremony hit 28.6 million viewers, a figure up 60% from the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and up 8% from the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. The opening ceremony was the most watched since 2012, when it was in London.
Boosted by its presence on the Peacock streaming platform, the opening ceremony was the most streamed in Olympic history for Comcast, with viewership up six times from the 2020 Summer Olympics. The 2024 Summer Olympics is now the most-streamed entertainment event in Peacock history, the company reported.
Comcast also shared its Saturday (July 27) Olympic coverage was watched by 32.4 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and other NBCUniversal platforms. The figure was up 83% from the second day of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The figure was the best Olympic audience since 2016 according to the company and Peacock had its second-best day for engagement in company history, trailing only an NFL Wild Card exclusive playoff game. The AFC Wild Card exclusive NFL Playoff game was the most streamed event in U.S. history.
Why It's Important: Comcast is hoping to provide a boost to its Peacock streaming platform during the Summer Olympics, a move that could pay off for the future of the company's digital division.
Advertisers could also win with a strong Summer Olympics. Comcast reported that brands advertising during the Opening Ceremony saw a 320% increase in search volume compared to brands that advertised during the 2020 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.
The strong advertising results could prove beneficial for Comcast as it looks to lure advertisers for its other live sports content.
The company has the "Sunday Night Football" rights with the National Football League (NFL) and recently signed an 11-year media rights deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA).
After having NBA coverage from 1990-2002, Comcast will hold rights once again starting in the 2025-2026 NBA season. The company will stream an exclusive NBA game on Mondays during the season with additional games airing on NBC Tuesdays and Sundays.
Comcast renewed its Olympic rights in 2014 and is the exclusive home for U.S. coverage through the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Armed with the rights to NFL, NBA and Olympics, Comcast can use sports rights to help boost its Peacock streaming platform. A heavy focus on streaming content during the Olympic games could also provide a boost to subscriber figures for the quarter. The key question will be if the company can keep its Peacock subscribers in future months ahead.
Comcast is providing more than 7,000 hours of coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics, including more than 5,000 hours of streaming coverage. Peacock will stream all 329 medal events and the majority of the Olympics coverage.
CMCSA Price Action: Comcast stock is up 1.26% to $40.24 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $36.43 to $47.46. Comcast stock is down 9% year-to-date in 2024, trailing the overall performance of the broader market.
