Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony dazzles 28.6 million viewers, biggest audience since 2012

With over 1 billion streaming minutes viewed across NBCU platforms, the Paris Olympics is off to a strong start.

The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics captivated 28.6 million viewers across NBCUniversal platforms, achieving the highest viewership for a Summer Games opening since 2012.

The elaborate four-hour ceremony, broadcast live and repeated in primetime, surpassed viewership numbers of the Tokyo and Rio opening ceremonies by a significant margin.

NBC Sports President Rick Cordella attributed the success to the dedication of the production and engineering teams, as well as extensive promotion. He expressed optimism for the remainder of the Games, stating, "We are off to a strong start that is in line with the expectations of our NBC stations, and distribution and advertising partners."

Live streaming on Peacock attracted over 2.5 million viewers, while Telemundo Deportes drew an additional 666,000 viewers. The Opening Ceremony also set a record for Peacock, becoming the most streamed entertainment event in the platform's four-year history.

With over 1 billion streaming minutes viewed across NBCU platforms on Friday, the Paris Olympics is off to a strong start, exceeding the viewership of the Tokyo Summer Games by sixfold during the same timeframe.