Home of the Olympics in Europe
In 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery celebrated the return of the Olympic Games return to Europe by showing all of Olympics Games Paris 2024 for its viewers in 47 markets across Europe on Max, discovery+ and Eurosport.
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.
Supercharged by the recent launch of Max in 25 European markets, Paris 2024 marks the first real ‘streaming Olympics’ in Europe, as more people streamed more Olympics content for longer than ever before.
Olympics content on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms in Europe had a cumulative reach of more than 215 million – 23% more than Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (+40 million). This includes Max and discovery+, as well as Eurosport TV channels and free-to-air networks in Norway (TVNorge), Sweden (Kanal 5) and Finland (Kutonen, TV5).*
Over the course of the Games, more than 7 billion minutes were streamed, which is six times more than during Tokyo 2020. Sunday, August 4th, marked a record-breaking day for Warner Bros. Discovery in Europe, with 600 million minutes streamed in a single day by Max and discovery+ subscribers. This day featured major events such as the Men’s 100m final, the Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz Men’s Tennis gold medal match, the final day of swimming events, and the women’s road race in Cycling. Additionally, there were four times as many unique streaming viewers on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms, including Max and discovery+, compared to the last Summer Olympics.
After just four days of competition in Paris (Saturday, July 27th - Tuesday, July 30th, 2024**), the number of new paid streaming subscribers surpassed the total for the entire Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Throughout the Games, there was a record number of new paid streaming subscribers, with 77% more than Tokyo 2020.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s average linear television audiences for Paris 2024 were double Tokyo 2020, demonstrating the continued attraction of the Olympic Games in Europe across all platforms. 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.
Celebrating its first Olympics as Warner Bros. Discovery, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was shown across nearly 50 markets in 20 languages on Max, discovery+ and through Eurosport on linear television. Under a new agreement announced in January 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to be the only place to present every moment of the Games on its streaming and digital platforms and hold full pay-TV rights. This includes Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026, Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028, Olympic Winter Games French Alps 2030 and Olympic Games Brisbane 2032.
In February 2022, Discovery and Eurosport delivers the Olympic Winter Games from Beijing, China.
Discovery reported record Olympic Winter Games viewership and engagement on its digital platforms, as the household appeal of discovery+ drove significantly higher consumption and numbers of new paid subscribers compared to PyeongChang 2018. Over 1 billion streaming minutes were consumed across discovery+ and Eurosport subscription services.
In July 2021, Discovery and Eurosport deliver its first Summer Olympic Games from Tokyo, Japan.
Discovery provided extensive coverage across both free-to-air and pay-TV platforms, while offering comprehensive digital access, which significantly expanded European viewership for the Olympic Games. By delivering every must-see moment of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Discovery achieved record-breaking digital engagement.
In February 2018, Discovery and Eurosport deliver its first ever Olympic Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, and succeeded in its commitment to engage more people, on more screens than ever before across Europe.
Viewers embraced Discovery’s innovative production of the Olympic Games, including the most immersive coverage, every minute live on digital, and the best experts analysing the action in an Olympic-first – the ‘Eurosport cube’ augmented reality studio – earned Discovery and Eurosport record audiences across platforms.
On January 1, 2017, Discovery’s leading sports brand – Eurosport - officially becomes the new Home of the Olympic Games in Europe with a pledge to redefine the Olympic Games viewing experience and reach more people in Europe, across more screens than ever before.
In May 2015, Discovery Communications (now Discovery Inc.) announced a ground-breaking deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for all TV and multi-platform broadcast rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games in the 2018–2024 period*. The announcement kicked-off a long-term partnership between the biggest global sports event, the Olympic Games, and the global leader in real life entertainment, Discovery.
*Cumulative audience is the total reach of all Warner Bros. Discovery channels, streaming services and websites. Deduplicated reach will be measured once all data is consolidated after the Olympic Games.
**Day 1 & 2 of the Olympic Games were held on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July 2024 but with sports events at the Games having commenced on Wednesday 24th July with the Opening Ceremony held on 26th July.