European Winter Olympics rights holder Discovery has seen a big return on its investment with the games showing marked increases in new paid streaming subscribers, streaming minutes consumed across digital platform and what is said to be resilience in linear TV.
Concluding on Sunday 20 February, Beijing 2022 produced strong results across Discovery’s European television network and streaming products. The discovery+ direct-to-consumer service drove an increased number of new paid streaming subscribers, the total of which exceeded that from the previous games in PyeongChang in 2018 by almost 50%.
Principally, the company chalked up record Olympic Winter Games viewership and engagement on its digital platforms, with the discovery+ driving was described as significantly higher consumption and numbers of new paid subscribers compared with 2018.
In total, more than than 156 million Europeans visited Discovery’s platforms with over one billion streaming minutes consumed, 19 times more than the last Olympic Winter Games. discovery+ and Eurosport streaming services saw 8 times more streaming viewers during this Games as users consumed more than double the content with average consumption exceeding 7 hours per viewer. The same trend was seen on linear television with viewers on average watching 24% longer than PyeongChang 2018. The ad-supported Eurosport.com, and its local country editions, reached over double the amount of users compared to the same period.
Building on a strong first week, Eurosport's average linear audiences were describe remained resilient and were in line with the last winter edition despite double digit reductions in total TV usage since 2018. High audience shares on Discovery’s free-to-air networks in the Nordic markets continued with highs of 88% (Norway), 83% (Sweden) and 82% (Finland). Eurosport channels saw significant audience and share growth in many key markets - including Poland (+36%), Romania (+23%), and Italy (+250%) - and Discovery's channels across both free-to-air and pay-tv saw an overall increase in audience share.
Commenting on the ratings, Jean-Briac Perrette, president & CEO, Discovery Streaming & International, said: “The Winter Olympics has proven to be a terrific success for discovery+ and all our channels and platforms across Europe. Discovery is leading the way in building global scale in streaming whilst also maintaining strength in traditional television viewership, significantly outperforming the market across both.”
Principally, the company chalked up record Olympic Winter Games viewership and engagement on its digital platforms, with the discovery+ driving was described as significantly higher consumption and numbers of new paid subscribers compared with 2018.
In total, more than than 156 million Europeans visited Discovery’s platforms with over one billion streaming minutes consumed, 19 times more than the last Olympic Winter Games. discovery+ and Eurosport streaming services saw 8 times more streaming viewers during this Games as users consumed more than double the content with average consumption exceeding 7 hours per viewer. The same trend was seen on linear television with viewers on average watching 24% longer than PyeongChang 2018. The ad-supported Eurosport.com, and its local country editions, reached over double the amount of users compared to the same period.
Building on a strong first week, Eurosport's average linear audiences were describe remained resilient and were in line with the last winter edition despite double digit reductions in total TV usage since 2018. High audience shares on Discovery’s free-to-air networks in the Nordic markets continued with highs of 88% (Norway), 83% (Sweden) and 82% (Finland). Eurosport channels saw significant audience and share growth in many key markets - including Poland (+36%), Romania (+23%), and Italy (+250%) - and Discovery's channels across both free-to-air and pay-tv saw an overall increase in audience share.
Commenting on the ratings, Jean-Briac Perrette, president & CEO, Discovery Streaming & International, said: “The Winter Olympics has proven to be a terrific success for discovery+ and all our channels and platforms across Europe. Discovery is leading the way in building global scale in streaming whilst also maintaining strength in traditional television viewership, significantly outperforming the market across both.”
