NBCUniversal will start broadcasting the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday, July 26, marking another example of the media giant’s innovative approach to advertising in the streaming era. The company is on track to break Olympic advertising records, aiming to exceed $1.2 billion in ad sales, including $350 million from new advertisers. This effort has involved months of developing tailored brand integrations for major marketers.
One such integration will be showcased during the live coverage of the opening ceremony, which will feature, for the first time in Olympics history, a commercial-free hour sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, Delta, Lilly, Toyota Motor Corp., Visa, and Xfinity. Instead of traditional ads, brand logos for each sponsor (or “Olympic Ring Holder”) will be displayed onscreen in 10-minute rotations.
This year’s opening ceremony will be unique, taking place on the River Seine with a four-mile-long flotilla of nearly 90 boats carrying thousands of athletes. This special setup provided an opportunity to balance an extraordinary visual spectacle with advertising needs.
“We created a win-win.” Lovinger said. “The advertisers will be known to the viewer and we’ll give them credit, but the viewer will also be able to stay with the spectacle, which will be fantastic.”
Beyond the opening ceremony, advertisers have numerous opportunities to reach engaged audiences, such as during the 13 nights of prime-time coverage that will feature a 30-minute key event with only one 60-second commercial pod. NBCU research shows that ads are more effective in an Olympic environment and can be further enhanced by using creative content with Olympic themes and athletes.
“When [advertisers] do all of those things… that’s when impact really explodes for them.” Lovinger said.
Coca-Cola, a long-time supporter of the Olympics since 1928, will have a presence across linear and digital channels, including NBC, USA, and Telemundo.
Delta airline helped kick off the journey to the Olympics last June by flying contestants on “Top Chef: World All-Stars” to Paris for a quick-fire challenge alongside Team USA athletes. Delta continued to build excitement on the “Today” show by celebrating the 100-day-out moment in April and unveiling a custom Team USA aircraft livery in May.
In partnership with Delta, NBCU will air a 22-minute commercial-free documentary about the Americans who risked and sacrificed their lives during the Normandy landings. Delta will also sponsor Gold Zone, serve as the presenting sponsor of the Medal Count, and run its Team USA-starring campaign during the games.
As TV shifts from linear to streaming, Peacock remains a crucial component of NBCU’s strategy for consumers and advertisers, especially as it transforms TV into a performance marketing channel. At its One24 tech event in March, NBCU announced several updates and improvements to Peacock, which allows advertisers to target audiences in ways not possible with linear TV. The platform’s extensive Olympics content, approaching 7,000 hours, enables viewers to create their own viewing schedules, forming affinity groups that interest advertisers.
Peacock’s revenue increased 28% to $1 billion last quarter, narrowing its loss to $348 million from $651 million a year ago, showing the ongoing maturation of most streaming platforms.
NBCU has also partnered with Meta, Overtime, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube to form the Paris Creator Collective, granting 27 creators unprecedented on-the-ground access to produce custom content at the Olympics, mixing sports highlights with complementary content around food, fashion, and Paris itself. This initiative builds on insights from over a decade of integrating social media to engage younger audiences who consume content in their own unique ways.