In Broadcast - September 2016 - 80

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 9 | September 2016

InUSA

Olympics Viewing Relegates
TV To Second-Screen Status
Contributing Editor Michael Grotticelli sees the Olympian shift in viewers' preferred screens as
an opportunity to maintain channel loyalty...

t wasn't that long ago that television
broadcasters in the U.S. saw their
digital platforms as adjuncts to
their linear TV channels, in terms of
revenue generation. If they could keep
consumers tuned to their programming
on their portable devices (their brand),
even in short doses, it was considered a
positive with advertisers.
Fast-forward to last month's
Olympics coverage by NBC, the
exclusive U.S. rights holder, and the
video consumption numbers on digital
platforms have been turned upside
down. It was reported that the Closing
Ceremonies received a 4.0/14 rating
among adults 18-49 (16.85 million
viewers). That's a 56% drop in the
key demo and a 44% reduction in
viewership when compared to the
closing ceremonies of the London
Games in 2012. Indeed, over the 15
days of competition, NBCU's Olympics
coverage averaged 27.5 million
viewers across all platforms, including
digital streaming, which was down 9%
from 2012.

than ever, in addition to
expanded cable coverage.
With Rio only an hour ahead
of East Coast time versus
four hours for London,
boosting
live
viewing,
most days resulted in the
best day ever viewership
for NBC Olympics digital
platforms, with 155 million
live streaming minutes,
Video-on-demand through NBCOlympics.com
and the NBC Sports app
the network said. That was
up 263% from the comparable day in to 15 million downloads of the official
2012. The number of unique users was Olympics app, 150 million Olympicup slightly to 11.3 million (7%).
related Tweets, and 100 million
Facebook comments during the 2012
Digital Desire
Summer Olympic Games in London.
What the numbers are telling us is
that digital consumption is here to Powering Ahead
stay and that consumers have a thirst
It was clear from the outset that
for Olympics content, but they don't NBC was putting a lot of effort and
want to watch on a pre-determined manpower into its digital workflow.
schedule. Several consumers said
Some of this year's digital offerings
that with the day's results typically included:
available on a number of other online
* For the first time, the NBC
sites, NBC found success with those broadcast network content was
that had an interest in a particular streamed, including the primetime
sport and chose to show;
On Track
watch the event on a
* NBCOlympics.com and the NBC
Ten percent of NBCU's
delay, on their tablet or Sports app offered video-on-demand
ad revenue for Rio
smartphone. Consumers coverage, including athlete profiles
came
from
digital.
are getting more familiar and features, full-event replays, and
The company expects
with watching highlights, short-form highlights - so if viewers
that portion to climb
and it's becoming second were watching a swimming event,
in
future
Olympics
nature.
Coinciding they could click through and see all of
alongside
digital
with this, smartphone Michael Phelps' stats;
viewership, which grew
consumption of video was
* As a complement to the live
far more from London
up significantly as well.
streaming available on the NBC Sports
than
the
company
There's no denying app, the NBC Olympics: Rio News
expected.
Rio
was
that content is being & Results app provided the latest
the third Olympics in
consumed
across
a Olympic news and results, extensive
which NBCU provided
wider range of channels, video highlights, TV listings, and medal
authenticated
live
devices, and even through standings;
More than 85% of viewers virtual reality, than ever
streaming of all events.
* NBC Olympics produced two
watched some of the
Viewers
streamed
Consequently, digital-only programmes, a socialOlympics coverage on before.
portable devices viewers watching this
more than 2.71 billion
focused video franchise, and a news
minutes of coverage from Rio, nearly year's games from second-screen desk that provides regular updates
double the combined number for the devices were expected to top out at during the Games for NBCOlympics.
two previous Olympics. This uptick in 85%, according to Global Web Index, com and the NBC Sports app;
digital revenue helped make the Rio which also estimates that users would
* NBC Olympics provided Virtual
Games "a financial success" according spend an average of 41 minutes Reality (VR) coverage of the Rio
to one NBC executive.
watching online video. Additionally, 2016 Olympic Games exclusively to
This year the network provided fans on Rio 2016's Facebook page authenticated users of compatible
more live-streaming opportunities exceeded 1.4 billion. That's compared Samsung
Galaxy
smartphones,

together with Samsung Gear
VR via the NBC Sports app,
marking the first time Olympics
programming was available in VR;
* The
network
offered
advertising clients ability to insert
targeted ads into broadcasts
through Adobe Analytics.
Streaming Success
In the end NBC showed
more events via cable and Internet
streaming than it did in 2012 or 2008.
By live streaming the 2016 Summer
Olympics simultaneously as the
television broadcast, the first 10 days
of the 2016 Olympics were consumed
online more than the last two Olympics
combined.
According to ratings service Nielsen,
the first 10 days of competition at the
2016 Olympics produced more than
2 billion minutes (33 million hours)
of online viewership. Those viewing
numbers are more than the 1.46 billion
minutes streamed of the entire 2012
Summer Olympics in London, and
the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,
Russia. This year's Olympics coverage
surpassed one billion minutes of online
streaming after the first five days.
What all of these numbers show is
that the way in which consumers are
watching television has changed (as
previously predicted), and secondscreen apps have become critical to
marketers' campaigns and a major
feature in how they now engage
with consumers, both young and old.
Traditional television viewing isn't
going away, it's just being relegated to
second-screen status.
Through the use of consumption
data, broadcasters are learning to
give the consumer what they want,
on the platform they want, precisely
when they want it. Revenues are
shifting towards digital, but that isn't
necessarily a bad thing. As long as
their brands are in front of the most
consumers, no matter where they are
watching, broadcasters can reap the
benefits of a continually growing video
consumption audience.

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