In the not-so-distant past, only a few dozen hours of each Olympics were shown on television.
Until a few years ago, there was simply not enough room for all the sports that are being shown at any given time, and the Olympics condensed this year-round problem into three weeks.
By streaming, broadcasters can offer an infinite number of “channels,” with viewers limited only by the speed of their internet connections.
If the leagues can’t make it to broadcast, they’ll accept being seen on cable channels like NBC Sports Network and ESPN, which aren’t available in as many homes as the broadcast channels.
That puts media companies like NBCUniversal in an interesting position.
Very few people want to watch a game again, or catch up on it the next day if they already know the result.
It is also much easier to cancel a streaming service than a pay television package, so turnover among customers is higher.
events throughout the year keep them subscribed to the service, which is required if you want to see the biggest ones.
They might be able to attract tens of millions of eyeballs to Peacock, but they won’t be what keeps them on the service after the closing ceremony on Aug.
It has built all sorts of Olympic dashboards within Peacock where one can watch highlights, replays, live coverage and medal tables.
As of March, Peacock had 42 million “sign-ups,” but only 14 million of those people watched regularly.
It is hard to imagine the Olympics changing that.
They are putting live games involving the United States men’s basketball team on Peacock’s premium tier.
Putting some of the biggest events exclusively on Peacock — if that is even a possibility given the contract between NBCUniversal and the International Olympic Committee — would mean less advertising revenue, but perhaps more subscriber revenue.