Warner Bros Discovery says it put on 77% more new subscribers during the Summer Olympics in Paris than it did in Tokyo three years previously.
Helped by an Olympics taking place within the European time zone and the noise around the launch of Max in 25 markets, Warner Bros. Discovery saw record viewership and engagement across all platforms – spanning free-to-air, pay-tv, streaming, web and social.
According to WBD, Paris 2024 marked the first real ‘streaming Olympics’ in Europe, with people now streaming Olympics content, with audiences noting the loss of coverage from domestic broadcasters.
The WBD family, which also includes Eurosport, Discovery+ and HBO Max enjoyed a cumulative reach of more than 215 million in Europe viewing Olympics content on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms – 23% more than Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
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).
Sunday 4th August saw a Warner Bros. Discovery record in Europe of 600 million minutes in a single day streamed by Max and Discovery+ subscribers. The day featured the Men’s 100m final, 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.
Four times as many unique streaming viewers on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms, including Max and Discovery+, throughout the Games compared to the last summer Olympics.
JB Perrette, CEO and President, Global Streaming and Games, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “Paris 2024 has exceeded all expectations for fans and audiences, and for Max and Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming business. We’ve added millions of new paying subscribers, and engaged millions of viewers daily on streaming who have watched billions of minutes of content during the Games.”
Saturday 27th July saw Warner Bros. Discovery’s highest number of new paid streaming subscribers ever in a single day in Europe (Max, Discovery+ or previously HBO Max).
Significant subscriber growth across all major markets in Europe, particularly France, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK.
