The Olympics and its media partners are trying to understand the viewing habits of Gen Z.
While solving the challenge of reaching younger audiences is a challenge across sports, a new report sheds light on how this coveted demographic is consuming the Olympics.
A YouGov survey of fans across 11 countries explored interest in the Olympics across demographics and uncovered some unique trends among Gen Z consumers.
While interest is generally higher among older demographics (48% of those over 65 and 41% of those 18-34), YouGov found that younger fans are engaging with the Olympics in different ways. Data from the US, UK, Australia, Canada and seven other countries found that the 18-24 age group is more likely to watch the Olympics on social media and more likely to be influenced by friends and family watching rather than national pride.
“Their overall experience of the Olympics is completely different to what we’ve traditionally thought of as an Olympic fan experience,” said Nicole Pike, global head of YouGov Sport.
Changing habits
The viewing experience is changing: Three years ago, during the COVID-19-delayed Tokyo Olympics, NBC averaged 15.6 million viewers, the lowest number ever for a Summer Olympics.
The company is hoping the Olympics will boost viewership due to more accessible timeslots and interest in Paris, but it’s taking steps to ensure younger viewers can tune in wherever they are. As part of that effort, all events will be streamed live on Peacock, and NBCUniversal has a 27-person creator collective that will share Olympic content across a range of media platforms.
This approach is in line with YouGov poll results.
“If you measure the success of the Olympics by millions of people watching live terrestrial television, that’s not a good story for viewers,” Pike said. “Our data elsewhere shows that viewers are far from disengaged from the Olympics. In fact, I would say they’re more up to date and have a better grasp of what’s going on because they’re watching online streaming and social media. They’re getting the most real-time updates and data no matter what time zone they’re in.”
“In a way, you could say they’re more engaged. It’s more a shift in mindset about what success looks like in ‘Tune In.'”
The report is well worth a read, with some compelling data on interest and sponsorship in specific sports, and we’ll be featuring some of the findings in Unpacks throughout the games.
