Entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery says its Max streaming service “has helped transform” the way European audiences experience the Olympic Games.
Coverage of the 2024 Paris Games games are being overseen by WBD’s Eurosport channel and is included in both the Max and the discovery+ streaming services.
While limited free to air coverage is available from the BBC and other European broadcasters, WBD’s platforms are the only place for sports fans in most territories to see the entire Games.
The broadcaster says total unique streaming viewers for Paris 2024 across its streaming platforms have already exceeded those from the entire Tokyo 2020 Games after only two days.
Across both Max and discovery+, Paris 2024 has driven almost one billion streaming minutes, more than seven times higher than at the same point of Tokyo 2020 and already representing 75% of the total minutes from those Games.
The time people are spending on Max and discovery+ is up 63% compared to Tokyo 2020 so far, and five times more streaming viewers have watched the Games compared to the same period of Tokyo 2020.
WBD is crediting the recent launch of Max as “a key driving factor in audience growth”, saying it accounts for 80% of the total streaming audience to date.
JB Perrette, CEO and President, Global Streaming and Games, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are off to a fantastic start, and the recent rollout of Max in Europe is fueling record setting audiences and engagement.
“The powerful and unique combination of premium movies and scripted content, the best of real life entertainment, and many of the biggest events in international sports is bringing more people to Max and keeping them engaged for even longer.
“It’s still early days, so we’re excited to build further on this early success over the next two weeks.”
Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Discovery U.K & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, said: “There has been much anticipation for Paris 2024, so it is hugely rewarding to see the quality of our sports production and user experience of our streaming platform resonate so strongly with viewers across Europe.
“In only a few days, we’ve seen how the combination of premium sport and entertainment brings an audience together on all platforms.
“Whether it’s the energy of our near 100-strong line-up of outstanding on-screen presenters and experts, incredible rooftop studios at WBD House in Paris or fan-first features such as gold medal alerts on Max and discovery+, Warner Bros. Discovery is delivering an Olympic experience beyond anything seen before.”