Discovery says the first week of action at the Winter Olympics in Beijing has led to huge increases in engagement on its streaming service Discovery Plus and Eurosport digital services, as well as strong overall linear viewership across Europe.
According to the broadcaster, eight times more viewers are streaming Olympic content compared to the same period for Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, with total new paid subscribers to Discovery’s streaming services already surpassing the last Winter Games with a week of competition still to go.
It added that almost three-quarters of a billion streaming minutes have been consumed on Discovery’s subscription services so far, more than 18 times higher than the same period of PyeongChang 2018.
Average minutes consumed per viewer across Discovery Plus and Eurosport streaming services has more than doubled, as well as people on average watching 29 per cent longer on television vs PyeongChang 2018.
Eurosport’s average linear audiences are in line with the last Olympic Winter Games, said Discovery, despite total TV usage being down more than 10 per cent since 2018. Linear television audience shares in the Nordics, including Sweden and Norway where Discovery is both the pay-tv and free-to-air broadcaster, reached highs of 87% (Norway), 83% (Sweden) and 71% (Finland).
Andrew Georgiou, president of sports, Discovery, said: “The audience and engagement growth we have experienced during the opening stage of the Games really demonstrates the additional value Discovery brings to its audiences and partners. Through our network of free-to-air, Eurosport, Discovery Plus and free digital and social platforms, we are driving more people to our Olympic content for longer.
“This is also testament to the outstanding coverage being delivered, the powerful stories we are telling focused on local heroes at their core, together with innovative technology, and our exceptional line-up of the most credible team of experts in sport. We can’t wait to bring viewers the rest of the action and all the biggest stories to come from the Games.”
