Paris Olympics Lead NBCUniversal to Gold Medal Performance in Nielsen's August Media Distributor Gauge

NBCU achieves 13.4% of TV, largest share by a media company since tracking began in November 2023.

NBC broadcast affiliates, USA Network and Peacock each notch over 30% monthly growth.

NEW YORK - September 24, 2024 - NBCUniversal took a commanding lead in TV watch-time among media companies in the August 2024 Media Distributor Gauge report, Nielsen's monthly view of total television consumption by media company. On the strength of its presentation of the Paris Olympics, NBCU added 3.9 points to notch 13.4% of TV usage in August, setting both a personal-best and a new record for the Media Distributor Gauge (since calculations began in November 2023).

NBCU's stable of entities exhibited double-digit viewership growth across the three main channels that televised Olympics coverage: USA Network viewership jumped 47%, Peacock streaming was up 39%, and viewing across NBC broadcast affiliates rose 62%. Additionally, the Democratic National Convention also provided a boost for NBCU in August, as MSNBC's coverage of the four-day DNC event lifted network viewership by 43% compared to July levels.

In addition to NBCU, two more companies in the Media Distributor Gauge exhibited positive share changes in August. After topping all media distributors in July, YouTube's watch-time was up 2% in August to finish the month with 10.6% of TV-another high-water mark for the streaming platform. The other to record growth was The Roku Channel, which received a 3% bump in viewership and added one-tenth of a share point for a platform-best 1.7% of TV usage.

Combined with the fact that audiences turned their attention to the Olympics, many of the remaining media companies were affected by typical August viewing trends in an otherwise atypical month of TV consumption. With new seasons of football and broadcast programming on the horizon, Disney, Paramount and FOX all experienced the end-of-summer lull in viewership in August, and finished with 9.5%, 7.1% and 6.0%, respectively.

Few measurement intervals are likely to rival the impact the Paris Olympics had on TV consumption throughout July and August. While the Games are undoubtedly unique from a cultural and TV programming perspective, NBCU established a successful blueprint for reaching consumers on their viewing platform of choice, which could prove to be an important milestone into the future.

The measurement month of August 2024 included four weeks: 07/29/2024 through 08/25/2024. Nielsen measurement weeks run Monday through Sunday.

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About The Gauge The Gauge is Nielsen's monthly snapshot of total broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen, providing the industry with a holistic look at what audiences are watching. The Gauge was expanded in April 2024 to include The Media Distributor Gauge, which reflects total viewing by media distributor across these categories. Read more about The Gauge methodology and FAQs.

About Nielsen Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences-now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).

Press Contact Lauren Pabst

lauren.pabst@nielsen.com

LINK:	https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2024/paris-olympics-lead-nbcuniver...
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