Paris 2024 Olympics insights from Yospace, the dynamic ad insertion company – and gathered from ad-funded broadcaster customers across four continents – show that it stitched 4 billion one-to-one addressable ads during the event’s 19 days.

The findings reveal surges in viewership for key moments that drove long streaming sessions as viewers were drawn in by the compelling nature of The Games. Big events like swimming and track finals, though brief, created an afterglow effect: as news spread, traffic often continued to increase after the races had been decided, with ad breaks 10-15 minutes later earning more views than ones immediately before the start.

Niche fringe events which held novelty value for many audiences also proved compelling viewing. The kayak cross event, making its debut at the Paris Olympics, emerged as an unexpected standout among the fringe events. This high-octane race captured the audience’s attention, with an 8 per cent spike in traffic during the brief 1 minute 15 seconds it took for the competitors to battle it out on the water.

What made this surge even more valuable was that viewers didn’t tune out after the excitement of the race had ended. Instead, they stayed engaged, eagerly soaking up the result and continuing to watch through the ad break that immediately followed. This retention of audience attention at such a critical juncture is a clear example of how the afterglow of these fleeting Olympic moments can be harnessed to maximise advertising impact.

This afterglow effect was further demonstrated across The Games with the Men’s and Women’s 100m Finals. The Women’s 100m Final captivated viewers with a significant traffic surge before and after the race, even leading to higher ad viewership an hour post-race compared to the pre-race break. Similarly, there was a sharp rise in viewership 20 minutes before the Men’s 100m final, which continued to grow during the post-race celebrations and analysis.

Commenting on the trends from Paris 2024 and what this means for broadcasters and advertisers, Tim Sewell, CEO at Yospace said: “These trends show that, for the streaming and adtech industry, the Olympics are all about seizing the key moments. Events like the kayak cross final, which can unfold in a flash, demonstrated how quickly these audience spikes can occur and how crucial it is to react instantly to capitalise on the advertising potential. With the event spanning just 1 hour and 30 minutes from quarter-final to gold medal, there’s little room for error — every second counts for advertisers looking to engage with the most captive audiences.”

One of the breakout stars of the games was homegrown swimmer Leon Marchand (pictured). His first gold medal in the men’s 200m butterfly sparked a significant increase in viewership, which grew steadily as the session progressed as viewers lapped up the back-to-back events. Ad views surged by 14.7 per cent 10 minutes after his initial gold, reflecting both an afterglow effect and a ‘stickiness’ as viewers remained engaged. However, it was Marchand’s second gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke that truly captivated the audience. The most-watched ad break of the entire session came 20 minutes after the Frenchman’s record-breaking achievement.

On the future of sports streaming, Sewell added: “Coming hot on the heels of a record breaking Euro 2024 football tournament, we delivered 4 billion addressable ads during Paris 2024 over just 19 days, highlighting a major shift towards ad-supported streaming. With nearly half of new streaming subscribers choosing ad-funded options, it’s clear that robust adtech is essential for broadcasters as they pivot to a streaming-first approach. This is a key moment in our transition to an all-IP future for TV.”

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Categories: Advertising, Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Research

Tags: advertising, Olympics, Paris, Yospace