Oh, how good it felt to be free from tape delays that almost made me completely tune out of Olympic coverage. The 2024 Paris Olympic games were happening at a time when media companies were actively redefining what sports coverage means to linear television. The NBA and WNBA just struck a $76 billion rights package, including a streaming first platform in Amazon’s Prime Video and a hybrid with NBC Universal’s joint share with their channel and Peacock service. The NFL has also elected to give certain games to platforms like Netflix and Peacock. The winds of change are here, and consumers are rightfully concerned that the sports we love will continue to lock themselves inside a paywall and limit access (don’t we already pay enough subscriptions?)
But imagine a world where you can stream all the events as they happen from another part of the globe and have many consumable ways to view them. That happened with the 2024 Olympics and Peacock’s presentation throughout the two weeks. Not only was I in tune with my favorite events like track and field and basketball, but the app was stylized to make it easier for me to get into rugby, table tennis, fencing, and surfing. I’d be hard-pressed to believe the viral sensation of the Australian breakdancing “competitor” Raygun would have gotten as big as it would have in real-time if we couldn’t witness it when it happened. There was a multiview to direct your attention to multiple competitions. For those wishing to get to the heat of the action, Peacock had a Redzone clone element named GoldZone. There were breakoff shows from Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson if you needed a pop culture element. Lastly, the replays were up quickly if you couldn’t watch any of these events until you got home from work.
US sprinter Sha’carri Richardson celebrates after crossing the finish line to win gold in the women’s 4×100 relay on August 9. Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Our entertainment ecosystem is still trying to reckon with where traditional television stands, looking for other means than being in front of a television at a given point. Despite this, the need for community is always a north star – which is precisely why people still congregate on respective social media platforms and live tweet reactions to shows like HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon.’ You still want to share these moments with people – debate, rejoice, and maybe talk a little smack. You had the option to be right there as Katie Ledecky continued her record-setting swimming medal run, caught USA men’s basketball guard Steph Curry, put the competition to bed in the final, and saw the GOAT Simone Biles continue her excellence in gymnastics. With that, it made you want to stay and get familiar with legendary athletes in other events you may not have seen because they were airing at 3 am.
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Despite all of the positives, there are some kinks to work out. There will be a question of whether people should have to pay for Olympic coverage in the first place in light of streaming services moving to increase their prices. There is also a question of ads playing at inopportune times – I doubt anybody wants to see an iPhone promo right in the middle of a 100-meter dash final. Despite a few downsides, it was an exhilarating two weeks of triumph, tears, competition, and legend-making memories we could all witness together. We’re more disjointed than ever, with too many things clawing at what’s left of our attention spans on any given day. But it was sure nice to have this collective experience.
Main Photo Credit: Getty Pictures
