2024 Summer Olympic Predictions: Streamers and Telecom Providers

May 31st, 2024 | Bella Broccolo

With the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris approaching quickly, streamers and providers are readying themselves for the festivities as viewers across the country are eager to follow Team USA. 

Here’s what we predict we’ll see in the marketing push surrounding the global event:

Paid Social Push: Streamers’ paid social efforts will peak in July 2024 to promote Olympic coverage to a mass audience. 

Peacock and Hulu increased paid social spend by 94% and 78%, respectively, M/M from June 2021 to July 2021. These sharp rises correlated with tactics to meet consumers on paid social channels with reminders of how to access Olympic content.

The strategic timing of Olympic-centric ads is key, as consumers might tune out the suggestion of subscribing to and paying for another platform with the games still months away. Promotions will start to increase by late June to boost excitement and will likely include messages emphasizing the urgency to sign up. The peak in paid social spend will occur in July as brands tout upcoming events to entice customers to immediately subscribe, with Peacock and Hulu leading the charge.

A Sporty Summer: Brands across the telecom industry will introduce supplementary Olympic content to celebrate the global moment. 

Streaming services and providers with rights to the Olympics will offer special content and previews to capitalize on the unique excitement of the global event. Brands without broadcasting rights will provide value by curating content to appeal to the sports-focused audience of summer 2024 by building sports libraries on platforms with documentaries and feel-good movies or introducing gamification elements like Olympics trivia.

Peacock’s Perfect Moment: The streamer will hone in on its Olympic coverage as a defining feature worth another subscription expense.

Peacock will likely continue to sample various pricing tactics and promotional offers to attract subscribers ahead of its scheduled raised subscription cost. Although the increase of $2/mo. for each tier was announced at the end of April, it will not be implemented until July and current subscribers won’t be impacted until August. Peacock may pair promotional deals with Olympic content through June to encourage sign-ups before the new prices take effect.

Saving the Stream: Comcast will showcase Olympic coverage to elevate its StreamSaver bundle as an alluring and timely loyalty perk.

The new streaming bundle featuring Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock will highlight access to content for existing customers at a discounted rate. Broadband and mobile Comcast customers can access the new bundle for $15/mo., while Now TV subscribers will pay $30/mo. StreamSaver will be positioned as a loyalty benefit, with Olympic Games content via Peacock serving as a defining feature that could help move the needle for consumers considering a switch. 

As other entertainment powerhouses play into the trend of offering streaming bundles (most notably Warner Bros Discovery and Walt Disney’s newest offering comprised of Disney+, Hulu, and Max), highlighting exclusive content will be key in standing out.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Beyond Fun and Games: Brands can implement Olympic-centric messaging to take advantage of the event’s excitement when promoting products and services.

Prior to the start of the Olympics, providers will tap into the anticipation by offering special deals on devices that consumers can use to watch the games. To align with the summer’s sports theme, brands will boost the relevance of digital advertisements by incorporating Olympic or general sports-related messaging, possibly sponsoring or partnering with rising stars competing in Paris.

Interested in learning more about the data that backs up these predictions? Contact us today!