Olympics: Viewing Hours up 7X on YouTube

NBC Sports
(Image credit: NBC Sports)

SAN BRUNO, Calif.—While broadcast TV viewing of the Olympics dipped to record lows in the U.S., YouTube is reporting record global steaming, with 190 million daily average views and more than 200 million hours of Olympic Games content watched on YouTube. 

That is seven times the hours viewed during Rio 2016, the service reported in a blog. 

The average daily views of more than 190 million was five times more than the average daily views of Olympic Games content on YouTube during Rio 2016.  

During the two weeks of Olympic coverage, the Olympic YouTube Channel alone grew from 6 million subscribers to 7.9 million subscribers. 

“We worked with broadcasters around the world to deliver the most comprehensive viewing experience, including live streams of opening and closing ceremonies, clips of memorable moments, highlights of all the action across the 33 Olympic sports, and athlete content straight from Tokyo,” the blog said. 

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.