Written by Sheila Dang
PARIS (Reuters) – The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games drew 28.6 million U.S. viewers, according to preliminary data from Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal on Saturday, making it the most-watched opening of a Summer Olympics since London in 2012.
Friday’s celebration featured sports delegations floating down the Seine River past Paris landmarks, as well as singer Celine Dion’s first public performance in years.
It’s a crucial broadcast event for NBCUniversal, which paid $7.65 billion to extend its rights to broadcast the Games in the United States through 2032. NBCUniversal’s Olympic media rights deal is the largest in the world.
The viewership figure, which includes NBC and streaming service Peacock, is a boon for the network compared to just 17 million viewers for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Both the 2022 Tokyo and Beijing Olympics have been a difficult time zone for American audiences and have been impacted by the pandemic.
In the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, NBCUniversal has been vocal about its plans to bring viewers back to the event. During its broadcast, singer Beyoncé introduced Team USA in a video that aired before the U.S. athletes appeared on the river, one of several celebrities who will be part of NBCUniversal’s coverage throughout the Olympics.
It will also incorporate artificial intelligence technology into its coverage, including recreating the voice of sports commentator Al Michaels.