It's March Madness season — which alongside the Super Bowl — is one of the biggest sporting events in the U.S. But we're also just a few months away from the biggest sporting event in the entire world as the 2024 Summer Olympics Games in Paris start on July 26.
Olympics viewership has seen a pretty substantial dip in recent iterations, especially during the recent Tokyo Olympics that were delayed from 2020 to 2021 and marred by the Covid-19 pandemic.
NBC is paying a whopping $7.65 billion to broadcast the Olympics until 2032 — and while the game still has viewership in the tens of millions, it's clear that the network needs to find a way to bring back its audience to justify its investment.
Related: How you can attend the 2024 Paris Olympics in person
Over the last few days, the network has announced a few changes that could enhance the viewing experience in an effort to bring in more fans or have them watch the games for longer.
On Wednesday, Mar. 20, NBCUniversal (CMCSA) announced that it would be taking the "RedZone" style of programming made popular with the NFL and bring it to the Olympics. NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service will offer the "Gold Zone," bringing a format that will move around the different events of Olympics during the most important times of an event.
The show will be hosted by Scott Hanson, Andrew Siciliano, Matt Iseman, and Akbar Gbajabiamila. Hanson and Siciliano are mainstays in the NFL Network's coverage of the football league, with the latter hosting the "RedZone Channel" on DirecTV for nearly two decades.
"Gold Zone" will be available on Peacock from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET from July 26 to Aug. 10. NBCUniversal began streaming some events exclusively on Peacock during the last Summer Olympics — and it has continued to push its streaming platform for other live sporting events like a 2024 Wild Card NFL playoff game — so this move further shows the company's commitment to the service.
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Moreover, NBC also announced that it is going to have the Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26 available for viewership at IMAX locations around the country.
This is the first time that the event will be presented on IMAX screens and will be available at 150 IMAX locations, according to the press release.
These two moves further showcase that NBC is looking to throw anything at the wall to maximize and unlock the value of the Olympics broadcasting rights.
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