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The 2024 Olympics in Paris captivated a record-breaking audience, drawing an impressive 30.6 million viewers across National Broadcasting Company (NBC) Universal’s various platforms. This remarkable increase in viewership, marking an 82% jump from the Tokyo Games, solidified the event as the most-streamed Olympics of all time.
The media giant shared that its coverage accumulated an astounding 23.5 billion minutes of stream time, a 40% surge compared to all prior summer and winter Games combined.
GeoPoll, in collaboration with mediaReach OMD, conducted a Pre-Olympics survey to assess public perceptions around the games. Drawing from the report, GeoPoll carried out a follow-up review of the most popular events during the 2024 Paris Olympics, focusing on Kenya’s viewership through the GeoPoll Audience Measurement service.
This analysis provided insights into which sports captured the attention of Kenyan audiences during the Games. The games were aired live on SuperSport and Kenya Broadcasting Channel (KBC)
1. Athletics-Men’s 800m Final
The Men’s 800m Final was the most-watched event with over 1.4 million Kenyans tuning in, and saw Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi finishing first.
At the age of 20, Wanyonyi became the youngest ever winner of the event in Olympic history, leading a race of unprecedented depth. With his winning time of 1:41.19, Wanyonyi became the third-fastest performer in history, behind only world record-holder David Rudisha and Wilson Kipketer.
2. Brazil vs USA 0-1: Women’s Football Final
The United States won the women’s football gold medal at the Paris Olympics with a 1-0 victory against Brazil on Saturday, August 10th. The match was live at 18:00 EAT and was viewed by millions across Kenya. 26-year-old forward Mallory Swanson’s second-half finish was enough to secure the Americans’ first Olympic gold since 2012 and their fifth overall.
3. Athletics – Men’s 200m Final
At the Paris 2024 Games on Thursday 8th 21.30EAT, Letsile Tebogo made history for Botswana by winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in any sport. He secured the 200m title, holding off USA’s Kenny Bednarek and 100m champion Noah Lyles.
Tebogo used a record time of 19.46; this impressive time moves the 21-year-old to fifth on the world all-time list.
During the outstanding event, Tebogo was lined up in lane seven, with Bednarek to his right and Knighton, then Lyles, to his left. As they blasted out of the blocks and reached the curve, Tebogo was slightly ahead of his US rivals. He continued to pull away and had time to celebrate as he approached the finish line, looking up at the screen and then thumping his chest.
The event was popular among Kenyans, being the third most-watched event during the Paris 2024 Olympics with over 1.3 million viewers.
4. Athletics – Women’s 50000m Final
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet won the gold medal in the women’s 5,000 meters race at the Olympics. She finished with a time of 14 minutes and 28.56 seconds. Faith Kipyegon, also from Kenya, initially got disqualified but then her silver medal was reinstated after a review. Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands won the silver with a time of 14:30.61, and Nadia Battocletti from Italy took home the bronze with a time of 14:31.64.
Chebet’s victory not only secured Kenya’s first medal at the Paris Olympics but also showcased her exceptional endurance and determination as she joyfully crossed the finish line.
World champion Faith Kipyegon initially secured second place with a time of 14:29.60 but faced disqualification following a collision with Ethiopian world record holder Gudaf Tsegay on the penultimate lap.
However, after a successful appeal by the Kenyan team, Kipyegon’s silver medal was reinstated, moving the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan to the bronze-medal position and unfortunately knocking Italy’s Nadia Battocletti off the podium.
The heart-racing event which was held on 5th August at 22.15EAT was the forth most watched Paris 2024 Olympics event.
5. Athletics – Men’s 100m Semi-Final
The athletics semi-finals on Sunday, August 4 were among the most-watched events during the Olympics. Many Kenyans watched the races in support of Ferdinand Omanyala, who participated in the 3rd heat and finished in 8th place, preventing him from advancing to the finals. USA’s Noah Lyles won the gold medal.
GeoPoll 2024 Paris Olympics Survey: Insights for Brands and Stakeholders
GeoPoll conducted this survey, in collaboration with mediaReach OMD, using its proprietary mobile web research platform. The survey reached 2,261 respondents, leveraging GeoPoll Audience Measurement (GAM) panels in Kenya and Tanzania, and The OMD Consumer Intelligence (OCI) panel in Ghana and Nigeria.
Data collection occurred from 31 May to 16 June, 2024. The survey was offered in English in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, and in English and Swahili in Tanzania.
Click here, to learn more about the pre-olympic games consumer report.
About GeoPoll Audience Measurement
The GeoPoll Audience Measurement service is a subscription product launched in several countries in 2014. Through a unique mobile-based methodology, GeoPoll provides accurate, up-to-date audience measurement data for various channels, which enables media houses, brands, and agencies to target their audiences and measure ROI of advertisements more accurately.
For more detail on GeoPoll Audience Measurement’s unique methodology and the update, contact us directly today.