Olympics Overhaul: NBC Bets on Snoop Dogg, Peacock and Wild Ideas to Ensure the 2024 Paris Games Are a Ratings Bonanza
variety.comSnoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson, Mike Tirico and Jimmy Fallon have in common? This is not a joke — at least not to the leaders of NBC Universal and a small army of NBC Sports producers hunkered down at offices in Stamford, Conn., and Paris, France.
The answer is the Paris Olympics, which will be telecast in the U.S. with a markedly different approach this summer. Primetime coverage will be aimed at a much broader crowd than it has for recent Olympic Games.
NBCUniversal has $7.8 billion on the hi line in rights fees for the Games through 2032, and that ninefigure commitment is forcing the company to shore up its investment by proving that the Olympics is still a cultural juggernaut.
To achieve that in today’s fractured media environment, it needs to make its Olympics coverage more user-friendly and tailor it to many specific audiences, from the casual sports viewer to rabid fans of obscure competitions.
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