The USWNT cruised through the first two games of its Olympic soccer schedule in Paris, and viewership has matched the performances. Convincing performances against Zambia and Germany sent Emma Hayes’s side through to the quarterfinals. With one group-stage game remaining, it is a chance for the Americans to carry their momentum both on the field and off.
NBC has the rights to the Olympics in the United States, and fixtures involving the USWNT have delivered strong audiences. The USWNT’s win over Germany averaged 4.2 million viewers across USA Network and Peacock. That is more than all soccer matches from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The USWNT featured in that competition. Yet, favorable kickoff times against a historic rival certainly boosted the 2024 Olympic contest against Germany.
Viewership is not readily available for the opening game against Zambia. However, it is more than likely that viewership for that game was lower than that of the German contest. That game included two of the top five teams in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Additionally, the USWNT is back to scoring goals often. The side has seven goals in its first two games, which shows it is a joy to watch for those tuning into the games.
More fans have watched the USWNT at the Olympics than the American men’s team. To be fair, that is a youth team, with many of the senior squad returning to club action this summer. Regardless, that team pulled 1.1 million viewers on NBC’s platforms during the loss against host nation France.
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USWNT not alone in Olympic viewership success
It is not necessarily surprising to see the USWNT pull such great audiences during the Olympics. Even with brutal kickoff times for the United States, fans watched the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. For example, over 5 million people watched group-stage games at the Women’s World Cup. As the tournament goes along, more fans will watch the USWNT look for gold at Paris 2024.
The viewership of the Women’s World Cup may have been higher than current USWNT games at the Olympics. However, it is important to remember there are so many other events going on at the Olympics. Each event is available for viewers on Peacock, with other NBC channels simultaneously broadcasting events.
Compared to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, viewership on NBC’s platforms for the Olympics is up 79%. The US Men’s Basketball Team drew an average audience of 10.9 million. That is more than the gold-medal game at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which also featured the United States. The total audience delivery on the opening Sunday of the Paris Olympics competition on NBC, Peacock, and across key NBCU platforms was 41.5 million. That nearly doubles the opening Sunday of competition from the 2020 Summer Games.
In terms of soccer, the United States men’s and women’s teams are inching closer to the knockout stage. It is the first time the United States men’s team will be in the knockout stage of the Olympic tournament since 2000 when it finished fourth.
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