Viacom18 gains the highest-ever viewership for Olympics in India

Viacom18, in its first Olympic broadcast, gained the highest-ever viewership for the Olympics in India across linear and digital platforms.

Over 17 crore viewers visited JioCinema and Sports18 Network, with a total watch time exceeding 1,500 crore minutes as more people watched Olympic content for longer durations in India, according to the company’s press release.

The Olympics coverage in India was presented across 20 concurrent feeds for the first time. Fans were able to watch their favourite events and Indian performances for free on JioCinema at any time and on any device, making it the most-watched Olympics ever. There were 17 sports-wise feeds and three curated feeds available in 4K, giving viewers the ability to track the world's finest athletes in action at Paris 2024.

A record 69 brands participated in the advertising for the Olympics broadcast in India. This led to a 2.6x increase in advertising revenue compared to the Tokyo Olympics, according to the press release. The Co-Presenting Partners of the Viacom18 presentation were Reliance Foundation, SBI, and JSW. Coca-Cola India Limited and Herbalife were Associate Partners, and other major advertisers included RBI, AMFI, Aditya Birla Capital, Air India, Bacardi Martini India Limited, and MRF, among others.

The Paris 2024 presentation offered innovative ad assets like split-screen ads, 4-sided squeeze backs, contextual assets like Super Start, Winning Moment, Super Saves, and Branded Tabs on Medal Tally and Schedule, coupled with brand presence during key India moments, which helped advertisers establish an associative value with the event, according to the press release.

“Paris 2024 is a prime example of how non-cricket sporting action is continuing to grow in adoption amongst Indian audiences. Both the viewership scale and the enthusiastic advertiser participation bear testimony to that,” said Kiran Mani, digital chief executive officer at Viacom18, in a statement. “Our endeavour is to constantly enhance the sports viewing experience, engaging sports fans across all screens and for longer, while giving advertisers the avenues and opportunities to reach their consumers most effectively,” he added.

Viacom18 presented the Olympics in four languages with an expert panel of former Olympians, along with the biggest ever on-ground coverage of the event by an Indian broadcaster with a crew of 20+ people and ground presence across six venues, according to the press release.

The opening ceremony was made available across Sports18 Network, Colors Network, VH1, and MTV, besides being free on JioCinema.