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How do you make sure the biggest sports event of the year is also the biggest media event of the year? Bring on the branded content, Gen Z-friendly streaming series and generative AI.
Those are the fresh ingredients NBCUniversal is mixing into its coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games, unfolding in Paris from July 26 through Aug. 11. “We like to raise the bar,” Comcast Corporation president Mike Cavanagh said during a preview of NBCU’s Olympics strategy held Wednesday at Rockefeller Center’s famed Studio 8H—the home of Saturday Night Live.
That strategy will encompass a grand total of 7,000 hours of coverage across every one of the media giant’s linear, digital and streaming platforms. “All of this is going to bring America even closer to the action and excitement, and present an Olympics that will be unforgettable,” Cavanagh promised.
The main event
With apologies to Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, NBC’s biggest drama during the Olympics is going to be Primetime in Paris. Hosted by NBC Sports’ regular Olympics emcee Mike Tirico, the broadcast network’s 8-11 p.m. programming block has been reimagined as a curated three-hour experience that takes viewers on a narrative-driven journey through the major wins and losses of each and every Games day.
“It’s our opportunity to focus on the moments that surround the events,” Molly Solomon, executive producer and president of NBC Olympics Production, said from the Studio 8H stage. “I believe the Olympics are the best reality show in the world.”
And just like Top Chef or The Voice, each episode of Primetime in Paris will have a dramatic arc. Speaking with ADWEEK after the presentation, Solomon said the show’s narrative will steadily build to a branded climactic sequence called Event of the Night, a half-hour segment dedicated to at least one key event presented by big name sponsors with fewer commercial breaks.
“At around 9:45 each night, we’re going to reach the apex of the show, which will be Event of the Night or Events of the Night,” Solomon revealed. “For the next 30 minutes, we’re going to use all our storytelling firepower around those events to bring them to life and tell stories about the athletes. It’s going to be sponsored, and it will have limited commercial interruption.”