The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics garnered an impressive 28.6 million U.S. viewers across NBC and Peacock, marking the most-watched summer Games start since London 2012. This viewership surge represents a significant increase over the 17 million viewers who tuned in for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

NBCUniversal, which paid $7.65 billion for exclusive broadcasting to the Olympics in the US through 2032, saw this as a crucial turn of events. The ceremony, featuring athletes floating down the Seine and a performance by Celine Dion, drew substantial audience interest.

While time zone differences and COVID-19 may have dampened the excitement surrounding the Tokyo and Beijing games, NBCUniversal incorporated celebrity appearances, including Beyoncé introducing Team USA, to encourage viewing.

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, set new records with over 2.5 million viewers for the ceremony, making it the most-streamed opening ceremony to date and the platform’s biggest entertainment event ever.