1 in 2 US Adults Say They’ll Watch Live Olympic Broadcasts

August 5, 2016

YouGov-US-Adults-Olympic-Viewing-Plans-Aug2016About half of American adults say they’ll definitely (17%) or probably (32%) watch live broadcasts of the 2016 Summer Olympics that are starting today, according to a recent survey [pdf] from YouGov. Live viewing plans are highest among 18-29-year-olds (55%), Hispanics (59%), and those with at least $100k in family income (55%), per the report.

That last point aligns with separate Olympics-related research, this time from GfK. In its analysis, GfK found that US adults planning to watch the 2016 Summer Olympics on TV were 28% more likely than average to live in households with annual income of at least $200k. Olympic “intenders,” as they are termed by GfK, are also 27% more likely to live in homes worth at least $500k and 25% more likely to have a post-graduate degree.

The GfK research also suggests that Olympics “intenders” skew very slightly male (51% share), though not nearly as much as the typical sports audience (68% male).

In other Olympics-themed research:

  • Almost two-thirds of Britons will be second-screening the Olympics, per a report from RadiumOne. While unrelated online activity will be the most common form of second-screening, close to one-third will be engaging in activities related to the events, such as online chats and instant messages (31%), searching online for more information (30%), and making phone calls (30%). Separately, the survey found that virtually all British Olympic TV viewers will be watching the Games at home.
  • Half of Instagram users plan to watch the Olympics every day, and 80% plan to do so at least once a week, says the social platform in a blog post detailing results from a study conducted by GfK. Facebook and Instagram will be sources of information and content about the games for about two-thirds of users, per the study.
  • Of the 7.8 billion total views on YouTube about the Olympics, a leading 33% share are about Olympics athletes, according to an analysis from Zefr [pdf]. There have been 390 million views of re-uploaded Olympics ads, with Puma (17%), Adidas (14%) and Visa (14%) seeing the most views. Visa is the only current official Olympic Sponsor in the top 5 by overall views.
  • The most shared Olympic ad to date is British Broadcast Channel 4’s “We’re The Superhumans” with almost 1.26 million shares across social media as of August 1st, per Unruly. As the second-most shared Olympic ad of all time, it is way ahead of the second most-shared ad, Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself | Michael Phelps,” which has 308,000 shares.
  • Finally, Adobe Digital Insights is calling Rio 2016 the “Stay Home Olympics,” noting less flights booked to Rio and surrounding airports in the first 6 months of the year than for the 2014 World Cup. Other results from the study indicate that the US generates the most home country fan engagement on social media, with tennis star Serena Williams getting the most buzz.
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