By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Tokyo ‍

TOKYO, 04 AUGUST 2021 (PACNEWS) --- Timmo Lumme told the international media in Tokyo the 2020 Summer Olympics will go down in history as the ‘first streaming Olympic Games.’

“You are basically looking at 9,500 hours of content expected to be delivered to right holding broadcasters for Tokyo 2020, '' said Lumme.

In 1964 when Tokyo hosted the Games, it was the first time the Games were held in colour to people’s homes. 

“Now 60-odd years later, we are entering a new age with video streaming. Beijing 2008 was perhaps the first digital Games, London 2012 was the first social media Games, and Tokyo 2020 I suppose you could say are the first streaming Olympic Games,” said Lumme.

While the final report on the total viewership of the Opening Ceremony and the first week of competition is yet to be determined, streaming and live coverage of the Games are already very dominant in terms of viewing and market share both on television and digital platforms.

“From an overall perspective the broadcast partners are providing more distribution of Olympic content than at any Games before. So that means more hours of coverage, more platforms and new ways to reach users in what we all recognise and understand is an ever-growing but also ever-more fragmented media world.”

“For example, viewership for the Opening Ceremony was higher than Rio in 2016. While the numbers are still being confirmed, it will probably be 600 million.

Lumme said they have noted an incredibly strong engagement towards the Games from the people of Japan.

‍

‍

“As of close of play on Sunday 01 August, 113.5 million Japanese people have watched the Games – or 9 out 10 have watched the Games. The most watched was the Opening Ceremony of 70 million which translates to 56% of the Japanese population watched it, said Lumme.

“TV ratings again generally are much higher for the channels showing the Games than they would have in an ordinary or non-Olympic year. The Opening Ceremony global audience, that’s something we’re still working on, so we don’t have an actual number for you. But if you were to ask me what my expectation is, I would say that we would be at a level or slightly higher than Rio 2016. I would say we would be expecting a TV audience of around 600 million.”

In Australia, Channel 7 Games digital streaming recorded its biggest in history – 62% of the population watched at least some aspects of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

‍

‍

Lumme said the IOC digital platforms are breaking records with 130 million unique viewers – doubling the number of viewers for the Rio 2016 Olympics. 

Lumme said live streaming and coverage of new sports have impacted television and digital streaming ratings and consumption in the first week of the Games.

“Skateboarding and surfing, just to give you an example from Brazil: surfing and skateboarding make up five of the top 10 highest Olympic programmes through the first week. Women’s surfing on Monday 26 July last week was watched by over 20 million people, which makes it the highest non-football sports broadcast since the start of 2020.

“In general, we’re expecting a boost to engagement from these very strong sporting communities. The participants and the fans of these particular sports are really engaging in the Olympic broadcast because they’re so happy to see their sporting stars performing on the Olympic stage, said Lumme.

In the North Pacific region, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia are part of the improved delivery of Olympic Games coverage which means that instead of curated highlights, audiences can view real time coverage. While there was a delay in this service being set up, it is now available.

‍

‍

The Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is the host broadcast organisation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. OBS produces the live television, radio and digital coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) established OBS to serve as the permanent host broadcaster for the Games, eliminating the need to continually rebuild the broadcast operation for each edition, and as a result create a more efficient, streamlined operation. This continuity allows the IOC to maintain the highest Olympic broadcast standards from Games to Games.