Watching the Olympics is something that people all over the world do every four years. But with so many sports, so many events, so many countries and so many athletes, the viewing experience can be chaotic. Peacock is making that experience easier than ever for the 2024 Olympics in Paris by deploying a combination of advanced tech, straightforward features and compelling original content.
NBCUniversal boasts that its comprehensive coverage of the Paris Olympics is the biggest media event ever with over 7,000 hours of coverage, including more than 5,000 streaming hours. All 329 medal events will stream on Peacock. Which is great, and all, but the "what," "when" and "how" are always the big questions brought up by watching any Olympics.
Even when the time zone difference isn't so bad (Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S. East Coast), the sheer number of events is staggering. On top of that, events are broken down into qualifying rounds, time trials, or heats, followed by medal finals. Throw in world-famous athletes, interesting underdogs, and dramatic comebacks. Figuring out the "what," "when" and how" seems impossible.
Peacock hopes to give you the answers. Here's a guide to what they're doing to make watching the Olympics less of a hurdle.
1. Comprehensive Olympics hub and individual sports hubs
As usual, NBC and its sibling cable networks USA, E! and CNBC will air various events through the Olympics from Friday, July 26 through Sunday, August 11.
But Peacock is the one and only one-stop shop. The service is streaming every sport and event, including all 329 medal events; full-event replays; all NBC programming; curated video clips; virtual channels; original programming; and more.
All coverage will be accessible via an Olympics hub (listed in Peacock's main navigation bar) where users can find the biggest live events and replays, check an interactive schedule, browse by sport, search by athlete and look at medal standings.
2. Multiview experiences with four times the action
Peacock is launching a multiview experience for the Olympics that's in line with what other services, like YouTube TV and Apple TV Plus, already offer. Their multiview feature will come in two forms.
The first is what the service calls "Discovery Multiview," a curated four-view experience showing important events with real-time on-screen descriptions from NBCU’s Olympic experts explaining the stakes.
The second is a traditional multiview that displays up to four matches on one screen in a particular sport such as track and field, soccer, and wrestling.
3. Live actions that give viewers control
Another feature Peacock is rolling out for the Olympics is live actions, a sort of "choose your own streaming adventure." During whip-around GoldZone coverage, viewers can choose to continue watching the live feed of a specific event rather than going with the broadcast when it moves on to another event.
For instance, while you're watching gymnastics, you can select the "keep watching" button that pops up before the broadcast transitions to coverage of archery or basketball.
Live actions will also allow viewers to add upcoming events to their "My Stuff" list for later. For example, if you're watching a swimming heat, you can add the medal match to your list — acting s a reminder.
4. Comedic reactions from Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson
During the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Kevin Hart and rapper Snoop Dogg teamed up for a Peacock highlights show that went viral for their hilarious reactions and recaps of the day's events. Snoop has been promoted to an NBC correspondent for the Paris games, but Hart will be back on Peacock with a new partner: "Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson.
"Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart & Kenan Thompson" will debut on Friday, July 26 following the Opening Ceremony, which will make history by taking place on the River Seine. A four-mile-long flotilla of nearly 90 boats will carry athletes from more than 200 countries past hundreds of thousands of spectators seated on the banks of the Seine.
We can't wait to hear what kind of jokes Hart and Thompson will make about the Seine's cleanliness (or lack thereof), potential sharks in the water and whatever else comes to the comedians' minds. And since this is on Peacock and not NBC, that could truly be anything. Earmuffs for the kids!
5. AI-generated highlights voiced by Al Michaels
Of course, an Olympic games in 2024 wouldn't be complete without the involvement of artificial technology. Peacock is using generative AI and AI voice synthesis technology to create a personalized daily Olympic recap with the voice of the legendary announcer Al Michaels (with his collaboration and input).
Every day, users can fire up a customized playlist that contains highlights of the events most relevant to them. Clips from the previous day's basketball game, swimming heat, table tennis match, fencing final, etc. will be narrated by a re-creation of Michaels' voice, which was trained using his past appearances on NBC.
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