The Olympic final between Les Bleus and Team USA was a huge audience hit in France, with 8.68 million viewers, and a peak of 10.2 million people in front of their screens at 11:14 p.m., in the middle of “money time.”
This trend has been confirmed in the United States. since we learn that 19.5 million viewers watched the match, broadcast on NBC in the afternoon on the other side of the Atlantic.
Around 5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. (Eastern conference time), therefore in the last minutes of this game, as in France, we observe a peak with 22.7 million people glued to the screens.
This audience is the highest for an Olympic final in the United States since 1996 and the Atlanta Games (25.8 million). Which is not surprising since the following Games will be held in Australia, Asia or Europe, therefore with a significant time difference for the American public.
Which explains, for example, why the 2008 final in Beijing, perhaps the greatest match in history, was only seen by 6 million people, less than the 2004 edition in Athens, when Team USA was not in the final!
- 1996 in Atlanta : 25.8 million American viewers
- 2000 in Sydney : 16.3 million
- 2004 in Athens : 6.2 million
- 2008 in Beijing : 6 million
- 2012 in London : 12.5 million
- 2016 in Rio : 11.7 million
- 2020 in Tokyo : 9.3 million
- 2024 in Paris : 19.5 million
