The figure is impressive. According to an independent study conducted by Publicis Sport & Entertainment for the IOC, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games reached a global audience of over two billion people. That’s 2.01 billion unique viewers, who watched the event on linear TV channels and digital platforms, a 5% increase over the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. Another staggering figure (but they are all staggering in the digital world) is that 713 billion minutes of Games coverage on Olympic media rights partners’ channels were viewed by the public, an 18% jump from the 2018 edition in South Korea. The same opinion poll promises a bright future for the Olympics, with almost half of those surveyed saying they would like to watch more coverage of the event in the coming years. The popularity is particularly strong among young people, with 57% of 13-19 year olds saying they would like to watch more Olympic competitions. Unsurprisingly, the Beijing 2022 Games’ audience on digital platforms has exploded, with the IOC website and app receiving 68 million unique visitors, more than double the figure for the PyeongChang 2018 Games. For its survey, Publicis Sport & Entertainment polled more than 28,000 people aged 13 to 65 in 16 countries between February and March 2022.
