TikTok Overtakes the Olympics Viewership Experience
TV broadcasting is no longer the only way to watch the victory -or loss- of your favorite Olympic competitor.
In the age of quick news and social media platforms, exploring the Olympics through the classical approach of watching the events on cable TV has stagnated.
Social media giant TikTok has become the go-to platform to view the Olympics and interact with the sports competitors, while NBC, the TV network with the exclusive rights to broadcast the event, is lagging behind.
Ali Vazal, an influencer marketing expert, considers that the average Olympics viewer is no longer loyal to a TV network, but to people.
This is translated through the viewers’ fervent interaction with the Olympics participants and their short clips posted on TikTok, which highlight their preparatory routine, their winning reactions, or even simple genuine moments.
Despite the participants’ inability to post clips from their own performances in the competition due to NBC’s broadcast rights in the US, many are avoiding this legal issue by diversifying their content and talking directly to their followers, answering their questions, or simply discussing their performance. This approach is driving a lot of avid sports followers and simple enthusiasts alike to immigrate from the ad-filled, commentary-heavy realm of the Olympics TV broadcast to the more organic clips of TikTok. This was aided by the increase in the time limit allowed for videos posted, increasing it up to 3 minutes in length, three times the previously allowed limit.
The social media platform, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, ramped up its user base by 3.6% during the Games, with its growth rate surpassing other platforms such as Youtube and Instagram.
The rift between the viewers and the broadcasting network was perfectly encapsulated in the Simone Biles debacle: When the infamous video of the US gymnast’s unstable performance had been already posted and shared countless times on TikTok, NBC did not even bother showing it during the announcement of her withdrawal.
By then, the world had known all about her decision, its impact, and the causes leading to that moment, thanks to TikTok.