Olympics coverage on BBC peaks as highest ratings yet confirmed
Millions tuned in for Keely Hodgkinson's win.
The BBC's Olympics coverage achieved its highest ratings to date this week, as Team GB celebrated a huge victory in the athletics.
The public service broadcaster has substantially reduced its coverage of this year's event due to a deal between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Warner Bros Discovery.
The £1.1 billion agreement has made streaming service discovery+ the primary broadcaster of the global sporting extravaganza for the foreseeable future, with the BBC limited to showing only two streams at any given time.
Nevertheless, significant audiences are still flocking to the broadcaster to catch their Olympic highlights, with yesterday's remarkable performance from Keely Hodgkinson bringing in the highest live audience to date: 8.7 million (via Broadcast).
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The 22-year-old won gold in the 800m final yesterday, fulfilling a lifelong goal after years of claiming silver, finishing the run in a mere one minute and 56.72 seconds, beating Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma by less than half a second.
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"I have really grown over the last couple of years, and this year was the year where you could really tell that I had tried to make that step up," Hodgkinson told BBC Sport.
"The future is bright. I'm super happy to bring it home for everyone. It's not just me, it's a whole team effort, and they know who they are. This is our gold medal."
Retired long-distance runner Paula Radcliffe was among those providing expert commentary in the BBC studio yesterday, speaking highly of Hodgkinson's tenacity and stunning victory.
She said: "The silver queen has stepped up to gold, and she so deserves it. Keely Hodgkinson ran that race with the weight of expectation on her - everyone was hanging that medal around her neck, she knew that as well.
"I think that will open the floodgates now she has turned silver to gold."
In spite of the tightened restrictions, the BBC's Paris 2024 Olympics coverage has reached a higher peak than Tokyo 2021 (5m), with the vast time difference between the UK and Japan playing a role there.
In a statement to The Guardian, Warner Bros Discovery executive Andrew Georgiou said the company's deal with the IOC had driven up discovery+ subscribers, with the partnership set to continue until at least 2032.
He explained: "We have just renewed our Olympics partnership to Brisbane 2032 - that’s an indication of how successful the first cycle has been. It has gone from strength to strength.
"We are happy with our investment in the Olympics and our ongoing partnership with the BBC."
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