United States guard LeBron James (6) commemorates with the gold medal after the video game versus France in the males's basketball gold medal video game throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The United States' leading basketball stars won gold over France Saturday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, mesmerizing an audience equaling among the notorious “all-star team” of the 1990s.
Approximately 19.6 million audiences tuned in to see Stephen Curry and LeBron James lead the U.S. to a 98-87 success over the host nation. It's the highest-rated gold-medal video game because 1996 when Hall of Famer Charles Barkley led the 3rd “Dream Team” to a gold medal win over Yugoslavia in Atlanta.
Big rankings for NBC and Peacock for @TeamUSA's 98-87 win over France in the gold medal video game of guys's basketball on August 10, 2024. #Parigi 2024 #Olympics @StephenCurry30 @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/yBX4nyn2vi
— Douglas Pucci (@SonOfTheBronx) August 11, 2024
Before Saturday, the highest-rated gold-medal video game after 1996 happened in 2000, when the U.S. likewise beat France, drawing 16.3 million audiences, per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. Furthermore, Lewis explained that, at its peak (22.7 million), Saturday's contest was the most-watched basketball video game at any level because the 2019 NCCA guys's basketball championship game (Virginia vs. Texas Tech), which acquired 19.6 million audiences.
The robust numbers aren't a surprise, as this pattern has actually appeared throughout the Paris video games, despite the competitors.
The U.S. ladies's gymnastics group won well-rounded gold to a huge audience of 12.7 million, topping a number of significant sporting occasions, consisting of every video game of the 2023-24 NBA Finals and the opening round of this year's NFL Draft. The U.S. ladies's nationwide soccer group's very first gold medal success in 12 years, a 1-0 win over Brazil, was the most-watched considering that the 2004 Athens video games (9 million) in spite of being transmitted at 11 a.m. Saturday in the States.
NBC, Peacock and its platforms went beyond 30 million audiences throughout Saturday's Olympic protection, with a general average of 31.3 million throughout the video games.
More must-reads:
- 3 takeaways from Team USA's gold-medal win over France
- LeBron James supplies 2024 Team USA its label after winning Olympic gold medal
- The ‘Team USA points per video game leaders' test
