Andrew Cann. Credit: Amy Jordee Photography
Paris 2024 delivered record engagement across Nine’s platforms, with some sponsors seeing multiple years’ worth of awareness in a single Games, according to Nine director of Olympic & Paralympic sales Andrew Cann.
“Audience behaviour in Paris showed extraordinary engagement,” Cann said.
“Some partners saw four years’ worth of sponsorship awareness delivered in one Games. Multiply that for a home Games in Brisbane.”
Cann, speaking at AdNews Brisbane L!VE, said Paris marked a clear shift from Tokyo 2020, when sentiment around the Olympic movement was mixed.
Nine’s coverage stretched across linear TV, 9Now, Stan Sport, publishing and audio,
“It was a whole-of-business broadcast undertaking on a scale we’d never attempted,” Cann said.
“The engagement we saw across our platforms was unbelievable. The sheer scale of the event is like nothing we have ever seen as a broadcaster who covers a lot of different sports.
“The volume of audiences engaging across the board was unbelievable.”
Cann said treating Olympic and Paralympic coverage as a unified proposition created deeper brand impact.
“One of the key learnings has been the inclusivity of it all,” he said.
“There wasn't one of our brands that didn't bring together the Paralympians and Olympians as one, that was a real insight for us.
Cann said more than 20 million Australians tuned in across the Olympic period.
The opening week of Paris 2024 competition also set a new viewing benchmark on Stan Sport, outperforming the previous record by more than 300%.
Nine’s Olympics coverage also led to 9News recording its ten highest rating bulletins of the year over the past two weeks.
The Paralympics also delivered strong returns.
“The engagement levels were about 30% of brand effectiveness for our partners in the Paralympics,” Cann said.
“That is driven by the engagement in the athletes' stories. That's a real learning piece and some of our brands have really leaned into that."
Toyota tapped into this emotional pull by using mobility and purpose-led storytelling to amplify Paralympic narratives.
The implications for marketers, Cann said, sat well beyond Paris.
“Sport sponsorship is a long-term investment. Authenticity matters, supporting athletes, investing in pathways, telling real stories, not just creating a glossy ad,” he said.
Milan and LA will be key touchpoints before Brisbane.
“You won’t be able to just turn it on two weeks out,” Cann said.
Cann said Brisbane 2032 will intensify the combined storytelling power of the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
“The brands we saw come through strongly in Paris, the ones that tell a story and support athletes and deliver, they don’t just tell the story,” he said.
“It’s about being part of the journey, not just creating a beautiful piece and leaving it there.”
Cann said Paris set a benchmark for audience engagement and brand effectiveness and the lessons will shape Nine’s approach as attention shifts to Milan, LA 2028 and ultimately Brisbane 2032.
“The Olympic Games and specifically the Brisbane Olympic Games, will be about authenticity, pride and storytelling at scale,” he said.
AdNews would like to thank our sponsors. Supporting partners: Audience360, Blis, Foxtel Media and NINE. Associate Partners: LiSTNR and PubMatic. Friends of AdNews: BAA and BADC
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