USA men's basketball Olympic gold medal win vs. France saw 19.5 million viewers, most since 1996

The USA men’s basketball team’s gold medal win on Saturday delivered TV viewership numbers that haven’t been seen in nearly three decades. According to NBC, the 98-87 victory against France averaged 19.5 million viewers, the most since 1996.

Viewership peaked to 22.7 million during the final minutes of the game as the USA pulled away for the victory. Stephen Curry led the effort with 24 points, including nailing four clutch 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the game.

One of those clutch triples came after France had come back to make it a single-possession game at 82-79. Curry, who was playing in the first Olympic Games of his career, showed the same fire he did in winning four NBA titles with his performance down the stretch.

The 19.5 million viewers who tuned in to watch USA basketball win gold was more than two times the 9.3 million who watched in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It was also significantly more than the 11.7 million viewers for the 2016 Rio Olympics and tripled the viewership from the 2008 and 2004 games.

Additionally, the game ranked as the most-streamed event of the 2024 Olympics via Peacock, garnering an average audience of 2.7 million. The Olympics overall saw a Total Audience Delivery of 30.7 million according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, up from 11.7 million in the Tokyo Olympics.

The gold medal was the fifth straight for the United States and its 17th overall. They have now claimed eight of the past nine Olympics dating back to the 1992 Dream Team.

Men’s basketball was not the only team to claim gold at the Olympics on Saturday, as the women’s soccer team defeated Brazil by a score of 1-0. That game brought in an average viewership of nine million, making it the most-watched gold medal game since 2004.

In addition to Curry winning his first gold, it was also a milestone Olympics for Kevin Durant. He became the most-decorated Olympian in Team USA history to claim his fourth gold medal and also surpassed Lisa Leslie to become the Americans’ all-time leading scorer.

Durant chipped in 15 points in the win against France while fellow Team USA veteran LeBron James added 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Both players have been pivotal in the recent stretch of dominance for the U.S. and with their careers likely reaching an end, it was a great way to cap it off.