USA Swimming has high expectations for the 2024 Olympic Trials, which will be held this summer at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
At the January board meeting, USA Swimming's chief commercial officer shanna ferguson They shared the organization's goal of reaching a total of 45 million television viewers for the NBC finals during the nine-night national trial competition June 15-23.
USA Swimming is targeting an average of 5 million viewers per night. That's nearly double the 2.7 million average for his 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. This is higher than the average audience of 4.5 million viewers in 2016, but falls short of the all-time high of 6.7 million viewers in 2012. In 2008, NBC's four swim broadcasts averaged 5.1 million viewers.American superstar of course michael phelps He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008, 2012 and 2016, but did not compete in 2021.
Average number of viewers per night for the U.S. Olympic Games
- 2024 goal: 5 million people
- 2021: 2.7 million people
- 2016: 4.5 million people
- 2012: 6.7 million people
- 2008: 5.1 million people
USA Swimming has also set a goal to stream the morning qualifying sessions for the Olympic Trials, but the organization's plans have not yet identified a platform.
There are several competitive sporting events on TV in mid-June, including the NBA Finals, the US Open (golf) from June 13th to 16th, and the NCAA College Baseball World Series. It's planned. From June 14th to 23rd.
USA Swimming is also aiming to set a new world record for the largest swimming meet in history, as Lucas Oil Stadium can reportedly accommodate up to 30,000 fans per session. It will be the first time the U.S. Olympic swimming competition will be held on a soccer field, where three temporary pools will be constructed. Indianapolis hosted the U.S. Olympic Games in 2000 and a century earlier, prior to the 1924 Paris Olympics.
As of last month, sales for the event were expected to be less than half of USA Swimming's original estimate of 30,000 tickets, with about 17,000 tickets expected to remain unsold at the current pace. According to the CEO tim hincheyThe key performance indicator (KPI) is that the target number of participants for the trial is 65% of the capacity for the final session.
Currently, the cheapest all-session ticket is $475, while the cheapest single-day seat for opening night (June 15) is about $61. At the January Board of Directors meeting, Senior Marketing and Communications Director jake grosser To date, ticket revenue for the event has totaled more than $7 million, according to USA Swimming.
Additionally, at the January board meeting, USA Swimming's chief financial officer Eric Skafka It identified partnership marketing revenue and trial ticket revenue as “the remaining two most important variables” in achieving the organization's goal of a $1.3 million surplus for the Olympic cycle that ends this year.
