What the 2016 Olympics Taught Us About Media Consumption In four years’ time, much changes – especially in the realm of digital and media innovations. In 2012, Facebook had just gained its billionth user, and Snapchat had only been live for a few months. Video streaming was beginning to gain substantial momentum. Netflix had 29.4 million streaming-only users. Flash-forward to 2016, and all of those services and platforms have grown – almost exponentially. Facebook is approaching two billion users, and Snapchat is one of the company’s biggest rivals. Plus, the technology that had just burst on the scene has become ubiquitous in 2016. For example, Netflix now has 1.5 times as many streaming users. Wondering how these changes affected how we …show more content…
For a while, Snapchat has been regarded as a platform just for teens. And while Snapchat is primarily dominated by a younger audience, it has a substantial number of users over 30. The Olympics saw the power of Snapchat – and knew it could use the platform to reach one of its key demographics. For the first time, NBC allowed the distribution of game highlights to stream on social. NBC penned a deal to share video from the Olympics on a dedicated Snapchat channel. NBC Olympics president, Gary Zenkel, said “Snapchat really effectively reaches a very important demographic in the U.S.” Meanwhile, Snapchat’s Ben Schwerin captured why the network captives the younger generation. “It’s as much about what’s going on on the field as what’s going on in the Olympic village and Rio and really feeling like you’re there–seeing it through the fans’ eyes and the athletes’ eyes,” Schwerin said. By fostering partnerships and deals like this, Snapchat’s unique characteristics will help it continue to grow. Emma Fitzpatrick is a Seattle-based freelance writer and marketer, whose specialties include content marketing, social marketing and short, snappy writing. Pick her brain at