Rio 2016 Summer Olympics: 5 billion potential viewers in over 200 countries and territories

The Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games will have a "potential audience reach of more than 5 billion, (which) is the largest ever for the Olympic Games," said the IOC. The London Olympics in 2012 reached 3.6 billion unique viewers (who watched at least one minute of content and who accounted for 76% of a potential public then estimated at 4.73 billion) in 220 countries and territories, through more than 500 television channels worldwide.

For the first time in Rio (BRA), part of the competition will be available in virtual reality provided viewers have the right hardware: the opening ceremony (on Friday, 05/08/2016) and the closing ceremony (21/08/2016) as well as a flagship event per competition day.

"The TV rights for the 2013-2016 period are expected to reach $4.1bn (€3.6bn), up 7% from the 2009-2012 period," said the IOC. The Olympics have reported $2.569bn (€2.29bn) in TV rights, which is 77% of its total revenue, according to the IOC report on the 2011-2012 period which corresponds to the London 2012 edition of the games.

• The entire content production is ensured by the…