New York Fashion Week vs. The Olympics 2016

6 Things You Didn’t Know: NYFW & The Olympics

Earlier this year, we pitted the two most anticipated events in America against each other to see how they stacked up in the public eye: the ultra fab, exclusively elite New York Fashion Week F/W16 and America’s #1 passion and most talked about event, Super Bowl 50. This year, however, we're expecting another major spectacle to sweep the Internet by storm: The Olympic Games 2016 taking place in Rio, Brazil. As curious as we were about the Super Bowl, we're equally as curious with The Olympics. How much revenue do The Games bring in? How much are athletes paid? How strong is their hashtag game? From economical impact to social media-- numbers never lie. We did some hardcore sleuthing (again), and rounded up 6 of the craziest facts about NYFW and The Olympics you probably didn’t know before. Find out below!

"We would like the revenue, to sum it up."  (Bill Mooney, Zynga)

Bringing in about 2x the revenue than other major events (like Super Bowl), NY fashion weeks (S/S and F/W) in total boasts a whopping $900 million. According to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the fashion industry as a whole employs over 180,000 people, which pays $11 billion in wages, and generates about $2 billion in tax revenue per year. BUT, as impressive as that $900 mill looks, The Olympic Games may bring in more than $5 BILLION from both the Summer and Winter games this year. According to Money Inc, the bulk of this amount is generated from TV broadcasting revenues, which is estimated to total to $4.1 billion. I predict Rio will be getting a nice economic boost very soon. 

"You don't have a TV? What's all your furniture pointed at?"  (Joey Tribbiani, Friends)

"The London Games heralded a new era in Olympic broadcasting, with more traditional broadcast coverage than ever before," confirmed by the International Olympic Committee. When it comes to faithful fans, the Super Bowl is unbeatable. In 2012, The Olympic Games in London was recorded as the most watched television event in American history, with more than 219 million viewers. In addition, records indicate more than 100,000 hours of The Games' coverage in 2012, compared to the 61,000 hours recorded during the 2008 Games.

On the other hand, due to its exclusivity and invite-only tradition, New York Fashion Week across both seasons is typically attended by about 125,000 showgoers. Though with today’s technology and info-sharing capabilities, NYFW has been more accessible to a wider audience through livestream. Last year, over 2 million people tuned in from their couches and/or cubicles to get the inside look on the hottest trends and styles to hit the runway.

“And one game, as we know, can cost you a lot.”
(Tony Dungy, former NFL)

As incredible as that $4 bill figure looked as revenue-- the cost of hosting The Olypmics is just as impressive. In 2012, Great Britain spent about $15 billion to stage the entire Olympics in London (according to CNN). That's 4x as much as this year's expected revenue.

On the other hand, designers are also known to put down a pretty penny to make sure their shows captivate fashion’s elite. Achieving approval from industry influencers is the most important meausure of ROI in the fashion game afterall. Of course not as high as $15 billion-- but $1 million for one show in New York is still pretty impressive. amiright? 

On average, about 130 front row seats are available in a typical fashion show, and the people who are seated in those seats are just as crucial as the detail that goes into the clothes coming down the runway. Bringing in renown editors, top bloggers, 'IT' girls and celebrities gaurantee an incredible amount of press. In fact, some A-list influencers are paid up to $100,000 just to attend a show during fashion week. 

Comparatively, as influencers are offered a pretty large sum for their attendance during fashion week, athletes that are given the opportunity to compete in the Olympics are actually paid significantly less… a total of $0 dollars! Insane right?! Although these talented professionals get a whopping zero dollars from the International Olympics Committee-- winners can walk away with a pretty nice bonuses from $10k up to $600k (along with bragging rights of course).

"Social media is the ultimate equalizer." (Amy Jo Martin, Digital Royalty)

Ah, social media-- the truest form of clout. Measured by anyone who has an opinion, social conversations are always loud and fierce for both spectacles and continue to hit new heights in engagements and interactions every year. In 2015, #nyfw was reportedly used 31.6 million times in Instagram engagements. For The Olympic Games in London 2012, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Google+), attracted 4.7 million followers with about 150 million tweets about the Games!