My theory on why the Olympics has less and less veiwership..

[Devastatin Dave]

I don't have any articles are back up facts to support my theory, so please allow me to insert a opinion without having linked 1000 paged articles or stats from internet experts...
Its my opinion that the olympics have been outsourced by the internet and better communications. The world is, information wise, much smaller and more connected than ever. Not only that, most professional sports have many people from all over the world playing in them no matter where the professional sprot is located. When i was a kid, I would watch the olympics, but I don't even watch it anymore.

So, who's watching? I'm not, are you? Are these the best athletes in the world? Opinions please and if you have links to support or dispute my theory, please feel free to post them.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

I thought it was meant to be an amateur event.
It's less interesting to me the more professionals are in it.

Besides, the six nations is on at the moment.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Crappy US channels showing bios on players instead of actual events. That's why.

Crazed Rabbit

[Adrian II]

Dunno.

My guess: Professionalism + Drugs + PR overdose => boring Olympics.

[Azi Tohak]

Yeah, I'm watching. But there is also nothing else on. However, I am at home right now (yeah yeah, waiting for work to start up) and my Mom has been a big fan since she was a little girl. So that has rubbed off on me so far.

Azi

[drone]

Crappy US channels showing bios on players instead of actual events. That's why.

Crazed Rabbit

TiVo solves all. I've got as many events as possible queued up (especially the odd-hours telecasts), and I will gladly fast-forward through the human-interest stories, boring events, and commercials to watch human beings going waaaaaay faster than they should on ice and snow.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

The professionalism really bothers me. Particularly the grossly overpaid American ones. Even more particularly the grossly overpaid American ones who don't even win. Gah!

And the commercials for the Olympics are much cooler than the real thing. A few seconds of great action sequences and some cool music. The real stuff is pretty boring.

[t1master]

nbc has horrid coverage, plus it's really hard to get nbc tuned in right with the arial antenna. no cable or sattellite in my house...

[Rodion Romanovich]

The only good thing about the winter olympics is the hockey! Unlike the world cup, all the NHL pros are now taking part in the tournament and we'll see a top shape Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and USA...

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I thought it was meant to be an amateur event.
It's less interesting to me the more professionals are in it.

Not really. Thats not how it worked in Greece. It is supposed to showcase the best atheletes in the world period. I like having the pros in there. Now I have a solution to the low ratings. Simply return to basics and have the Olympics the way they were originally done. That is in the nude. I garruntee a vast audience for womens figure skating and gymnastics.

[Devastatin Dave]

Simply return to basics and have the Olympics the way they were originally done. That is in the nude. I garruntee a vast audience for womens figure skating and gymnastics.

The splits would get higher points for sure...

[Goofball]

The only good thing about the winter olympics is the hockey! Unlike the world cup, all the NHL pros are now taking part in the tournament and we'll see a top shape Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and USA...

I have to agree. I have a hard time going back to watching the NHL after being spoiled every four years with such excellent hockey.

[BDC]

The BBC trailer for the winter stuff this year was superb.

But the Six Nations gets my viewing time. I even went to a pub to watch it!

(Dragged by my girlfriend)

[Major Robert Dump]

All pomp. Not interesting anymore. Lost me at the 3 hour nationalist opening ceremony after 9/11 the likes of which I hadn't seen since Munich. Wave some flags, be proud, compete, go home. LEave it at that.

The olympics are dead. Baseball is next

[Paul Peru]

The events have silly names, that's my theory on why the Olympics has less and less viewership.

Luge? Curling?

Cross Country skiing? Some crusade lookalike thingy?

[Viking]

I watch curling. Quite interesting sport.

[TinCow]

Luge? Curling?

Curling is as boring as its name. Luge is friggin insane though. 80mph with your ass two inches off the ice?

[spmetla]

Frankly I don't have TV right now and don't get a paper where I'm at and didn't even know that they were happening. Pisses me off, Winter olyimpics are the best to watch too.

[Papewaio]

My guess: Professionalism + Drugs + PR overdose => boring Olympics.

Drugs... everytime there is a record I wonder what drugs they are using and how long before they get found out.

Carl Lewis for instance was found to be using banned substances during his trials before the Seoul Olympics... he was another cheater.

Flo Jo... although an elite athlete she developed a rare heart condition that killed her. Very rare, except for takers of steroids.

I think at least 80% are drug cheats and that the technology just isn't up to finding most of them. Because suddenly an advance in tech will find a huge amount of athletes doing drugs that were undetectable before (EU cycling).

[Samurai Waki]

I've been watching as much of it as I can... anyone see the women's Canadian-Italy hocky match? 13-0

[Louis VI the Fat]

The Six Nations are on.

[Sjakihata]

I don't have any articles are back up facts to support my theory, so please allow me to insert a opinion without having linked 1000 paged articles or stats from internet experts...
Its my opinion that the olympics have been outsourced by the internet and better communications. The world is, information wise, much smaller and more connected than ever. Not only that, most professional sports have many people from all over the world playing in them no matter where the professional sprot is located. When i was a kid, I would watch the olympics, but I don't even watch it anymore.

So, who's watching? I'm not, are you? Are these the best athletes in the world? Opinions please and if you have links to support or dispute my theory, please feel free to post them.

My theory is that the OL has more viewers in total now than ever, due to the simple fact that televisions are cheaper than ever and the population on earth is larger than ever.

[Lemur]

I have a solution to the low ratings. Simply return to basics and have the Olympics the way they were originally done. That is in the nude. I garruntee a vast audience for womens figure skating and gymnastics.

It would be even better than that -- the original Olympics were a blood sport. Your odds of survival as a participant weren't terribly high. Pankration was so brutal that many participants were maimed for life, if not killed outright. The only no-nos were biting, or gouging an opponent's eyes, nose or mouth. That was it.

You wanna talk better ratings? Get everybody naked, and then throw in a heaping helping of blood, pain and death. Nobody will watch anything else for a week, I guarantee it.

[Nelson]

Weren't women barred from the ancient Olympics, as both participants and spectators?

I think there are several reasons for lower ratings, in the USA at least.

For one, there are so many other channels on cable now.

The end of the Cold War has meant that Americans don’t root for Team USA against the Warsaw Pact nations like they used to.

Only select sports get any real coverage. Skating mostly because women like it so much.

Too much time is spent on the “Up close and personal” angle with the athletes.

People prefer to watch team sports and the Olympics often amount to individuals doing the same thing over and over, one at a time, trying to go faster, higher, or farther than everyone else. Snooze…

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Well it used to be the Wide World of Sports on ABC was the only place you would see stuff like this. Heck back in the 60s even the demolition derby from my local speedway made it on that show. People are spoiled nowdays with 24 hr sports networks.

Well I could blame it all on Carter. The ratings have dropped ever since he boycotted the games.

I get to blame it on the liberals again

[Soulforged]

I think it's a paradox really. For example, here they've less audience every year (though perhaps the last with Basketball and all that...) because we've so little competitive athlets and win so little gold that the people lose interest. The interesting is that the same phenomenum, but proportionally inverse, can cause the same effects on more competitive countries. The US has so many competitors, and win so much, that people are bored. Of course it's a personal theory, never prooved.

[solypsist]

i wasnt aware the olympics had low television ratings. they do? is this why there is a bidding war from every channel every time the games roll around? these tv networks really do want to lose money this badly by broadcasting something a dwindling audience will not watch? somehow paying billions of dollars just for the "prestige" of a show no-one is (allegedly) going to watch doesn't make much sense to a capitalist like me.



http://www.jsonline.com/sports/oly02...p?format=print
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print...4473&type=news

[Quid]

I watch the Olympics whenever I can. It's the only occasion when I watch stuff like curling and bobsleigh. TV here does not do many 'up close and personal' portaits which is good. I would get bored with that too.

I wasn't aware of dropping TV ratings either especially since the Olympics are being screened to more people than ever before. However, if lower ratings were the case, I suppose, it must have something to do with where the Olympics are. Last year the Alpine skiing World Championships were in Italy too and it was dysmal. People didn't turn up to watch it and it was pretty sad. Also, so far, the crowds haven't been too good either at several disciplines.

Nevertheless, I will still be enjoying it. I love the whole idea and make-up of such events. Oh, and I am watching the six nations too.

Quid

[Bartix]

Curling is as boring as its name. Luge is friggin insane though. 80mph with your ass two inches off the ice?

Curling is like turn base strategy with extreme real time physics calculation and 1337 skillz.

And who will like to miss loogie event?

[Zalmoxis]

TiVo solves all. I've got as many events as possible queued up (especially the odd-hours telecasts), and I will gladly fast-forward through the human-interest stories, boring events, and commercials to watch human beings going waaaaaay faster than they should on ice and snow.

I wish I had TiVo...