Olympics Over Idol and Presidents

As the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics come to a close, millions of viewers around the world have tuned in to watch the various competitions.

With technology on the rise the viewership for the Olympics has increased largely in comparison to other years. It’s no surprise that because of the help of online feeds and a larger amount of television stations airing the games there is not only competition between athletes but competition between networks.

For the first time in six years something else on television beat the number of viewers for American Idol (which includes the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games and the 2006 Winter Games). Considering Idol has earned more votes for its competitors than any presidential candidates, it seems that America enjoys sports more than music and music more than politics.

The availability of viewing platforms could attribute to this fact. Last Wednesday NBC had 30 million viewers (which was double the amount of American Idol viewers for that night). CTV-Rogers has had more than 40 million viewers since the Games started. In Canada, Wednesday’s prime-time viewership reached 4.5 million, which is equivalent to 45 million viewers in the United States.

The numbers speak for themselves but how do the networks reel in their viewers? One of NBC’s tricks is that they air events for the first time hours after they have finished. That way there is no boring downtime between events, some of which is caused by many of the problems hitting the Vancouver Olympics.

It is no secret that this year’s Games have been plagued with some bad luck. Notably, there has been the death of Georgian Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and the death of Canada’s Joannie Rochette’s mother. During the opening ceremonies there was a problem with the Olympic cauldron and one of its hydraulic legs. In concerns to the games themselves, there have been problems with faulty start guns, faulty Zambonis, and uncooperative weather.

Certain speed skating events have been delayed by as much as an hour and athletes participating outdoors have had to deal with fog and ice. How do the networks cope? While some (like NBC) attempt to avoid downtime, some networks embrace it. CTV has interviews with decorated Canadian athletes, a look into an athlete’s body, and other time-eating segments. Some people find these segments boring, while others enjoy it. There are benefits to downtime, such as taking a break to cook dinner, shower, or even get some work done for once since the Olympics have started.

For those who don’t enjoy the downtime, there is another way to watch their favourite events: online. With the quality of video improving thanks to high definition television, the quality of videos streaming the internet has improved drastically as well.

CTV online has had over 10 million viewers that have turned on their computers to watch. For hockey, there have been over 57 000 viewers and that does not include the largely anticipated Canada vs. USA gold medal hockey game. Watching online can be a good escape for a boring day at work or if your television is occupied by someone watching a sport you have no interest in.

There are some downsides to watching the Olympics online, however. For one, the screen is usually much smaller. As well, online feeds are generally behind by a minute or two. Some computers cannot access special features provided by the website: only the video is viewable. But for those who don’t mind missing a few special features, online feeds are still a useful viewing platform.

Whether people are watching online or watching on television, the number of people watching the 2010 Vancouver Olympics has reached record breaking statistics. Not only is there competition between athletes and countries, but there is competition between networks for the most viewers. Despite the availability of viewing platforms, there are still downsides of each platform. Regardless, viewers are able to ignore these downsides and watch their athletes go for gold.