The Milan-Cortina Olympics were a welcome return to prominence for the Winter Games.
Some of my fondest sports memories are watching the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on TV with my mom. A massive blizzard had blanketed my hometown, so my mom and I both got to stay home day after day to watch the Games.
The Vancouver Olympics were a smashing success, with record attendance numbers and broadcast figures. But after that, the Winter Games went through an awkward phase. The 2014 Games in Sochi, which was more known as a summer beach resort in Russia than a winter destination, ran over budget and were marred by revelations that Russian athletes were involved in state-sponsored doping.
The 2018 and 2022 Winter Games were in South Korea and China, respectively. Both events saw their broadcasting numbers take a dip due to the massive time zone difference between east Asia and the United States. The 2018 Games finished as the least-watched on record, until 2022 broke that ignominious mark.
When also considering the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, which were un-attended due to the COVID pandemic, it was fair to speculate whether the Olympics had lost their cultural impact. But Paris 2024 did away with any of that doubt, and Milan-Cortina this past month sealed the deal: people will still turn out for the Games.
NBC is reporting outstanding viewership numbers from Italy: an average of 23.5 million viewers, up 96 percent from four years ago. A more favorable time zone certainly helps, but the network clearly upped its coverage prior to Paris, with the Peacock streaming service and the newly-minted Gold Zone whiparound coverage providing wall-to-wall action. In Italy, viewers were treated to incredible camera shots via drones, which showed breathtaking action in sports like alpine skiing and the bobsled.
Also bumping up those numbers is an historic performance from American athletes. Team USA won a winter-record 12 gold medals, including dramatic wins for men’s and women’s ice hockey and a stunning figure skating performance from Alysa Liu. In a time when many American viewers are desperate for good news, the action from Italy clearly hit the spot.
Now, the hope is the Games can keep the positive momentum going. Los Angeles is next up to host the Summer Olympics in two years, which promise to be one of the biggest spectacles in our country’s sporting history. And ironically, the next Winter Games won’t have to travel far: the French Alps won the bid to host in 2030.
It’d be folly to try and predict what the world will be like by then, but we can be sure of one thing: the Olympic flame will burn on.
Featured image via Associated Press/Andrew Medichini
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