US Winter Olympics Flop... 1 in 2 Viewers Less Enthusiastic Than for Pyeongchang

Opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held on the 4th at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] "Why have Americans lost interest in the Olympics?" This was the headline attached by the American internet media Axios when reporting the results of a public opinion survey related to the Beijing Winter Olympics. Although the Beijing Winter Olympics have opened, it appears to have been a failure in terms of popularity within the United States. Compared to the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, only 7 out of 100 Americans responded that they were more interested in this Olympics. The number of viewers for the opening ceremony on TV has nearly halved.

On the 6th (local time), according to local US media, a survey conducted by Axios and Momentive targeting 2,590 Americans aged 18 and over ahead of the Beijing Olympics showed that 47% of respondents said their enthusiasm for watching was lower than for the previous Winter Olympics, the Pyeongchang Olympics. Only 7% responded that they were more interested in this Beijing Olympics than in Pyeongchang. 61%, or about 6 out of 10 Americans, could not even name any participating athletes.

The number of Americans who watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony live on TV also sharply declined. It is virtually a failure in popularity. According to Inside the Games and others, the number of viewers who watched the opening ceremony through NBC, the exclusive Olympic broadcaster in the US, on the 4th was counted at 14 million. Including online viewing, the number was about 16 million. This is a 43% decrease compared to the 28.3 million viewers of the opening ceremony during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. It is even lower than the 16.7 million viewers of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics opening ceremony, which was held without spectators after a one-year delay due to the spread of COVID-19.

Local media analyzed that considering the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony time was 7 a.m. Eastern Time and 4 a.m. Pacific Time, it was difficult to watch. Additionally, unlike the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the recent rise in anti-China sentiment was also cited as a reason. Axios reported, "Americans' fears about the Chinese government's human rights abuses, surveillance, and the spread of COVID-19 are dampening the enthusiasm for this year's Winter Olympics."

Due to US-China conflicts and China's human rights issues, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others declared a "diplomatic boycott" by not sending high-ranking officials to this Olympics opening ceremony. None of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries attended. About 80 national leaders, including the US, attended the 2008 Summer Olympics. The American current affairs magazine The Atlantic conveyed recent anti-China sentiment, saying, "China in 2008, which showed itself as an open emerging country, is different from China in 2022." In the Axios survey, 73% of Americans expressed support for such a diplomatic boycott.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), appeared on CNN that day and said, "We have made it clear that crimes against humanity are being committed in China," criticizing China's decision to have a final torchbearer from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. She pointed out, "This is China's attempt to divert our attention from the real and urgent issue that Uyghurs are victims of human rights abuses in China," adding, "It is important for the audience witnessing this (torch relay) to know that it does not erase what is happening on the ground."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.