Fans Want Their Olympics Streamed
With the Olympics just a week away, a new survey shows consumer demand for online coverage of the international sports event is high among those intending to watch on the Olympics on television.
Nearly 70 percent of online consumers who intend to watch the 2000 Summer Olympics believe broadcast television coupled with interactive Web coverage would increase their TV viewing of the Sydney games, according to a recent survey conducted by market research firm InsightExpress (
http://www.insightexpress.com).
"This runs contrary to the live coverage ban imposed by the International Olympic Committee and its exclusive broadcast partner, NBC Sports," said Lee Smith, executive vice president of Insight Express. The IOC ban gives NBC Sports the exclusive right to broadcast Olympic events in their entirety and prevents any radio play-by-play, taped video highlights, and live video from being broadcast on the Internet.
According to the survey, more than two-thirds (68%) of all survey participants who plan to view the Summer Olympics indicated they would take advantage of real-time streaming video or audio coverage on the Web if it were available. But only one in four (26%) stated access to real-time coverage, summary information or medal counts on the Internet would decrease their viewing of Olympic television broadcast coverage.
In addition, more than half (52%) stated that their knowledge of event outcomes and live Internet coverage would actually encourage them to view more of the Olympic games of television.
The IOC ban of streaming coverage of the Olympics is particularly detrimental to the American viewing audience where, with time zone differences, some events will occur in Sydney up to 15 hours before they are broadcast in the United States, says InsightExpress.
"The repercussions have yet to be felt as only 14 percent of the U.S. online population is aware of the IOC’s ban on real-time coverage," said Charles Hamlin, president and COO of InsightExpress.
The study was conducted in August 2000 and included 420 responses from adult online consumers.