Global survey asks, 'how do the viewing habits and perceptions of Olympic Games audiences differ around the world?'
30 9月 2004
HONG KONG — LEADING market research company, Synovate, today released the results of a global study into the viewing behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of Olympic Games followers in different nations.
More than 5,000 respondents from Brazil, China, Germany, Greece, South Africa, South Korea, Russia and the US were asked a series of questions to determine, among other things, their level of interest in the Games, how they followed the competition and their favourite events.
Who cares?
Overall, 18% of respondents claimed not to follow the Games at all - but this left a very pro-Olympic 82% who did. Unsurprisingly, all of the survey's Greek respondents said they followed the Games, although an overwhelming majority (96%) preferred to watch the proceedings on television rather than actually attend. Despite topping the medals table, the US recorded the highest number (27%) of people claiming a lack of interest in the Games. The Germans came second in the apathy stakes, with 22% admitting indifference.
Synovate's Head of Global Omnibus, Tom Mularz, said that - as anticipated - the study found that the majority of respondents in all nations followed the events in Athens via television.
"The only other significant channel used was in uber-wired South Korea and China, where 15% and 8% of respondents respectively experienced the Games via the Internet. Newspaper coverage was also cited by these nations, specifically by 11% of South Koreans and 12% of Chinese".
"It's quite likely that time zones were behind Asian audience's preference for non-TV coverage - most Athens events occurred in the early hours of the morning" Mr Mularz said.
Who really cares?
Respondents who said they were following the Olympic Games were then asked for their more emotional responses to the Games, namely their level of passion for the event and their perceptions surrounding its reputation and spirit. When asked to agree or disagree with a series of statements, 25% of these people agreed that "Nothing gets between me and the television when the Olympic Games are on." This number rose to 45% in China, 49% in Russia and to as high as 50% in South Korea. Meanwhile, in the United States, only 10% admitted to having such an obsession.
The survey's focus then turned to recent drug abuse scandals, with 23% of all respondents agreeing that they had been put off by such stories.
Mr Mularz commented: "Perhaps not surprisingly, the Greeks experienced the most dismay here (48%), having witnessed two of their national heroes coming under investigation".
"Also noteworthy was that only 40% of the survey's participants agreed they had dreamed of being an Olympic athlete themselves. The rest were apparently quite content to watch from the sidelines!"
Interestingly, almost half of all respondents felt that the original Olympic spirit had been lost to corporate advertising and marketing interests - including 85% of Greeks. South Koreans and Chinese were the most optimistic here, with only 33% and 35% respectively believing the Games had sold out.
"This bodes well for Beijing 2008" Mr Mularz added.
What do they care about?
Respondents were then asked to name their favourite Olympic event. An overall 23% chose aquatic events (Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming and Water Polo). South Africans were the biggest advocates of these sports, with 34% preferring them to any other. The world's favourite sport, soccer, only came fourth in Olympic popularity, with a 10% following. This was despite a massive 54% of South Koreans nominating soccer (or Olympic Football) as their preferred sport. Interestingly, only 19% of Brazilians felt the same way, instead favouring Volleyball (34%) - another sport in which they excel.
Another intriguing finding was the favourite sport of US Olympic fans: Gymnastics (38%). As Mr Mularz commented: "This could well be because Gymnastics transcends regular sporting culture and appeals to viewers of both genders."
Only 12% of Americans selected Track & Field while, incredibly, only 4% went for Basketball.
At the bottom end of the overall popularity scale came Modern Pentathlon, Hockey, Triathlon and Taekwondo.
Contact(s) for this press release
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Linda Collard
Director, Marketing Communications |
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9/F Leighton Centre |
Telephone: +852 2830 2588 |
About this study
These findings are taken from a Synovate Global Omnibus research survey of 5,159 qualified individuals. Synovate Global Omnibus studies cover the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, providing access to telephone, Internet and face-to-face methodologies in 53 countries worldwide.
About Synovate
Synovate is a top global research company, operating in 44 countries and employing more than 3,600 people. The company generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions and provides a broad range of market intelligence services - using powerful and established methodologies, as well as innovative and tailored solutions.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.