The modern Olympics have been driven largely by money. And, if you have ever watched any event, barring ice-skating, you know that this money is not coming from fan attendance.
TV money is the lifeline of the Olympics. TV money is what drives it. Without TV money the Olympics would loose their main source of revenue, and may even cease to exist. Basically, profit is revenue minus expenses. Once expenses begin to exceed revenue, money is being lost, not gain.
Let’s take a look at the Olympics expenses:
-The opening and closing ceremonies. I think it would be fair to say that the opening and closing ceremonies were a little over the top. But, they always are. You might want to sit down for the following statistic. The opening and closing ceremonies in Torino cost $34 million. That should make you cry. Spending $34 million on the ceremonies is insane.
-Athletes. 2,500 athletes attended the Olympics. They were flown in from 85 countries. They were lodged and treated, well, like athletes. Add in the judges, referees, security guards, ticket takers, etc. and the money starts really adding up. Plus, add in those silly medals with wholes in the middle. 84 were given out, which could not have been cheap.

So, the expense of the Olympics is increasing. So, to remain a profit-making endeavor they must be gaining ground in their main revenue stream TV money.
What were the TV ratings like? Bad. Some sources say that the ratings went down as much as 37 percent from the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Olympics were regularly beat out for viewers by American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, and Dancing with the Stars. That’s right, the Olympics got beat out by Dancing with the Stars.

We have already established that the Olympics are expensive, and that their main source of revenue to offset that expense is TV money. So, to keep the Olympics thriving their TV ratings cannot continue to plummet. But there are a few reasons why the ratings for the Olympics will continue to decline in the upcoming years.
-The over reliance on individuals. Individuals in the US like Michelle Kwan, Jeremy Bloom, and Bode Miller, were built up so much in the media that the success of the Olympics in the minds of its viewers was based on their success. Kwan didn’t skate, Bode Miller skied, but he didn’t show up either, and Jeremy Bloom didn’t win anything. The media pumped up athletes it shouldn’t have. Bode Miller is the epitome of inconsistency and Michelle Kwan was obviously at the end of her career. The media must begin to be more responsible for over hyping individuals, instead, they should stick to hyping teams and events.
-There are too many events. How on earth do you go about advertising curling? How many people even know what the “nordic combine” is? Why does the biathlon give out more medals than ice-skating? What is the average American going to watch, American Idol or the 47th kilometer of the women’s cross country event?
-The internet. It is great to be able to get statistics and info off the internet about the Olympics. What isn’t great is that people could easily see these hours before the events were televised. Scores and medallists were waiting in emails, on instant phone messages, and on web sites we’ll before the public viewed the event. Why would you watch after you knew who won? It takes all the fun out of it.

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