The Olympics will return to our screens this year with a Paris opening ceremony on July 26. However, despite the grandeur of this event, YouGov research has found that over a third (34 per cent) of Australians say that it’s unlikely that they’ll tune in for the spectacle.
Gen X are the most likely to watch the Olympics, with 65 per cent planning to watch the event. Gen Z and Millennials are the next most likely, each with 62 per cent expressing their viewing intention. Baby Boomers are the least likely to watch the Olympics, with a lesser 56 per cent saying they were likely to watch the spectacle.
In fact, 30 per cent of all survey-goers were unaware that the Olympics was even happening this year before taking this YouGov poll.
Of those who said they were unlikely to tune in, 57 per cent said this was because they were not interested in these events. 43 per cent said they did not know, or were not interested in the competing athletes, 20 per cent said they wouldn’t have the time, and 20 per cent said the events/formats were boring and repetitive. Meanwhile 19 per cent cited time-zone differences, and 8 per cent said they were unsure where to watch the event.
This year, a new sport has been added to the Olympic lineup. The Paris event will see athletes competing for gold in “Breaking” (breakdancing). 30 per cent of Gen Z and 32 per cent of Millennials say the addition of this event has made them more likely to tune into the 2024 Olympics.
However, the inclusion of this new category has not sat as well with Baby Boomers, with only 7 per cent saying this will make them more likely to watch. In fact, 45 per cent of the generation have said that they are less likely to watch the Olympics after the inclusion of this new sport.
Similarly, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing were all introduced in the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Baby Boomers again expressed their disapproval, 36 per cent saying that the inclusion of Skateboarding has made them less likely to watch the Olympics. They held a similar sentiment to Sport Climbing (31 per cent less likely) and Surfing (29 per cent less likely).
In each category, however, the inclusion of these new sports made Gen Z and Millennials comparatively more inclined to tune into the global event. For Skateboarding, 31 per cent of Gen Z and 34 per cent of Millennials say they are more likely to tune into the whole event. Sport Climbing made 32 per cent of both Gen Z and Millennials say they are more inclined to watch, and Surfing had 24 per cent of Gen Z say they are more likely to tune in, along with 33 per cent of Millennials.
Of those who will likely be tuning into the Olympics this year, most (80 per cent) Australians intend to watch the events on live television, 34 per cent live on streaming platforms, 34 per cent on catch-up TV, and even a lucky few (4 per cent) live, in-person, in Paris.
