Most Popular Winter Olympic Sports in the USA
The Winter Olympic Games only comes around every four years, but it is becoming increasingly popular, and sports which are not usually of interest can become popular for just that short period of time.
Here is some data on American TV viewing during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, which provides interesting information about the transient popularity of some of these sports. See more on the most popular sport in the US, and also the most popular Winter Olympic Games sports.
Popular Winter Olympics Sports - TV versus Online
Freestyle skiing was the most popular Olympic sport among U.S. TV viewers in 2010.
Most Viewed Olympic Sports (through 15 Feb 2010)
| Rank | Sport | Avg. # of Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freestyle Skiing | 26,928,346 |
| 2 | Downhill Skiing | 26,689,344 |
| 3 | Luge | 26,157,455 |
| 4 | Snowboarding | 25,469,008 |
| 5 | Figure Skating | 25,448,801 |
| 6 | Speed Skating | 22,557,252 |
Most Viewed Olympic Sports (Feb 9-18, 2010)
Skiing was the most popular Winter Olympic sport on TV, but online it was very different, with figure skating third behind ice hockey and luge. Another analysis of Internet buzz from February 9th to 18th shows that ice hockey was the most discussed Olympic sport online.
| Rank | Sport | Buzz % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Hockey | 31 |
| 2 | Luge | 18 |
| 3 | Figure Skating | 10 |
| 4 | Curling | 9 |
| 5 | Speed Skating | 8 |
| 6 | Snowboarding | 5 |
Sources
- The information is based on research conducted by The Nielsen Company. The TV list is derived from minute-by-minute analysis of viewing, while online data is from analysis of online messages and other forums.
Related Pages
- Discussion about the Most Popular Winter Olympic Sports
- Most popular Winter Olympics sports, and also most popular Summer Olympic Games sports
- Discussion of the most popular sports in the USA
- Lists of top sports by country.
- Other top 10 lists of the world's most popular sports
- All about sport in the USA
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