A new Gallup poll released Thursday shows fewer Americans are interested in watching the Winter Olympics this year than in years past.
The poll shows that just four in ten Americans, or 39 percent, plan on watching at least a fair amount of the 2018 Winter Olympic game coverage in Pyeongchang, South Korea, while 61 percent say they don’t plan on following coverage of the games much or at all.
The poll shows a steady decline in the number of people who say they will watch much Winter Olympics coverage since 2002, when Salt Lake City hosted the events. Fifty-eight percent said they planned to follow coverage of the games that year.
Some say interest in the Olympic games was higher in 2002 because they were held in the United States, but interest in coverage has still declined steadily since then. Fifty-three percent said in 2006 they planned to watch a great deal or fair amount of Olympics coverage in Turin, Italy, and 46 percent said so about the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. Gallup did not ask the same question for the 2010 games held in Vancouver.
Older people were shown to be more interested in following the coverage of the games this year, with a majority, 54 percent, saying they will be watching a great deal or fair amount of coverage of the games, while only 31 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds said they would be following the coverage.
Americans have generally been less interested in watching the Winter Games compared to the Summer Games, but interest in the Summer Games has declined too, according to Gallup. Americans’ intentions to watch the Summer Games in 2016 held in Rio de Janeiro fell below the majority level for the first time since Gallup first began the survey in 2000.
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled to kick off with opening ceremonies Friday.
The games in South Korea are beginning at a time when tensions on the peninsula have reached to new heights over the past year with North Korea ramping up its weapons development programs.
Tensions have cooled some as the games have approached. North Korea is sending athletes to compete in the games and will march with South Korean athletes in the opening ceremonies. In addition, North Korea announced a call for reunification last month. South Korea and the U.S. are also postponing military exercises until the games are finished.
However, tensions remain high as North Korea held its pre-planned military parade its Northern capital of Pyongyang on Thursday morning, the day before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremonies, also announced this week the U.S. is preparing to unveil the “toughest and most aggressive” sanctions on North Korea yet.
