Here’s how nations look at Sochi Olympics
22 Feb 2014 6:47 AM IST
Canada is hockey crazy, Russia struggles to stay positive even when things look down and the U.S. salutes its stars with the national anthem as it’s time to go to bed.
There’s only one Winter Olympics. But in reality, for television viewers around the world, the Sochi games are a different experience depending on where you tune in.
Some 464 channels are broadcasting more than 42,000 hours of Sochi competition worldwide, easily outdistancing previous Olympics, according to the International Olympic Commission. Digital platforms push that number past 100,000 hours. Worldwide viewership statistics aren’t available, but the IOC says more than three-quarters of Russians have watched some coverage, two-thirds of South Koreans and 90 percent of Canadians.
So let’s look at Wednesday around the world. It demonstrates one thing above all: A single day’s viewing from different outposts offers an intriguing window into national passions, prides and peculiarities.
SWEDEN
‘This is Sweden’s Olympic games, full stop,’ commentator Per Forsberg said on TV3 after Stina Nilsson sprinted past German Denise Herrmann on Wednesday for a bronze medal in cross-country skiing, an event that barely attracted notice elsewhere.
RUSSIA
Wednesday was a plain lousy day for the host country, where Russia’s men’s hockey team was shown live at 4:30 pm Moscow time being eliminated from medal contention by Finland. Team captain Pavel Datsyuk later appeared on Channel One’s evening news to thank fans for their support.
JAPAN
Japan’s figure skating star Mao Asada had a tough day, too. The Vancouver silver medalist finished 16th. That was big news back home, where broadcaster NHK began showing skating warmups just before midnight Tokyo time, and stuck with the competition live until 4 am on Thursday.
There’s only one Winter Olympics. But in reality, for television viewers around the world, the Sochi games are a different experience depending on where you tune in.
Some 464 channels are broadcasting more than 42,000 hours of Sochi competition worldwide, easily outdistancing previous Olympics, according to the International Olympic Commission. Digital platforms push that number past 100,000 hours. Worldwide viewership statistics aren’t available, but the IOC says more than three-quarters of Russians have watched some coverage, two-thirds of South Koreans and 90 percent of Canadians.
So let’s look at Wednesday around the world. It demonstrates one thing above all: A single day’s viewing from different outposts offers an intriguing window into national passions, prides and peculiarities.
SWEDEN
‘This is Sweden’s Olympic games, full stop,’ commentator Per Forsberg said on TV3 after Stina Nilsson sprinted past German Denise Herrmann on Wednesday for a bronze medal in cross-country skiing, an event that barely attracted notice elsewhere.
RUSSIA
Wednesday was a plain lousy day for the host country, where Russia’s men’s hockey team was shown live at 4:30 pm Moscow time being eliminated from medal contention by Finland. Team captain Pavel Datsyuk later appeared on Channel One’s evening news to thank fans for their support.
JAPAN
Japan’s figure skating star Mao Asada had a tough day, too. The Vancouver silver medalist finished 16th. That was big news back home, where broadcaster NHK began showing skating warmups just before midnight Tokyo time, and stuck with the competition live until 4 am on Thursday.
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