The Olympics will return to our screens this year with a Paris opening ceremony on July 26. However, despite the grandeur of this event, recent YouGov research has found that over a third (34%) 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% planning to watch the event. Gen Z and Millennials are the next most likely, each with 62% expressing their viewing intention.
Baby Boomers are the least likely to watch the Olympics, with a lesser 56% saying they were likely to watch the spectacle.
In fact, 30% 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% said this was because they were not interested in these events.
43% said they did not know, or were not interested in the competing athletes, 20% said they wouldn’t have the time, and 20% said the events/formats were boring and repetitive. Meanwhile 19% cited time-zone differences, and 8% 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% of Gen Z and 32% 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% saying this will make them more likely to watch. In fact, 45% 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% saying that the inclusion of Skateboarding has made them less likely to watch the Olympics. They held a similar sentiment to Sport Climbing (31% less likely) and Surfing (29% 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% of Gen Z and 34% of Millennials say they are more likely to tune into the whole event.
Sport Climbing made 32% of both Gen Z and Millennials say they are more inclined to watch, and Surfing had 24% of Gen Z say they are more likely to tune in, along with 33% of Millennials.
Of those who will likely be tuning into the Olympics this year, most (80%) Australians intend to watch the events on live television, 34% live on streaming platforms, 34% on catch-up TV, and even a lucky few (4%) live, in-person, in Paris.
Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online between 19th and 21st February 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 1,033 Australians aged 18 years and older, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Results are weighted to be representative of the population by age, gender, and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
