What used to be a huge world event is not relegated to the secondary TV channels due to a waning interest in this global sporting exercise.  At one time the television stations could count on great ratings from all over but now the ratings are weak and the advertising dollars follow right along.

Sure, the athletes are covered in endorsements and the big names will get on the cover of major magazines, make the rounds with Jay Leno, Oprah, David Letterman et al, but the Olympics as an event is a losing proposition for the host city.  The host city has to hope to recoup the millions spent to bring the games to their city by attracting industry, manufacturing and other large businesses.

Every time you see Lindsay Vonn fly down the ski slope or Shaun White do something with a snowboard that demonstrates some alien ability, the city of Vancouver is hoping that the viewers that control large corporations is thinking about a trip to Canada to peruse the landscape for their company which would bring jobs and generate tax revenue.

The lesser athletes are fortunate to be able to go to the Olympics and expect little to nothing in endorsements as they are just glad to represent their country.  Unlike the Super Bowl, where the city rakes in all sorts of revenue, and the city is flooded with a plethora of athletes hawking anything from pots and pans to hair gel, the Olympics attracts a smaller audience and a dearth of endorsements.

If the TV revenue was up there, the Olympics would be considered a financial and economic success but advertisers pay based upon viewers and if the Olympics are not front and center on a major network, the dollars are just not there.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 9:47 am and is filed under Sports Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.