South Korea's team is performing well at the 25th Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, yet public interest has noticeably declined compared to previous Games.
The opening ceremony recorded a historic low viewership rating of 1.8%, underscoring the waning enthusiasm. Park Sung-bae, professor of sports industry science at Hanyang University and an expert in sports industry and marketing analysis, explained the factors behind the declining global interest in the Olympics.
In an interview with Seoul Economic Daily, Park cited changing times as the primary reason.
"During the Cold War, when the U.S.-led free world confronted the Soviet-led communist bloc, the Olympics drew attention as an arena for ideological competition," Park said. "From 1980 through the early 2000s, after the Cold War ended, global economic growth fueled rising interest in leisure and sports, and the Olympics thrived alongside that trend."
"With the end of ideological competition between the free world and communist bloc, combined with ongoing economic stagnation, interest in leisure and sports has declined, and the Olympics no longer enjoys its former popularity," he added.
Park noted that the Winter Olympics faces inherent limitations compared to its summer counterpart. The Summer Olympics attracts more than 10,000 athletes, while the Winter Games hosts only 3,000 to 5,000 participants.
"This Winter Olympics features just 16 sports, half of the 32 at the recent Paris Olympics," Park said. "Ice hockey is essentially the only Winter Olympic sport with global popularity."
Controversies over biased judging and artificial snow use have also contributed to declining interest. Notable examples include Kim Dong-sung's disqualification in short track at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and Kim Yu-na's failure to win gold in figure skating at the 2014 Sochi Games.
At the current Games, South Korea's Kim Gil-li faced a similar situation in the mixed team 2000m short track relay. Kim collided unavoidably with American skater Corinne Stoddard after Stoddard fell but was denied an advance to the final because she was in third place at the time—only first and second-place skaters qualify for advancement. She was relegated to Final B.
"Kim Gil-li's fall was an unavoidable accident," a Korean short track team official said. "It's unfortunate, but under International Skating Union rules, she couldn't receive an advance."
Park also pointed to growing environmental concerns affecting skiing, a signature Winter Olympic sport.
"There's debate over whether using artificial snow at ski resorts aligns with Olympic principles," Park said. "Ski resort construction faces criticism, particularly in Western countries, for environmental destruction and increased carbon emissions from artificial snow production."
Changes in domestic viewing conditions also played a role. Unlike previous Olympics and World Cups, where Korea's three major broadcasters—KBS, SBS, and MBC—shared coverage, JTBC held exclusive rights to this Winter Olympics, which observers say dampened interest.
According to Nielsen Korea, the opening ceremony broadcast live on JTBC on February 7 drew a 1.8% rating. This compares poorly with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which recorded 9.9% on KBS1, 4.1% on SBS, and 4.0% on MBC.
"Compared to when the three major broadcasters competed to cover key events, the overall broadcasting atmosphere is much quieter," Park said.
The International Olympic Committee's efforts to broaden appeal have also fallen short. The IOC has allowed professional athletes to compete, reversing past bans rooted in "amateurism" principles. NHL players are participating in large numbers at these Games, yet the move has failed to generate significant excitement in North America or Europe.
"The IOC doesn't release objective metrics like viewership ratings that could gauge Olympic popularity," Park said. "This bureaucratic approach means NHL participation hasn't served as the 'game changer' it was intended to be."