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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

U.S. Viewers Flip For Gymnastics

John Nelson Associated Press

The Summer Olympic viewing preferences of Americans are well documented. If it wears tights and swings from the ceiling,

U.S. television viewers are mesmerized. If it flips or kips or rolls over a railroad tie in a leotard, so much the better.

The rest of the world, however, does not share our infatuation with the somersault set.

According to the Preliminary Television Report of the Atlanta Olympic organizing committee, the three highest-rated programs of the Atlanta Games last summer on NBC were all or part gymnastics. The top two shows were composed entirely of women’s gymnastics. Surprise, surprise.

Of the other eight major world TV markets in the report, gymnastics appears in the top five of only three and is ranked No. 1 in none of them.

Australians and Canadians, for example, ranked the opening ceremonies as their top viewing choice, possibly because after that, it was all downhill for them. Australians loved the opening ceremonies so much, in fact, that taped highlights of it also appeared as No. 5 in their most-watched list.

Track and field, known in European-style English as athletics, was No. 1 in Japan and the United Kingdom. Spanish viewers preferred tennis, specifically the women’s final in which Lindsay Davenport beat Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, and men’s volleyball occupied the top two spots on Italy’s hot list.

French and German viewers, showing more eclectic tastes, perhaps, made highlights shows their favorites. French viewers liked highlights so much they occupied all five spots on their favorites list. At least the Germans squeezed yachting in at No. 3.

Gymnastics appeared in combination with swimming as No. 3 on Japan’s list. It snuck in as No. 5, along with volleyball, tennis and swimming, in Canada, and it stood alone at third in Spain.

According to the report, U.S. viewing habits went pretty much as expected with one exception. While swimming was the most heavily covered event of the games with more total minutes than even gymnastics, it did not appear among the five highest-rated shows.

The top two were women’s gymnastics from the games’ first week, followed by a gymnastics-athletics combo, the opening ceremonies and the men’s 100-meter finals.

Italian viewers have to be most admired, for their original thinking if nothing else. While other standard events such as basketball, soccer and closing ceremonies appeared on the other lists, Italian viewers were out there. Somewhere. Alone. Totally misjudged by their Olympic broadcasters.

Their five most-watched shows were: men’s volleyball twice, men’s cycling, shooting and fencing. The five most covered by Italian TV, meanwhile, were: athletics, swimming, basketball, gymnastics and boxing.