Poll: Majority not interested in watching Winter Olympics

Most Americans don’t intend to watch much or any coverage of the Winter Olympics beginning this week in South Korea, according to a poll released Thursday.

A Gallup poll, conducted Jan. 29–Feb. 4, found 61 percent of Americans don’t plan on following coverage of the games in Pyeongchang compared to 39 percent who plan to watch at least a fair amount of the competition.

Gallup found the number of people who say they will watch a fair or great amount of the Winter Olympics has steadily declined since 2002. Salt Lake City hosted the games that year, and 58 percent of respondents prior to those games said they would watch at least a fair amount, according to Gallup.

{mosads}Older demographics are more likely to watch a good amount of Olympic coverage, the poll found. Fifty-four percent of respondents 65 years old and older said they plan to watch at least a fair amount, compared to 31 percent of people ages 18–29 who said the same. 

The games will be broadcast on NBC and the NBC Sports Network.

The margin of error in Thursday’s poll is 3 percentage points.

Coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics began Wednesday night with a mixed curling match.

The opening ceremony will take place Friday, where Vice President Pence will lead the U.S. delegation.

Tensions have recently cooled on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea sending athletes to compete at the games. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, is in Pyeongchang and will reportedly meet with South Korea’s president this week.

President Trump has taken credit for North Korea’s willingness to engage in talks with the South, pointing to recently implemented sanctions. Pence is not expected to meet with North Korean leaders while at the Olympics, however, and promised additional economic sanctions.