US Olympic fans give the internet the cold shoulder

Americans were far more likely to turn to old media for information about this year’s Olympic games, a report published last month revealed.

While the official Olympic Games Website attracted an astonishing 8.7 million unique visitors from around the world, researchers have concluded that the internet played only a 'supplementary' role for most people interested in the games.

On a typical day during the Sydney-based event, 58 per cent of Americans obtained some kind of information from a TV source. Another 12 per cent used a newspaper or the radio. In comparison, news and results reached fewer than 4 per cent via the internet, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project - a non-profit research initiative established by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.

The report - The Old Media beat the New Media - reveals that the internet was not a popular source for Olympic news even among US internet users. They were still 20 times more likely to get their information from the TV.

The survey of more than 1000 US adults found that of those who did access news about the games online, only 18 per cent said it was important for them to access this information via the web - before the news was carried on TV.

When asked to rate the coverage, 59 per cent said TV coverage was better, while only 24% said they preferred internet coverage.

Most of those who accessed news via the internet did so as 'passers by' - only 16 per cent hunted for Olympic information.

The survey also found that the online audience was split 50:50 between men and women; normally sports audiences are overwhelmingly male. However, the gender mix varied depending on the sport. Women tended to be more interested in gymnastics and swimming while men were more keen on track and field events and basketball.

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