90% of Chinese Tune in to Opening Ceremony
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The 2008 Beijing Olympics has already smashed TV ratings records in China. An estimated 90% of all Chinese families tuned in to watch the spectacular opening ceremony directed by Zhang Yimou on August 8, according to the AGB Nielsen Media Research. Interestingly, the highest ratings occurred in Tianjin, the municipality that neighbors Beijing, where 97% of all TV viewers tuned in to watch the ceremony.
Two points in the ceremony proved particularly popular. The ratings peaked for the first time when the Chinese character for harmony (和) and the image of the Great Wall appeared in the ceremony. The second peak occurred when former Chinese gymnastics star Li Ning, triple gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, lit the Olympics flame after “running” around the rim of the stadium suspended in mid-air. Li Ning received star billing at the opening ceremony, even though his sports clothing label Li Ning is the main domestic competitor for official Olympic sponsor Adidas.
The TV ratings only tell part of the story as the 2008 Olympics offers viewers the widest choice of viewing media yet. The rights holders for the 2008 Games have provided viewers with a wide range of free digital (mobile and Internet) coverage in addition to the traditional TV fare.
While television remained the primary medium for watching the Olympics, many Chinese people also turned to other forms of media for supplementary coverage. When CTR Media Research surveyed 1,500 people in 15 major cities during the opening ceremony, it found 97.7% of all viewers watched the opening ceremony on TV. However, 13% also watched the webcasts over the Internet, 11.4% listened to the radio reportage, 6.4% followed the proceedings on transit TV and 3.4% watched mobile TV.
Approval ratings for the ceremony were high, according to the results of CTR’s survey. Around 90.3% of the respondents said they were satisfied with the opening ceremony because it integrated elements of traditional Chinese culture with the Olympic spirit. A further 63.4% said the felt very proud to be Chinese after they watched the show. Despite these ratings, the opening ceremony has drawn fire from a number of Chinese citizens on online forums, BBS and personal blogs since the ceremony. Amongst other things, they have attacked the ceremony for being “too long”, “too shallow” and presenting too stylized a view of Chinese culture.
Ratings have stayed high since the opening ceremony, as 87% of all households across China tuned in to watch Olympics events on the first day of competition (see related story under Television for the full ratings). How high will the ratings climb for the rest of the Olympics? CMM-I Intelligence will keep you up to date.
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