For the Olympic movement, the digital revolution is armed with a double-edged sword - it has lured the younger generation away from sport but could open up the Olympic experience to a far wider audience.
Spectators at the men's 110m hurdles during the"Good Luck Beijing" China Track and Field Open 2008, held on May 24 in the Bird's Nest, with Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang on the big screen. Many say the digital revolution could open up the Olympic experience to a far wider audience. [China Daily] |
"It (digital media) will have a transforming impact on the Olympics at multiple levels," said Shoba Purushothaman, CEO of Web-based video marketing platform The NewsMarket.
"It will change story-telling for the Games by making it more human and personal."
A Summer Games was one of the sporting and television highlights of the year for today's parents and grandparents.
In the 21st century, young people have a huge variety of sport, music and entertainment media to flick through, both on television and the Internet, and the Olympics has no special aura for many of them.
"The Olympic Games are not that credible or relevant to most young people in the developed or developing world," said Alex Balfour, head of new media at the London 2012 organizing committee.
The average age of viewers for the 2004 Games in Athens was over 40 and shows no signs of falling.
"I will maybe watch highlight shows on TV later in the evening but I can never see myself watching it live," said Richard Cousins, a 19-year-old British student.
If the Games lose their cachet in years to come, billions of dollars from sponsorship and broadcasting rights that support the Olympic movement could melt away.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recognized the warning signs and took steps to attract a younger audience by introducing sports like snowboarding to the Winter Olympics, and BMX cycling which makes its debut in Beijing next month.
In February, the IOC went further by choosing Singapore to host the first summer Youth Olympics in 2010, a "key moment" in the words of IOC President Jacques Rogge.
"They (the Youth Olympics) will also be the platform through which youngsters will learn about Olympic values and the benefits of sport, and share their experiences with other communities around the globe," Rogge said.
Platforms and access to communities in the digital world could be just as important in deciding if the Olympics retain their high profile, experts said ahead of a Summer Games in Beijing which is being billed as the first digital Olympics.
"The Olympic Games will be played out on information-sharing portals such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr, whether we like it or not. We need to engage, not disengage with them," Balfour told a conference on sports and technology in London.