MEDIA & MARKETING/Emmet Oliver: Perhaps it's the revelations about Irish athlete Cathal Lombard and the involvement of some Greek athletes in a drugs test controversy. Or perhaps it's the lack of any Irish medal performances so far.
Whatever the reason, advertising agencies have described the viewing figures for the Olympics as disappointing - at least so far.
Gary Power, communications consultant with Dublin agency AFA O'Meara, has been tracking the figures all week and concludes: "The Olympic coverage on Network 2 has yet to capture the Irish TV viewing audience. The lack of positive PR spin has led to low audience numbers. Having said that, like any large sports tournament, the audience numbers will increase as the games progress."
The opening ceremony last Friday, August 13th, attracted 19 per cent of the viewing adult population. This percentage equalled 173,907 adults, which was just barely ahead of the circulation of some daily newspapers.
Mr Power says the viewing on Network 2 peaked last Friday between 21.41 p.m. and 21.59 p.m. when 234,927 adults tuned in to watch the lighting of the Olympic torch. (No figures are available on how many Irish viewers watched the coverage on BBC.)
It is now conventional wisdom in sporting and advertising circles that the Olympics true home is America, where the event is still capable of bringing in serious viewing figures.
For example, Nielsen International Research claims over 20.2 million American adults tuned into the torch- lighting ceremony. This enabled NBC to charge its clients $589,000 (€476,962) for each 30-second spot!
A study released in recent days appears to support the view that north Americans pay closer attention to the games than Europeans, although maybe that is because they win most of the gold medals.
The study by an independent marketing effectiveness company found that sponsoring the Olympics had much less impact on European consumers than it did on North Americans. The report may prompt Athens sponsors such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's to question the value of their sponsorship investment.
The Dynamic Logic study found that while a healthy 25 per cent of North Americans said they paid closer attention to ads associated with the Olympics, only 12 per cent of Europeans claimed to pay extra attention.
While the Olympics may not have got people talking around the water cooler just yet, this summer's GAA championships continues to produce strong results for RTÉ.
The quarter final between Dublin and Kerry managed a 59 per cent share of Saturday adult viewing, equating to 384,000 adults. On gender lines, this broke down as 43 per cent female and 57 per cent male. The other match shown earlier in the day, between Westmeath and Derry, was watched by 212,000 adults, which translated into a 44 per cent share.
JNLR radio survey
This morning if you bump into any radio executives or advertising staff forgive them for being a little tetchy. The Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey is about to land on their desks and could make or break their day depending on its contents.
The survey is one of the few things capable of giving radio owners, presenters, sales staff and marketing professionals sleepless nights.
Yes, there will be lots of talk about public service remits and not just chasing ratings, but everyone who is anyone in the radio business will be nervously thumbing through the JNLR 'book' to see what it means for their station and their brand.
Unlike the interim JNLR figures that came out a few months ago, this survey will contain data on specific programmes and presenters.
For RTÉ, if recent patterns are repeated, its flagship services could be under pressure again.
The head of RTÉ radio, Adrian Moynes, has sensibly pointed out that new stations on the dial inevitably translates into reducing market share for RTÉ. But the big question is, when is the falling share for RTÉ going to reach a floor?
Today's figures might provide some answers. And there will be close attention paid in RTÉ itself to how the "top talent" (as its leading broadcasters are known) perform.
Lyric sponsors
Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa in Cork, which describes itself as Ireland's "most exclusive and luxurious retreat", has decided to sponsor the breakfast programme on Lyric FM. The value of the sponsorship deal was not disclosed.
The sponsorship, which will carry the strapline 'Reintroduce Your Body To Your Mind', will run for 12 months on the Lyric Breakfast, which celebrates its fifth year on air this year.
Des O'Dowd, the owner of Inchydoney, said the sponsorship was a great fit for his business because 74 per cent of Lyric's audience was in the ABC1 demographic.
The Lyric Breakfast, which airs from Monday to Friday between 7-10 a.m., is presented by Carl Corcoran.
Beckham still hot
Despite the exposure of his affair and his below-par performance in Euro 2004, Real Madrid's David Beckham will continue to front advertising campaigns for mobile giant Vodafone, it was confirmed this week. While there is no doubt Beckingham Palace has been rocked by recent tabloid revelations, Vodafone appears to believe the former Manchester United player remains the hottest property in football marketing.
The ads featuring the midfield player have been fun though, particularly the picture phone one featuring the dour-looking Neville brothers, Phil and Gary.
Vodafone believes Beckham is one of the few footballers able to appeal to male and female consumers. For obvious reasons, new English hero Wayne Rooney does not appear to fit the second part of that requirement.
