SAM Magazine-Vancouver, B.C., Feb. 24, 2010-For the first time, TV audience measurer The Nielsen Co. has been tracking audience ratings for individual Olympics events, and skiing came out on top during the first few days of the Games.

Freestyle skiing, in particular the moguls events, achieved an average of 26.9 million viewers during prime time, making it the most-watched sport of the 2010 Vancouver Games through Feb. 15, Nielsen said. Other top draws through the first three days of competition included downhill skiing, with 26.7 million viewers, and snowboarding, with 25.5 million. All those beat figure skating, at 25.4 million, and speed skating, at 22.6 million.

Viewership has closely reflected the success of the U.S. athletes. Hannah Kearney and Shannon Bahrke took gold and bronze, respectively, in women's moguls, while Bode Miller earned a bronze in the men's downhill, and Seth Wescott won gold in snowboard cross. We can only imagine that ratings were high for Shaun White's memorable gold in halfpipe, Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso's gold and silver in women's downhill, as well as their medals in super-combined and super-G, plus Miller's silver and gold in super-G and super-combined.

Conventional wisdom has long held that figure skating and ice dancing, with a big appeal to women, are the biggest Winter Olympics sports from a viewership perspective. Could the latest ratings news help bring about a change in future Olympics coverage? We can only hope so.