Five hundred years later, Olympic curling posts big viewer gains among U.S. viewers. Who would have expected this? MSNBC is reporting that their sister station, CNBC, has posted unexpected increases of over 30% in broadcasts of the sport of … curling! From what I can gather, the game is credited to Scotland dating back to 1511 where the game was played on frozen marshes using “channel stones” that had been worn smooth by the action of water. Archaeological evidence of a curling stone (the famous Stirling Stone) inscribed with the date 1511 turned up, along with another bearing the date 1551, when an old pond was drained at Dunblane, Scotland. Five hundred years in the making and curling seems to be piquing interest. This could either trigger another cavalcade of reality TV shows on the fine art of the broom or it could be a statement as to how poorly the rest of the Olympic events are faring.
