I recently read that CBS (following the lead of ABC which broadcast most Olympic competitions in the 1960s and 1970s) deliberately dwells on the personal lives of the athletes (in other words, turns them into characters in a melodrama) in order to attract women viewers. The ratings show that the technique succeeds. The Olympics are the only televised sporting event with a mostly female audience (57% female, moving up to 59% when figure skating is broadcast). Personally, I wonder if the draw of the Olympics for women is, indeed, the soap opera aspect or is it the presence of female athletes with whom women can identify? Mary Kalfatovic, Washington, D.C.