TV ratings=success?

I saw recently on a CBC broadcast that the Vancouver Olympics were considered a success because of the TV ratings. The Vancouver Olympics did not receive any more viewers than the Turin Olympics overall, but apparently they were much more successful with a younger demographic. Many more young people 15-24 watched the Vancouver Olympics than the Turin games. But after watching this, I started to question how much this would have to do with the successful organization or marketing of the Vancouver Olympics. After all, we are just now supposedly recovering from a global recession. Unemployment numbers have skyrocketed in the past few years, and this generally means that unemployment is especially high in the 15-24 age bracket. Without jobs or excess income, significantly more 15-24 year olds are probably spending time at home right now, not being able to afford the usual trips to the bars or cinemas. In countries like the U.S. and Canada where the Olympics are broadcast on network TV, watching the Olympics would be a free way to spend your afternoon or evening. So how much of this success in the 15-24 year old age bracket really can be attributed to VANOC or the marketing campaigns? Did the Vancouver Games really reach out to a younger audience, or was the younger audience more bored with more excess time than in 2006?