The first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games, held in Innsbruck, took place last month, with the action largely been screened online through platforms including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, attracting an audience of some 8.5 million.

Innsbruck 2012 was also broadcast to more than 60 countries, predominantly as highlights packages.

Russia is planning to bid for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, with Kaspiysk in the Dagestan region putting itself forward as a potential candidate city.

They claimed five gold medals at Innsbruck 2012, with four silver and seven bronze.

"We would like the Youth Games to be better represented on television," Nagornykh told RIA Novosti.

"I think Russians would gladly watch the hockey final, figure skating, skiing and biathlon, they'd support the young athletes.

"I think the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should consider this."

The IOC has told insidethegames that they will be conducting "a thorough debrief" and considering how best to broadcast future Youth Olympics via television and digital platforms.

The next Youth Olympic Games will take place in Nanjing, China in the summer of 2014, and the subsequent Winter Youth Olympics will be in Lillehammer, Norway in 2016.

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