|
NBC Loses With Olympics 'Coverage'
While Americans Win Medals, It Shows Soap Operas
That's Bode Miller, shown 13 hours after his slalom run, on NBC.
While Canadians watch the 2010 Winter Olympic Games on CTV, TSN, and get broadcasts all day long on two English-speaking channels, two in French and one even in Indian, the Americans are left with...soap operas and talking news shows on NBC and MSNBC.
Men's downhill live? Nope! Women's downhill live with much-hyped Lindsey Vonn? Nope! She won the gold medal in that event, by the way.
Canada playing Germany in men's hockey right after the stunning USA upset of the Canadians? Nope! Local news and Keith Olberman. Bet the NHL loves that fact – it's already waffling on whether or not to participate in the next Winter Olympics and then its sport has a chance to showcase itself in a key game, yet its partner network doesn't have it on the air. Plus, there are a considerable amount of Canadians in the USA; think they might have wanted to tune in to it?
NBC's lack of "coverage" of the Vancouver Olympics is not pathetic. It's not a joke. It's an insult to the athletes, the American people and to the very Games themselves. It is limited to a few hours of prime time, showing parts of events that have already occurred.
It's particularly frustrating for Americans on the West Coast where nothing is live. This is despite the fact that Vancouver is in the same time zone! It's just a 2 1/2-hour flight from LA to the host city, less than a 3-hour drive from Seattle.
Where's the drama – we already know the results.
What's even more frustrating is that NBC has a live blog from the ski events in Whistler but no TV or Internet coverage. A BLOG!? At the very least, where's live streaming video on NBCOlympics.com!?
That this is occurring in today's Internet and live video world is as impossible to believe as the Americans beating the Canadians in hockey. But, like that 5-3 upset, it's reality. Instant results are available from hundreds of sources, to say nothing of people posting personal comments on Facebook and Twitter.
NBC, thinking in an old-world mentality of "prime time and prime time advertising dollars" is denying Americans the opportunity to actually watch the Olympics. While events are happening all day and night – and being shown through CTV's multiple channels throughout Canada – NBC is treating this like it's Innsbrook in 1976, Sarajevo in 1984, Calgary in 1988. Certainly not Vancouver in 2010.
This format drains the drama out of the events because we don't live in 1970 or 1980 anymore and know the results hours before they are shown. Plus, the few moments they show of the various sports fails to build any interest in anything. Sports like skiing are exciting because someone posts a time, the next person comes along and tries to beat it, then the next one, and so forth.
The Olympics should be riveting. NBC's approach is boring.
Why not give us the choice of watching live or the tape delay highlights show? Heck, we might even tune in for both. Seeing a repeat of a great American gold-medal performance would be a golden move. And many people who saw it live would encourage those who couldn't to catch the replay, creating a "hey, you've GOT to see this" buzz.
One of the things Americans were looking forward to with the Olympics being in Vancouver and Whistler was seeing events live instead of tape delayed from locations like Beijing.
Is NBC afraid it won't draw a daytime audience? If so, then their executives must have had their heads stuck in the snow not to notice the madness people go through to get to a computer or TV during March Madness. Millions of computers at work are showing games instead of spreadsheets. Three-martini lunches at sports bars are as common as three-pointers. Well, THIS is maddening!
NBC even put the USA-Hockey game – which was the most-viewed event in Canada – on cable MSNBC.
Here's some comments from frustrated viewers:
"We searched for and found feeds on the internet. One day it was Brazilian, the other Russian, and maybe a British one for a bit. They all eventually get knocked out, though."
"Tonight you will see Bode and maybe 3 other Athletes that will complete the full report, the most pathetic was when Lindsey won Gold, the whole nation knew but nobody saw the race!"
"You're in the U.S. Olympics don't come on until prime time, when you get to see events after the fact."
"WE COULD BE WATCHING DEVO LIVE AND NOT MICHAEL PHELPS ON TAPE DELAY?!?! I HATE YOU NBC! HATE! HATE HATE!"
"NBC, COULD YOU HAVE SCREWED UP WEST COAST COVERAGE MORE? YOU CAN TRY! SHOW U.S. GOLD MEDAL HOCKEY TAPE DELAYED IF THEY GO.
We Dare You. "
At least there is some potentially encouraging news on the horizon for future Games. Executives from ESPN were poking around Vancouver – as one would expect they would be – and we all know with ESPN, ESPN2, on the Internet with ESPN360.com, plus ABC that this network would saturate Americans with Olympic coverage.
The way it should be, in fact.
– MORE VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPIC STORIES –
• USA-Canada Hockey: Report from a Vancouver Bar
• Winter Olympics Fans & Party Guide,
• Winter Olympics Fun Photos,
• Lindsey Vonn, America's Olympic Star,
• Tips on Ways to Identify Canadians at the Games
• A Look at the Games & Scene in Vancouver
• A Look at the Games & Scene in Whistler
• Arrival in Vancouver of the Olympic Torch.
Comments? Contact The Bartender at bartender@pubclub.com
 PubClub.com Home Page
|