NBC has dug its own grave

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/sports/olympics/20espnoly.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

This fight will be fun to watch.

Way too much talking, most of which is bullshit about how great we are and how clearly inferior American atheletes were "robbed" when they didn't win.

This has been the absolute WORST olympic coverage I've ever seen.

..no interest really. Not a sports fan, far from a national pride type guy. But having overheard a little of the coverage that my wife was watching, I was struck my this same thing about the commentators. Just amazing.

Some sports they don't even show the top three competitors but spend 30 minutes talking about how "all american" our 15th ranked athelete is. It's unbelievable.

Its US coverage so its going to be US-centric. That's just how it is. I'm down in the caribbean this week and I have a choice of both US and non-US coverage, and to be honest, I prefer the US coverage.

They were following a woman's hurdles race and expected one of the American women to win, so they talked about her ad naseum.

When she tripped on one of the hurdles and didn't medal, they still kept a camera on her as she knelt on the track.

The woman who won was also an American, but they had their plan in place and continued to discuss the loser, even going so far as to interview her, take pictures of her family in the stands and showed replay after slow-mo replay of her performance during the race.

Eventually they interviewed the winner and managed to mention that an Australian had won the silver, and a Canadian the bronze.

However, they failed to mention that it was the first time an Australian has won a medal in that event since going from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_metres_hurdles#80_m_hurdles_medalists_at_Olympic_Games">80m to 100m and that the Canadian was the first to win a medal in the event http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_metres_hurdles#80_m_hurdles_medalists_at_Olympic_Games">ever.

Why they followed this course of action is confusing to me. I think maybe the loser had a better agent than any of the athletes who outperformed her.

I think it was Lola Jones or something in that case, and with the limited amount of time they have they spend it covering her, regardless. Homerism exists in pretty much most local coverage all over the world because it's a winning strategy for gaining viewership, the only thing that matters. A few exceptions are the BBC because they really are an international news source.

It's annoying to see just one country, but they think that's what we want to see, and the ratings seem to be backing them up.

Some of us may want to see how athletes in our various "old countries" are doing.

We used to at least be allowed to see all the teams do the sports in which USA was one of the leaders, now, as you said, we don't even get to see the top 5. Just zooming in on the American.

with massive helpings of nationalism. What could be wrong with that? :puke:

I watch it some but every Olympic season I get more sick of the garbage the media applies.

This isn't an NBC invention.

As for the focus on American atheletes, the casual viewer who probaby watches only in prime time most likely wants to see the US competitors.

The reality is that ABC/NBC (whoever has broadcast rights) is showing the Olympics first and foremost in order to make money for their sponsors. If focusing on Americans is going to bring more viewers to the screen then that's what the broadcaster is going to do.

Apparently, the ratings are doing pretty well overall so the broadcasters must be giving the majority of the viewers what they want.

It's really not that hard to understand.

BTW, there are 4 other channels showing the Olympics and when I flip by them they're usually showing some team sport that doesn't have the US playing at all. So anyone complaining about the preoccupation with the US isn't making an effort to watch anything other than NBC.

now it's like there is no one competing except Americans, and even then, it's only the "pretty" ones. Beach Volleyball, Lilo Jones (who fell flat on her face last night, totally ignoring the less-attractive American who DID win the race). It's ridiculous.

I remember those, but I also remember them with the likes of Hans ummmm ... the Austrian guy who won the downhill. ie, it wasn't all about USA!USA!USA! I think that shit got as bad as it did because of a) the hockey gold in 1980 b) the tit-for-tat politicization in summers 1980 and 1984.

Then you had the height of schmaltz: the new John Williams Olympics theme.

I finally got around to watching "Blades of Glory" the other night. God, it's so perfect.

in 1976

I had the vowel sound right, at least :)

.... of the athletes a la 2004 are mostly gone. Seems I wasn't the only one totally turned of by them.

I was absolutely disgusted when NBC did a long interview (let him talk on and on) with George W. Bush. That didn't add ANYTHING to the Olympics. It's not ABOUT that asshole; it's about the athletes. NBC make "His Heinous" the story when he should not have been the story.

I watch Telemundo to see Boxing, Baseball and some other sports. I rememer when ABC used to show the Olympics and they showed some of everything.

I've seen a few races repeated again and again and again, but it's lost in between the swimming and diving and effing beach volleyball. OK, I caught a few discus throws (or was it the same one repeated?) and some lady vaulting with a pole, but overall the track and field coverage has been very spotty. Has anyone seen any triple jump yet?

In general, the overnight coverage is better, although thanks to Tivo I can watch 6 hours of coverage in less than 20 minutes. I have to watch the gymnastics with the sound off, and even then it's grating.

I got so disgusted with the terrible commentary (rah-rah only America's great crap) that I had to turn it off.

Where are the other events? I have yet to see any equestrian stuff at all or any sports other than swimming and gymnastics and beach volleyball. Last I knew, there were tons of other events. Where the hell are they?!

I honestly don't care which channel carries the Olympics and may the old adage of a fool and their money be applied here.

This year's coverage is a rare bright spot for NBC...they lost their asses in the past few Olympics (anyone remember the "multi-cast" and Pay-Per-View crap???)...and then what really is the network getting for the $900 million they threw at the IOC? In essence that money went to buy two weeks of ratings in the middle of the summer and a lot of ego and prestige.

So here's wishing ABC/Disney the best of luck here...hope Mickey's wallet is deep. It won't matter to me...and I'm certain to most others if I have to turn to Channel 5 or Channel 7 for women's beach volleyball. And for certain, any company that wastes tons of money advertising on this coverage sure aren't gonna get rich on me and my family. To this day I still haven't bought a pair of Nikes and knowing they've thrown away so much money makes me very hesitant on buying a pair of their overpriced sneekers.

Cheers...

No boycotting, just don't care to watch the BS on commercial TV.

I have had this discussion many times w/my hubby (from Japan) and yesterday w/my friend who is Swiss- Olympic coverage here is APPALING... it takes the "fun" and spirit out of the entire event when the American audience is only allowed to see a tiny portion of an entire event, cropping out all other competing countries. BORING... and absurd. In Japan, you watch ALL countries compete in a particular event; same in Switzerland, and no doubt everywhere in the world except HERE. NBC does not DESERVE the honor of televising the Olympics. It used to be interesting and fun to watch when I was a kid, because the network would show all competitors. Now it SUCKS... i barely watched it at all.

Please please please... take it away, ESPN!!!!

making a profit. You win them because you give proper coverage to the games. ABC got away with their crap when the times of races were changed to suit US prime time in Korea. NBC then decided to try and block radio, television and internet coverage worldwide to suit US prime time when the games were held in Sydney. That was the last straw for most of the rest of the planet who refuse to watch live events hours after they have taken place to accommodate NBCs ratings and profits.

NBC can rightly claim a huge success this Olympics. Viewers aren't just profit; they're satisfied fans.

were not carried live.

Many people are not satisfied with the jingoism spewed by commentators.

Many people are not satisfied that if the US loses a medal, commentators attempt to belittle winners who are not American.

add

I guess you didn't realize that.

Damn! What a shame!

Then again, it's the US, so we (the rest of the civilised world) expect no less. Sydney did it for us, too.

Now we have pole vault on. Germans, Swedes, Russians. Not a dutchman in sight, but defenitily worth watching:)

(Wow@Bolt!)

I generally try to watch a bit of Olympics, get angry, see the others doing re-runs and put on a DVD instead.

is a small fraction less than 10%; a lot of time is on the interviews, graphics, national anthems, "human interest" stories, and promotions.

But then, I have used my remote control frequently and haven't sat through a lot of the "garbage". I have used the program guide to watch what I wanted to and changed channels when I wasn't interested. I don't think any of the corporate networks are going to do any better than any of the others. They are all after ratings and they will want to show what the audience wants to see. Like it or not, NBC has been successful in getting good ratings this year.

They bid, they won, their making tons of money off their advertisers. What grave?

coverage of the games.

My experience with ESPN makes me suspicious though. I'm a huge fan of tennis, and ESPN is infamous for airing delayed tennis matches. :mad: It's frustrating to watch the matches live early in the tournament on The Tennis Channel, only to have ESPN air tape-delayed matches later in the tournament. I usually end up watching the matches live online and rarely tune in to ESPN.

So are they carrying the 200m men's final live?

at a time when most of the USA would be commuting to or already be at work. Other than the most die-hard fan, how many people would have stayed home to watch a race which they knew they would also see in evening? If NBC hadn't paid a shit-load of money for the broadcast rights, maybe they would have considered first showing it live to 0.5 percent of their viewing audience. And maybe, advertisers would have ran spots during that time, if NBC didn't charge them anything for them, knowing that few people would see them.

But I'm just saying.

broadcasts. I don't know what all the fuss is about. I enjoy watching the Americans compete. But I'm just saying.:shrug:

Or satellite TV. If they're going to compete, I would rather watch it in real time, since the outcome is already known by the time NBC airs the competition. It's a valid complaint, but my point was it was only profitable for NBC because they put in the lowest bid. Just because it's profitable for NBC due to it having a monopoly on broadcasts doesn't mean it is also an indicator of how the viewers would rate NBC's performance. I would've guessed people would've concluded that by now.

bidder. "In 2003, the Disney-owned ESPN and ABC bid jointly for the 2010 and 2012 Games against Fox and NBC. NBC won the bidding at $2.2 billion which included a worldwide I.O.C. sponsorship for General Electric, NBC’s parent company. Fox bid an estimated $1.3 billion and ESPN/ABC offered a revenue share, without any upfront money." Further as Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us, most of the events from 8:00pm EDST were broadcast live as it was 8:00am in China. I still don't what there is to complain about. I watched the whole woman's marathon live, the gymnastics, the swimming and diving, volleyball, women's basket ball, beach volley ball....all live. Last night they had womens softball live. Gee what more do you want?
NBC paid $2.2 billion for the rights. They have every right to make a profit on their investment.

You had to go online to find out the actual times of competition. If an event occured at 12 PM in China, it would be at 12 at night EDT. Not all events occured at 8 in the morning in China. Many occured at 2, 3, or 4 PM and so on in China.

The men's 100m did not occur at 8 AM in the morning in China, for instance.

I'm not a big sports fan and I'm not particularly interested in the Olympics. I watched the opening ceremonies with my wife.She kept telling the TV to "shut the fuck up" before just giving up. when I stumble onto an event that looks interesting I turn the sound off. It was neat to watch China kick England's ass in Womens Crew. Ditto the trampoline event. even better not having to listen to whom ever prattle on about some athlete's over coming an adversity, america, we f'in rule. I doubt ESPN will do any better than NBC but they couldn't do much worse.

and yes, i have hated all the things everyone has mentioned so far. i have watched ping pong, boxing (yes, lots of coverage with no americans), wrestling (what, no macho man randy savage!!), basketball (no redeem team) and soccer (no us games yet!)

That crap only served the idiotic tape-delayed raise-advertising-rates gods. I just can't fathom accommodating people who don't like the SPORTS. As though the only 'enjoyable' part was who wins? Horse manure. Why watch the SPORT and athleticism if all that matters is the result? Insane.

I don't think the argument that NBC is having record viewership and profits so therefore the coverage is fine is a fair one. People in the US have no choice but to watch NBC's warmed over crap and have nothing else to compare it to. Usain Bolt has electrified the World and I find it impossible to believe that Americans would not be excited to see him breaking records LIVE. Bolt also has a big personality and that translates into ratings.

I think NBC really insults Americans with this poor coverage. I know my relatives in the USA are livid that they cannot see top track and field events live. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080818/lead/lead3.html

That is the only point.

I don't know where you live, but at 8:00pm EDST it is 8:00am in Beijing. All of the events broadcast at night ARE LIVE. NBC broadcasts all live coverage from 8pm to 1:00 am. Don't know what they have on in the early morning hours. But I saw all the swimming, diving, volleyball track and field etc live. Did I see every event......no, but I sure saw a lot of live events. Sorry you missed them.

The 100m mens final was on Saturday Morning at about 9am ET. NBC was busy showing Basketball from the early rounds. It would not have taken FIVE minutes to show a history making race LIVE and then rebroadcast it later in the evening for those who watch the evening programme. Instead, NBC has been running all over the internet trying to block anyone who might show the race and who may have been very interested in it.

Your post shows that you are just watching the package that NBC is showing you and you have no idea whether it is live or not. That is perfectly acceptable - you are obviously not a hardcore fan of many of the sports. Many track and Field fans however find it unacceptable to watch a World record being broken hours after it really happened. There is NO excuse for NBC not to show a 100m mens sprint final LIVE on one of the many outlets they have for broadcast.

I am thankful that I live in the Caribbean and I am not forced to only watch NBC. But my poor relatives abroad are distressed.

stuff. Seems to be less of it. However, I have Tivo'd the games and am fast forwarding through a lot so I really can't be a fair judge of the whole thing. I have mainly watched gymnastics with a sprinkling of a few other events here and there.

I live about 15-20 mins from the border and their coverage is very good and they do show events live.

for the sake of "ratings" tells me all I need to know about our profit-centered culture. That NBC couldn't schedule either brief Bolt of time to be shown live in our country was an insult to any fan of track and field. Jesse Owens must be rolling in his grave!

... you name it. Every time I turned on the tube they had their people nattering away, interrupted by commercials. The Olympic athletes and viewing public deserve far better.

Hekate

More live broadcasts, more sports coverage (for all you badminton fans!), less prepackaged jingoism.

The Olympics have been great this year. NBC has rightly focused on American athletes, because their target audience is Americans. I don't blame NBC for tape delaying some events; it helps their bottom line. I've thought the commentators to be fair and competent, with just a little bit of the pro-US mentality I love. I want to the US to win every event. As for the judging, you would have to be brain dead to to not realize that both Alicia Sacramone and Nastia Liukin were robbed in gymnastics. How someone could hit the vault table badly and fall and still medal is utterly ridiculous.

sporting events belong on channels like ESPN. I don't want my regular programming preempted by the 700 Club and I resent it being preempted by the Olympics, Monday Night Football, and the World Series. I would even concede to reruns on my favorite shows during the times there might be a high viewership on ESPN for those special events, but please don't replace them with a sporting event or with the Pope visiting the USA or any such thing.

they'll show only events in which the Yankees and Red Sox compete.

:hide:

And I rooted for CANADA for a while! :D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3827670&mesg_id=3827670

competition.

to, you would have read that Disney/ABC and Fox both bid for the 2008 broadcast rights for the Olympics. They lost to NBC. This is nothing new.

But they also might.

Personally, I couldn't care less if an event is live- it's live to me. I watch most things taped anyway- just put in a tape or DVD and hit record and then fast forward to something interesting. But I'm in the minority because I'm not even close to a sports fan. However, think about how many people would be unable to see these events because they occur at 10am or even 3am. If they just showed it once, who's going to stay up to watch this, or get out of work to watch it? Now, if they showed it live and then replayed it, that could be a decent compromise, except then people would complain that they're repeating programming.

They're America boosters of course but they've been pretty fair on the whole to the top teams and atheletes from other countries.

for sure.