Something a bit different, but, it is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I despise that NBC is showing so much of the Olympics taped. Sports are live, baby, live! Some highlights are fine. But, good grief, if you are going to cover these every-4-year games, and spend a lot on them, show them too us live as much as possible!
Instead, they spend 20 minutes on human interest stories and all sorts of other things, and then, if we’re lucky, 2 minutes on the actual events. Sometimes live, more often taped. Excepting certain events, like soccer, basketball, and hockey, mostly. Too be honest, I’m not that interested in the summer games that much, I love the winter more. And I like to actually watch it live. Not bits and pieces. But, there is also the problem that so many of the summer games never make it to TV. I’d watch beach volleyball, especially the ladies. Did you know there were BMX and mountain biking events? I didn’t till I looked it up. Sailing? Judo? Wouldn’t mind watching. But, the coverage is terrible, going all the way back to when NBC put the Olympics on pay per view and had their “rock and roll highlights” on the regular station. Awful.
Anyhow
(Washington Post) Â Ah, Rio. The sand. The sun. The competition. The broadcast delay.
Thanks, NBC.
The Peacock Network plans to show the Opening Ceremonies of the Rio Olympic Games on Friday night with a one-hour delay. And viewers who live in the western U.S. will find their telecast delayed even longer.
NBC will start its broadcast at 8 p.m. ET, although the Opening Ceremonies in Rio, which is one hour ahead of the Eastern time zone, will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
Why? NBC offers this excuse
“We think it’s important to give context to the show,†Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBC Sports Group, said earlier this month. “These Opening Ceremonies will be a celebration of Brazilian culture, of Rio, of the pageantry, of the excitement, of the flair this beautiful nation has. We think it’s important that we are able to put that in context for the viewer so that it’s not just a flash of color.â€
Context? How about just showing the Opening Ceremonies live and letting viewers see it? Why can’t “context” be provided at 7pm ET? Besides, we do we need context? If they were honest, they’d talk about the filth, polluted waters, crime, forced child prostitution, and all those who live in such extreme poverty that it can’t even be called poverty. Need a deeper word.
Those in other time zones will see later delays.
“The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the Games than men, and for the women, they’re less interested in the result and more interested in the journey,†John Miller, NBC’s Olympics chief marketing officer, told reporters recently. “It’s sort of like the ultimate reality show and mini-series wrapped into one. And to tell the truth, it has been the complaint of a few sports writers. It has not been the complaint of the vast viewing public.â€
You know, I don’t often trot out the sexist label, but, that is rather sexist. No, that is pure sexist. They might like different events than men, but, they can be brutal on those competing in the more women type competitions, and get damned upset when the outcome is not what they want.
OK, rant over. Till the 2018 Winter Games. What are your thoughts?
