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NBC's Olympic Coverage
Bites
Stubborn Peacock just won't break its tradition
SALINE, MICHIGAN
FEBRUARY 12, 2006
Shame on NBC for promising new, expanded 2006
Winter Olympic coverage from Turin, but through this first weekend
it has come up way short. That is unless you consider Daytona 500
qualifying and paid advertising slots for George Foreman grills part
of the coverage.
Even with the many NBC-affiliated stations (MSNBC,
CNBC, USA), they've failed to provide quality TV thus far.
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As Lew reminded me last night, NBC has maintained its
stance that Americans are ok if events aren't aired
live. To NBC, the US audience tunes
in for the drama and to watch the performances, whether they are
shown as they happen or not. Over in Canada on CBC, they don't share this
view and choose to show as many of the key events live as they can,
even if they occur at 4 am. |
I really believe NBC is blowing it here. The
whole 'drama and pageantry' argument is really starting to get old,
especially as we have access to more and faster information.
As I type this, I've known the results of the men's Downhill and
halfpipe events for nearly 12 hours, yet neither event has been
shown on any of the NBC networks. Not only do I know what
happened, I've been reminded of the results on at least three
different forms of media: internet, TV, and radio. In fact,
the mothership NBC didn't show anything until late this afternoon,
as the first part of the afternoon was filled with Daytona 500
qualifying! We're talking about practice. Not even the
real race. Practice. And your choice on CNBC and USA was
women's hockey, which is really sad. [side note to the
woman's hockey organizers: when the score is 8-0, go ahead and
either call the game or start a running clock].
Here's the thing. With all their networks, why
doesn't NBC just give us the choice to watch the live coverage, and
then the primetime re-runs? They persist with this charade
that we'd be better off not having the option. Most viewers in
this area are lucky they can watch CBC's live coverage (not me
with DISH network).
Other takes:
The 'Medals'. The winter Olympics have
recently taken some liberties with the shape and form of the medals.
I remember the Albertville medals were made primarily with Lalique
crystal. In Turin they look like DVDs. Lew suggested
that they should burn the winners' performances on them.
The Gambling Slippery Slope. The Mr. and
Mrs. Wayne Gretzky gambling scandal will certainly follow the
Canadian hockey team in Turin. I don't know what happened here
but any self-respecting adult that is involved in a high stakes
gambling ring is just dumb. I believe Gretz when he says he
didn't bet but I'm sure he knew this was going on with his buddies,
and apparently his wife.. Why these guys don't just bet in
Vegas (like Phil Mickelson) is beyond me. My biggest issue
with all this is all the armchair gambling experts that keep citing
the slippery slope theory, that eventually all this gambling (and
the mounting losses) will lead to rigged hockey games. This is
scenario is at best a leap. Sure, I just said these guys are
dumb, but are they that dumb?
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