NBC Really Blowing this Olympics
You don't usually have to look far to see a story about NBC's failed Olympic coverage. Most sportswriters have already tackled the subject to some degree. But I felt the need to make this painfully apparent to the network execs up there at the peacock.
Yesterday, as most everybody knows, Visa's sweetheard Lindsey Jacobellis lost herself the gold medal by grabbing her board-- and falling-- near the end of an uncontested run, touching off "showboat" arguments from here to Kingston, Jamaica, where presumably they're still riled about their bobsled falling apart at the end of Cool Runnings. Personally, I don't care, let the chick grab her board. Nine times out of ten, she lands the jump and everybody's happy. It's not like she won't be back at it in Vancouver for the 2010 games. But that's not why I'm here.
I'm here because as I was reading that article (on SI.com, in case you were really interested), NBC ran an advertisement in the article pimping their prime time coverage with the following line: "Watch Lindsey Jacobellis go for the gold in Snowboardcross."
If anything, this little parable highlights just how obtuse the network heads are at NBC, thinking that we're going to keep to the "see no Olympics, hear no Olympics" mantra until 8PM that evening, despite the fact that the entire universe already knows what's happening. I ask you, is there any reason to tape delay these events? At all? You'd think they'd actually be losing ratings because of it.
Think of it this way-- would you ever watch an entire Super Bowl if you'd already read the entire game recap ahead of time? What, maybe 3% of your audience who only likes a happy ending, or for hardcore fans of the winners. Maybe there's an in-game brawl that you just can't miss, or an aging pop star bares her nipple, or whatever, but most of the time it's just not going to happen.
And this is the Olympics for God's sake. This is the one time that (literally) the entire country is cheering for one team. This is where we can show the Soviets who's boss, where speed skaters can fake being blocked by those pesky Koreans, where innocent Canadians can fall victim to the crooked French, where we can stick it to Iran and their nukes by whipping them in the Curling competition.
Well, I'm not so sure that last one's happened yet. I haven't really been watching. Have somebody at NBC drop me a line when it's on.
posted by BJC @ 10:38 AM
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