Olympics

I think maybe it’s time to change how the networks broadcast the Olympics. I know this year it seems as though the ratings aren’t what they used to be, and I think it has a whole lot to do with the fact that they are showing things well after they’ve already happened. Come on, this is the internet age, that’s not going to cut it. Let me give you an example:

I happened to be home this afternoon instead of at work. I had the Olympics coverage on NBC on, because there’s really nothing else on in the afternoon and I wanted some background noise. They were showing the semifinal heats of the Men’s 800 meter swimming relay. They showed the Americans winning one heat, the Australians the other, and throughout they kept hyping the final which was going to be aired during prime time tonight. Only problem was, I was online during this time and had already seen that the Americans won the final. All that effort at creating drama and getting me to tune in tonight, was short circuited by the fact that the dramatic event they were hyping had already occurred. I saw the results online, and then I saw analysis of the results on ESPN, all before NBC showed me the actual event! Why would I waste my time watching it tonight?

This isn’t 1980, or even 1992, there are too many places to read about what’s going on right now, to expect us to tune in 12 hours after the fact the watch something. It’s old news by the time NBC gets around to showing it.

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