Column: NBC's Olympic coverage not award-winning
Published March 2, 2010
Another Olympics has come and gone, and once again the games have me chattering.
Unfortunately for NBC, I'm not talking about the "tremendously tremendous" U.S. hockey team, the disgraceful curling team or the ice dancers dressed like harlots. I am talking about how horrendous the television coverage has been.
Yes, NBC has great broadcasters, such as Al Michaels and Bob Costas, on hand in Vancouver to emcee the games.
Yes, they have shown magical images of the breathtaking British Columbian scenery. Too bad for them; the good majority of the events have been shown to America on tape delay, which is unacceptable.
British Columbia is only three hours behind the Eastern time zone. There is no need for the tape delay. I would understand delaying the coverage if the games were back in Russia many time zones away, but this isn't the case. If Canada can show them live, why can't we?
Because NBC insists on showing events on a tape-delay basis, most of the important results for American athletes have been spoiled. Bode Miller's gold medal and Lindsey Vonn's crash were already announced on the Internet before NBC hit the air. When NBC does come on the air, it teases us. "We're going to show Bode Miller go after gold later on tonight."
Don't insult us. Tell us the result, and then tell us what time you will air it if you can't show it live.
It makes no sense. NBC Universal is using four different channels to show the games, and they still can't show live events? Ridiculous.
I understand some events, such as skiing and biathlon, can take up to several hours, and nobody wants to watch skiers going around and around in laps for hours. I wouldn't either, but NBC could show clips as it happens live and then show the final couple of laps live.
Even the cable coverage has been bad. Most of the hockey games are harder to find than a good woman. Some days the game is on CNBC. Others they're on MSNBC, USA or NBC. Make a decision and stick to it, please.
Once I find the game, NBC force feeds commercials down our throats. I understand it has to please the sponsors but good grief. It shows commercials so much the network has missed goals on numerous occasions.
Hockey, which is actually broadcast live on the NBC family of networks, has also been pre-empted by the riveting theater that is curling. I find it hard to believe people would rather watch Belarus and Finland curl than watching Canada and Switzerland play hockey. It also didn't help NBC's cause when hockey analyst Mike Milbury called the Russians eurotrash after being shellacked by the Canadians.
The primetime block for NBC could be packed with live events. Instead, it shows us taped events and human-interest stories with Mary Carillo.
The final straw was the other night. Instead of showing us live ski jumping, bobsleigh or speed skating, NBC aired an interview with Michael Phelps. Did Phelps find another bong to smoke? Do we really need to hear from a swimmer at the Winter Olympics? The interview was really awkward and out of place.
The problems didn't stop there.
During the female figure skating competition, NBC made a big deal (and rightly so) about the death of Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette's mother just days before the event. The camera crew then panned to the crowd and showed a shot of her father and proceeded to talk about the hardship. Too bad the man in the crowd was not actually her father.
The funny thing is NBC has been doing this for years, and they continue to stand by it. The brass must've just had some kind of mushroom or something. Unfortunately for us, the next Olympics is in jolly old England, so it appears the problem will get worse before it gets better.