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NBC's Coverage of 2021 Tokyo Olympics and Qualifiers

Watching the tail end of the Opening Ceremonies now on NBC in Primetime. Coverage is decent so far, as has been their coverage of the competitions held prior to the "official" opening. Should be interesting viewing for the next 2 weeks and change...
 
I thought there were supposed to be no spectators at these Olympics, yet I just watched a little of the swimming (via a streaming site -- full disclosure) and got a screenshot of this happy bunch celebrating an American victory in a preliminary heat of the women's 400m breaststroke. I assume these are fellow Olympians, as are the folks with the Belgian (I think) flags at left. There was a similar cluster of Japanese cheering in a previous heat, and I could see people scattered throughout the venue. What gives? I thought no one but the participants, their coaches, the event's officials and the camera crews were to be allowed to witness these Olympics firsthand.
 

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TheBigA said:
He appears to be wearing a credential around his neck.
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Did you open the photo? The man beside him is not wearing a credential. These people are obviously not media, nor are they officials or personnel needed to run the swimming competition. If these are athletes -- and yes, I would expect athletes to wear some official form of identification -- then why aren't the stands packed full of athletes, from any country and any sport, having a good time watching the Olympics, instead of just these clusters of animated, cheering, flag-waving people plus scattered loners in the upper reaches of the seating area (not shown in this screenshot)? Again, spectatorless is what the Japanese Olympic Committee said, but there are obviously people in the stands, credentialed or not, acting just as you'd expect spectators to act.
 
CTListener said:
Again, spectatorless is what the Japanese Olympic Committee said, but there are obviously people in the stands, credentialed or not, acting just as you'd expect spectators to act.
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According to this article, it depends on the venue or the location of the venue:


Some may be confused after tuning into an event that has a crowded audience. But Tokyo's state of emergency doesn't apply to three other prefectures (Miyagi, Fukushima, and Shizuoka), which means those venues will continue to host up to 10,000 fans.
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I'm really enjoying the coverage this year. With them running programming at nearly all hours on several channels (NBC, USA, CNBC, Olympic Channel, NBCSN) I can nearly always find something I'm interested in watching, and since they have so many channels to air programming, some of the lesser known sports like badminton, table tennis, archery and the like, which once got little if any coverage, are getting some good exposure.

Also, I'm not sure if it's Comcast, or if the Comcast/Xfinity on-demand system is just acting as an interface to access NBC's programming, but full replays of nearly all the events seem to be readily available.
 
It would be interesting to know how local NBC affiliates are tying in the network Olympic coverage with their local news presentations.

In Colorado Springs, KOAA is fully invested with Olympic themed coverage, but with the USA Olympic/Paralympic Committee headquartered here, along with a new Olympic/Paralympic museum, that's no surprise. Otherwise, I'd see most NBC affiliates taking a more neutral approach to promotional tie-ins with the Olympics.
 
Mikey Radio said:
I'm really enjoying the coverage this year. With them running programming at nearly all hours on several channels (NBC, USA, CNBC, Olympic Channel, NBCSN) I can nearly always find something I'm interested in watching, and since they have so many channels to air programming, some of the lesser known sports like badminton, table tennis, archery and the like, which once got little if any coverage, are getting some good exposure.

Also, I'm not sure if it's Comcast, or if the Comcast/Xfinity on-demand system is just acting as an interface to access NBC's programming, but full replays of nearly all the events seem to be readily available.
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For Comcast Xfinity on demand system it does direct to Peacock when I tried it. Peacock is airing the games.
 
joebtsflk1 said:
It would be interesting to know how local NBC affiliates are tying in the network Olympic coverage with their local news presentations.

In Colorado Springs, KOAA is fully invested with Olympic themed coverage, but with the USA Olympic/Paralympic Committee headquartered here, along with a new Olympic/Paralympic museum, that's no surprise. Otherwise, I'd see most NBC affiliates taking a more neutral approach to promotional tie-ins with the Olympics.
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NBC owned stations have sent their talent for either local news segments or in past cases Fred Roggin of KNBC-TV Los Angeles would appear on NBC Sports in past Olympic coverage and he's doing play by play for NBC Sports.
 
TheBigA said:
Keep in mind a lot of major market affiliates are also owned and operated stations. So they even have local correspondents in Tokyo or nearby to present the local spin:

www.mercurynews.com

Olympics on TV: NBC Bay Area specials put spotlight on locals

Bay Area Olympians share their stories in a pair of specials
www.mercurynews.com www.mercurynews.com
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No surprise with the O&Os. But outside of the top 20 markets the emphasis could be different. Or perhaps not...don't know the answer.
 
joebtsflk1 said:
No surprise with the O&Os. But outside of the top 20 markets the emphasis could be different. Or perhaps not...don't know the answer.
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Maybe I've missed it, but the protests about the Olympics seem to be mostly in Japan, not here.

Here, we just want to win.
 
joebtsflk1 said:
Hmm...didn't mention anything about protests. ??
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But what's the negative about associating your station with the Olympics, especially when you're pre-empting all regular programming to present coverage? Why the "neutral approach?" They're not neutral, they want USA to win.
 
"Neutral" is a loaded term apparently and it's taking the discussion in a direction I didn't anticipate. "Matter-of-fact" might be better. Of course a typical NBC affiliate will mention the Olympics in their local coverage and if there's a local angle, they might contract for a report from Tokyo. But would they spring for sending a local reporter if they're not a top 20 market? It's more the economic angle to a typical station I was trying to explore.

Of course, everyone wants the USA to win...that's a given.
 
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