The Olympics on NBC

[TroyG]

Well. so far Michael Phelps has been the hero of the 2008 Summer Olympics, breaking Mark Spitz' record of 7 gold medals. Even his home town of Baltimore even show Phelps swim live in his final race on the JumboTron Scoreboard at M&T Bank Stadium, after the Ravens-Vikings game. I bet they'll throw a parade when he gets back from Beijing...

 

[neo11]

He may be the hero of the Olympics, but there's more to the Olympics than Michael Phelps. I've also got to agree with Brig, NBC (NPC?) needs to do more than just show coverage of Team USA. There's many, many interesting events taking place at the Olympics that NBC is ignoring.

 

[ixnay]

BTW, the Olympic Fanfare was written especially for ABC,
and it wasn't used on NBC's 1988 telecast from Seoul, IIRC.
Viewers demanded the song, so NBC got permission from
ABC to use it after that.

Was there a financial settlement involved? Anyone recall?

ixnay

 

[TroyG]

Nothing Personal. However, when CBS tried to use "The Bugler's Dream" for The Winter Games in '92, '94, and '98-ABC denied their request. ABC gave NBC the permission to use the fanfare-with their blessing. Expect to hear more ofi t-for at least 3 more Olympiads. "The Bugler's Dream" will eventually come back to ABC & ESPN for the 2014 Winter Olympiad-and many more to come.

 

[liradioisbad]

He may be the hero of the Olympics, but there's more to the Olympics than Michael Phelps. I've also got to agree with Brig, NBC (NPC?) needs to do more than just show coverage of Team USA. There's many, many interesting events taking place at the Olympics that NBC is ignoring.

It seems like on the main NBC telecast, the only foreigner they're really pushing is Bolt. But if you look at the cable coverage, it's a lot better, where they show some of every sport, including those Americans aren't good in. And the fact that they're showing live online most of the events outside of track/gymnastics/swimming is quite the accomplishment.

Also, as a follow-up to what I said before, ESPN really is serious about bidding for 2014/2016:

http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN1931660620080820

 

[Pogo]

NBC Olympic coverage just gets worse every four years. Last night, there were finals of the men’s High Jump, men’s Discus, and men’s 1500 meters. NBC showed none of it. Why? Because there were American’s involved in these events.

Instead, the time is filled with junk journalism and hours of athlete interviews. Athletes perform on the field, they have nothing original to say. For that matter, neither do the hack journalists who cover these events. Let us just see the events!

The problem is that the journalists seem to believe that there is no drama unless they provide it. And provide it, they surely don’t. They weigh the events down with their cliché ridden commentary and turn them into an expression of their own vanity.

 

[dgendvil]

The reason why i haven't watched the olympics is beacuse of the contining problems with steroids facing our athletes, & that the reason why they've ruined in recent years because it had to do with the FALCO doping scandal of Marion Jones & Tim Montgomery. I say they ruined the event. But the presidental candidates... including John McCain, who is a big supporter on cracking down steroids on athletes should do something about it so that we won't have it at any future events, especially the olympics. I suggest that has also happened in every other sport, including baseball & football. You know baseball players like Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa & Mark McGwire has taken steroids in the past & broke home runs to break records, too. But I say that has also ruined the sport on top of that, too. So I think that answers your question.

 

[nightcrawler35]

The doping issue is not just an united states problem. It's a world problem. There's
evidence that as far back as the 80's that doping was an issue. I for one have enjoyed
this year's Olympics. Given the logistics of broadcasting clear across the world, the time difference
the multitude of events going on they're doing a pretty good job.

 

[dhett]

The good news is that more and more athletes are getting sick of the black eye and are agreeing to voluntary random testing. You'll always have your cheats (China) but if voluntary testing can become part of the predominant culture of athletics, that's a good thing.

 

[neo11]

This may be an unpopular opinion around here, and not to stray off topic, but I don't think we are any less guilty of doping than China or anyone else. But when only 4,000 out of the 20,000+ athletes get tested, with some of those athletes being tested more than others, odds are that a doped up athlete from any country and particularly from countries with influence (like the USA and China) will not get caught.

 

[dhett]

This may be an unpopular opinion around here, and not to stray off topic, but I don't think we are any less guilty of doping than China or anyone else. But when only 4,000 out of the 20,000+ athletes get tested, with some of those athletes being tested more than others, odds are that a doped up athlete from any country and particularly from countries with influence (like the USA and China) will not get caught.

I think the opposite is true - I think your top-shelf athletes are going to be more likely to be tested than say, an athlete from Zambia.

 

[neo11]

In the ultra-corrupt world of the IOC, that is not the case. It seems that athletes from larger and more powerful countries (who are more likely to be doped) are also more likely to have a blind eye turned towards them by the IOC and WADA. It's really pretty simple...sponsors (who control the Olympics, like it or not) want to see big stars succeed and big countries (big markets) succeed. It seems to me that medium-sized countries get tested the most, as they are in a position to score a lot of medals, but don't have the visibility that the largest nations have.