Gymnastics

[choclatechip45]

I really liked the Nagornyy fluff! Nice to see NBC show a non-us gymnast.

[AuntieDiane6]

Just now, ChitChat said:

FWIW, I remember when diver Greg Louganis hit his head on the diving board and cut himself.  There was some blood in the pool.  The media was relentless in discussing his sexuality and whether he had AIDs, and what were they going to do about the pool since it had blood in it. 

No, you're remembering it wrong.  There was literally NO discussion of it in 1988 because Greg told NO ONE he was HIV-Positive or that he was gay.  LATER when he admitted it publicly on his own terms, he WAS rightly criticized for allowing his coach to treat him WITHOUT GLOVES IN THE PRESENCE OF BLOOD.  There was no talk of his blood in the pool.  

Just now, Lady Whistleup said:

Uh criticism of Gabby went way beyond the no hand on heart thing. I remember some really vile comments about her hair. 

From who?  A national sports journalist?  Or some pseudo-journalist on Facebook?  

[Chit Chat]

7 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

There was no talk of his blood in the pool.  

I stand corrected if my memory is faulty, but I do remember there being concern about blood in the pool (even if they didn't know about his health status).  I think there were a lot of assumptions about the situation at the time too.  Seems to me though that there was a lot of talk about that at some point.  I think he got a bit of criticism about it.  

Edited July 29, 2021 by ChitChat

[legaleagle53]

Soooooooo, is anyone actually watching the men's AA in prime time besides me? History lessons are nice, but I'd like to know what everyone's PRESENT impressions are. For instance, Brody Malone definitely has potential. His parallel bars routine is *chef's kiss*.

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, legaleagle53 said:

Soooooooo, is anyone actually watching the men's AA in prime time besides me? History lessons are nice, but I'd like to know what everyone's PRESENT impressions are. For instance, Brody Malone definitely has potential. His parallel bars routine is *chef's kiss*.

I saw it this morning and NBC"s coverage of men makes me throw things at the tv. 

[Chaser]

I can’t believe that he forgot to salute the judges. Gymnastics 101 

Edited July 29, 2021 by Chaser

[Chit Chat]

2 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Soooooooo, is anyone actually watching the men's AA in prime time besides me?

No, because the men's team is usually not very good.  I gave up on men's gymnastics ages ago.  

[Daisy]

3 minutes ago, Chaser said:

I can’t believe that he forgot to salute the judges. Gymnastics 101 

and then they protested it. after being penalized for the same thing in the team event. 

[Chaser]

1 minute ago, Daisy said:

and then they protested it. after being penalized for the same thing in the team event. 

That’s just embarrassing 

[emmawoodhouse]

5 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

No, because the men's team is usually not very good.  I gave up on men's gymnastics ages ago.  

We don't watch the men to see Team USA. There are so many other spectacular gymnasts.

[ShellsandCheese]

3 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

No, because the men's team is usually not very good.  I gave up on men's gymnastics ages ago.  

You should give it another try. The US men aren’t the best but the Men’s Team Final was fantastic and so was the AA final. I’ve been enjoying the men’s side more than the women’s this time around. 

[Chaser]

9 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Soooooooo, is anyone actually watching the men's AA in prime time besides me? History lessons are nice, but I'd like to know what everyone's PRESENT impressions are. For instance, Brody Malone definitely has potential. His parallel bars routine is *chef's kiss*.

I liked the ‘Malone’. A more interesting way to mount the bars. 

[legaleagle53]

8 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I saw it this morning and NBC"s coverage of men makes me throw things at the tv. 

I don't blame you. Just once, I'd like to see them give as much attention to Rings as they do to Pommel Horse, Parallel Bars, High Bar,  Floor Exercise, and Vault. And would it have killed them to let us at least see Brody's full rotation?

[Daisy]

2 minutes ago, Chaser said:

That’s just embarrassing 

very very. I don't know how you forget something that basic. 

[Jess14]

I loathe the gymnastics coverage this year. I don’t ever remember seeing so few gymnastics routines in the past. I remember rewatching the 2000 women’s team and AA finals not too long ago on YouTube. The Americans were not in contention for medals at all, but NBC still showed a ton of routines from the other teams and gymnasts. They actually told the story of the competition. The coverage this Olympics has been dreadful 

[choclatechip45]

I really liked the "Malone" move. 

[Lady Whistleup]

5 minutes ago, Jess14 said:

I loathe the gymnastics coverage this year. I don’t ever remember seeing so few gymnastics routines in the past. I remember rewatching the 2000 women’s team and AA finals not too long ago on YouTube. The Americans were not in contention for medals at all, but NBC still showed a ton of routines from the other teams and gymnasts. They actually told the story of the competition. The coverage this Olympics has been dreadful 

I've noticed that NBC's coverage seems very geared towards "middle America." This isn't just their gymnastics coverage. Everything seems designed to appeal to middle America, from the swimming family cheer parties to the relentless focus on Americans, to the chacking of non-Americans from coverage. 

[kittykat]

Yes.  In the past the majority of the competition was shown.  All the rotations and the top 5 or 6 teams, even if US didn't win or even medal.  You have to show at least that amount to give the viewer context as to why one team or person is ahead.  I love watching the other countries and finding someone new to root for. Also I really miss having a Romanian team here.

Edited July 29, 2021 by kittykat

[ShellsandCheese]

1 minute ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I've noticed that NBC's coverage seems very geared towards "middle America." This isn't just their gymnastics coverage. Everything seems designed to appeal to middle America, from the swimming family cheer parties to the relentless focus on Americans, to the chacking of non-Americans from coverage. 

It’s so bad! I live in middle America (NE) and we talked about the Olympics today at work and most hate NBC’s coverage and have stopped watching. And its exactly because there’s actually very little competition shown. It’s like we are trying to watch the Olympics not the US Nationals. 

[kittykat]

If Middle America is complaining then who are the damn suits listening to?

Honestly just revoke NBC of their broadcast privileges and give it back to someone else.  I think ABC had good coverage back in the day.  Or was it CBS?

[KaveDweller]

Just now, ShellsandCheese said:

It’s so bad! I live in middle America (NE) and we talked about the Olympics today at work and most hate NBC’s coverage and have stopped watching. And its exactly because there’s actually very little competition shown. It’s like we are trying to watch the Olympics not the US Nationals. 

I think the problem is that there are so many more events now than 20 years ago, so they have less time to cover everything in prime time. The time difference with Japan probably doesn't help. When an event is live they have to show more of it. When they are showing things hours after the winners have been announced online they probably think people care less and edit it down to the top teams.

[Lady Whistleup]

12 minutes ago, ShellsandCheese said:

It’s so bad! I live in middle America (NE) and we talked about the Olympics today at work and most hate NBC’s coverage and have stopped watching. And its exactly because there’s actually very little competition shown. It’s like we are trying to watch the Olympics not the US Nationals. 

I know! Everyone I know including people in "middle America" are saying that they hate NBC's coverage. For one, the Olys is an INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION. I remember learning about the different gymnastics coverage with the old-school coverage. My best memory was the hyping of Kim Zmeskal. But when they showed gymnasts from all over the world, I started to realize that Kim Zmeskal wasn't strong enough to win AA. 

ETA: just found this awesome bars set from Lu Li in Barcelona. What a gorgeous double layout dismount.

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[CrazyInAlabama]

ABC's coverage of the Olympics was excellent.   

I think one NBC problem is they devote so much advertising time to sports that they haven't shown yet, and pushing Peacock streaming service, and their fall TV show line up, that they're cutting into broadcast time.     

I was very irritated to finally get to see the Dressage individual finals, and the top two medalists performance was limited to a small part of the screen.   They kept showing the schedules for what other sports are on other NBC channels in the rest of the screen, or a Peacock logo taking up the corner of the screen too.    

[ombelico]

Given the time difference and schedule, I'm not sure how much more they could provide for gymnastics coverage. The gymnastics finals are aired live on the free part of Peacock. More dedicated fans who subscribe through cable or other providers can watch the livestreams and replays on nbcolympics.com or the NBCSports app, immediately after each event concludes. The gymnastics coverage has included a stream showing all events simultaneously, as well as a stream dedicated to following Team USA. They had streams of every single qualification round, not just the ones with USA competing.

It may not be free, but it is available and it's not outrageous to expect viewers to have to pay something for that level of comprehensive coverage. Yes there have been a few glitches (the first rotation of the men's team final on the multi-event stream included a lovely extended view of the end of the parallel bars!) but overall there's been a massive amount of coverage.

[Lady Whistleup]

It also kind of amazes me how many "Olympic moments" NBC misses that would appeal to Middle America.

Last night I stayed up to see Team USA Basketball play Iran. The game was never close (US ended up winning by 54 points), but the Iranian team was star-struck and overjoyed to be playing with the NBA stars. At the end of the game many of them asked for selfies. It was just the kind o heartwarming moment that only the Olympics can bring -- two countries with so much tension, but the players are all class on the court. 

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, Lady Whistleup said:

It also kind of amazes me how many "Olympic moments" NBC misses that would appeal to Middle America.

Last night I stayed up to see Team USA Basketball play Iran. The game was never close (US ended up winning by 54 points), but the Iranian team was star-struck and overjoyed to be playing with the NBA stars. At the end of the game many of them asked for selfies. It was just the kind o heartwarming moment that only the Olympics can bring -- two countries with so much tension, but the players are all class on the court. 

Well that's the whole point of the Olympics. Like. sport is what brings us together. You can put aside hostilities and what not and just do your thing and meet new friends who might be from a country that your country doesn't like but you realize "hey - you're cool!"

 

4 minutes ago, ombelico said:

It may not be free, but it is available and it's not outrageous to expect viewers to have to pay something for that level of comprehensive coverage. Yes there have been a few glitches (the first rotation of the men's team final on the multi-event stream included a lovely extended view of the end of the parallel bars!) but overall there's been a massive amount of coverage.

when TSN won the rights to show the Olympics - they were still extremely great at having almost every event on channels that everyone could access (or watch on stream for free).(CBC is always free but then of course CBC is like paid with tax dollars so thats that). 

i dunno. I feel if NBC wanted to - they could show more than they are. they've done it before at other timewonky zones. 

[HartofDixie]

5 hours ago, Raachel2008 said:

And Simone is black.  She is a black woman and as such she gets bashed way way way more than a white athlete. McKayla Maroney 'not impressed' face on podium in 2012 was disrespectful, childish and wrong no matter how the press tried to spin it, yet not only she got a pass but ended in the White House doing the smirk with Obama. Gabby Douglas didn't stand at attention with her right hand over the heart in Rio and was called names and trashed on national brodscasting.  Ryan Lochte lied saying he was mugged at Rio when he actually trashed a gas station and was called "a boy".

Simone can never win with those people, but fuck them. She gave US six medals, was abused, will have physical problems later in life due to the abuse on her tendons and joints and as we can see is mentally  struggling because of the sport. Yet she is wrong because 'she let her team down'? I bet all those girls have been there before.

And she is still able to bank on that Not Impressed face.

 

[Jess14]

 

20 minutes ago, ombelico said:

Given the time difference and schedule, I'm not sure how much more they could provide for gymnastics coverage. The gymnastics finals are aired live on the free part of Peacock. More dedicated fans who subscribe through cable or other providers can watch the livestreams and replays on nbcolympics.com or the NBCSports app, immediately after each event concludes. The gymnastics coverage has included a stream showing all events simultaneously, as well as a stream dedicated to following Team USA. They had streams of every single qualification round, not just the ones with USA competing.

It may not be free, but it is available and it's not outrageous to expect viewers to have to pay something for that level of comprehensive coverage. Yes there have been a few glitches (the first rotation of the men's team final on the multi-event stream included a lovely extended view of the end of the parallel bars!) but overall there's been a massive amount of coverage.

Live streams of the events are new though. They’ve had those the last few Olympics at least (I remember watching the 2012 finals on my phone at work bc it occurred midday in the US). NBC still managed to show way more routines in the past in prime time.

Edited July 29, 2021 by Jess14

[galaxygirl76]

47 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

I don't blame you. Just once, I'd like to see them give as much attention to Rings as they do to Pommel Horse, Parallel Bars, High Bar,  Floor Exercise, and Vault. And would it have killed them to let us at least see Brody's full rotation?

What does NBC have against the rings, I do not recall seeing anyone on rings during the NBC coverage of the teams.

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, ShellsandCheese said:

I wasn’t aware that people knew he was gay or HIV+ while he was competing at the Olympic level. 

I think there was a lot of speculation about it.  Maybe it was "water cooler" kind of talk I heard amongst co-workers at the time, but I do remember some concern about the situation. 

6 minutes ago, Daisy said:

i dunno. I feel if NBC wanted to - they could show more than they are. they've done it before at other timewonky zones. 

For me, I look at the news when I get home and see who won any events I might've been interested in.  If the US athletes didn't do well,  then I'm not going to bother to record the events that night.  Just reading about it is enough for me.  However, with gymnastics, I recorded it and will FF to the athletes I want to see.   I like the swimming competitions, so once I know who won, I can always go back and catch a race here and there on YouTube.  It's quicker and easier that way for me!!

[selkie]

4 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I think there was a lot of speculation about it.  Maybe it was "water cooler" kind of talk I heard amongst co-workers at the time, but I do remember some concern about the situation. 

 

That Greg Louganis was gay was an open secret in the aquatics world at the time. 

[Daisy]

6 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

I think there was a lot of speculation about it.  Maybe it was "water cooler" kind of talk I heard amongst co-workers at the time, but I do remember some concern about the situation. 

For me, I look at the news when I get home and see who won any events I might've been interested in.  If the US athletes didn't do well,  then I'm not going to bother to record the events that night.  Just reading about it is enough for me.  However, with gymnastics, I recorded it and will FF to the athletes I want to see.   I like the swimming competitions, so once I know who won, I can always go back and catch a race here and there on YouTube.  It's quicker and easier that way for me!!

 

That's fair. I've been an Olympic junkie since 92 (but really fell in love in 96) and i just inhale everything.  (also it helps that Canada isn't strong in the summer so i have to watch other stuff lol)

[Jeddah]

2 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

My take on Biles, and I speak as a pre-Title IX woman who got nothing but an eye roll for my efforts…..no one should compete if they don’t want to. However imagine what would happen to a man who said “guys, I’m bagging on the team event, pick up for me, will you?”. As my husband said, he’d be crucified in the press. From a gender neutral POV, she’s getting treated extremely gently. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this the past few days. If Sam Mikulak had done this in the men’s competition, I would have been all “Of course Sam chokes and ruins everything.” So why don’t I feel that way about Simone? I don’t think it’s because of her gender. It’s because she has proven herself over and over again, and we all know how tough she is. So for me it isn’t her gender. It’s because she’s Simone.

But maybe I should be more understanding towards Sam Mikulak too? Lol.

[scarynikki12]

 

[Jane Tuesday]

1 hour ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I've noticed that NBC's coverage seems very geared towards "middle America."

Don't blame us! Everyone I know thinks they're awful (if they're even watching, which is a bbiiiiiigg if).

[Lady Whistleup]

8 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this the past few days. If Sam Mikulak had done this in the men’s competition, I would have been all “Of course Sam chokes and ruins everything.” So why don’t I feel that way about Simone? I don’t think it’s because of her gender. It’s because she has proven herself over and over again, and we all know how tough she is. So for me it isn’t her gender. It’s because she’s Simone.

But maybe I should be more understanding towards Sam Mikulak too? Lol.

I think it's because Simone's brand is that of a superhuman tumbler. She's been on the world stage since around 2013. So that's about 8 years where we got used to Simone doing superhuman things with a smile. 

When we look at the statistics it's actually not a surprise -- not since 1968 has there been a repeat AA female. The sport is so cruel towards older gymnasts. Simone in 2019 was noticeably stronger than she was in 2021. It actually shouldn't be a surprise that she was off her game and a younger gymnast like Suni Lee was nipping on her heels. But Simone's brand has been to be superhuman for so long that people are shocked.

 

1 minute ago, Jane Tuesday said:

Don't blame us! Everyone I know thinks they're awful (if they're even watching, which is a bbiiiiiigg if).

Oh I know. It's so weird how NBC seems to have geared their coverage to appeal to a large swath of the population and yet everyone I know hates it.

[irisheyes]

5 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

Don't blame us! Everyone I know thinks they're awful (if they're even watching, which is a bbiiiiiigg if).

NBC wanted all the swimming finals in prime time, so they have to pack everything else in 90 minutes so they can devote 2+ hours to swimming. Do we really need to see ALL the semifinals?

I’ve been watching the gymnastics on Peacock and NBC Olympics (don’t tell my boss).  The main coverage seems a little wonky cause they’ll focus on one apparatus for an extended time and then be like “So and so got a 15.8 on high bar,” but never show it. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by irisheyes

[Quilt Fairy]

According to Tim Daggett's commentary this evening, the Chinese gymnast was penalized because he went back up on the podium after he had left it after his HB routine.  He actually interfered with the Russian gymnast who was prepping. 

[dovegrey]

40 minutes ago, ShellsandCheese said:

It’s so bad! I live in middle America (NE) and we talked about the Olympics today at work and most hate NBC’s coverage and have stopped watching. And its exactly because there’s actually very little competition shown. It’s like we are trying to watch the Olympics not the US Nationals. 

 

37 minutes ago, kittykat said:

If Middle America is complaining then who are the damn suits listening to?

Honestly just revoke NBC of their broadcast privileges and give it back to someone else.  I think ABC had good coverage back in the day.  Or was it CBS?

I generally do think that the average American who's tuning in to watch a competition show just wants to see some entertaining competition; yes, we want to see some of our athletes, but I've never known anyone who is rationally angry about seeing non-American coverage at the Olympics. Sort of related, I was watching America's Got Talent earlier tonight and was struck by how many years that show has been on the air by showcasing non-American competitors who seemed to be well-liked and supported by the viewers and judged by no one born in the US. It's one example of how general America seems to embrace good competition in good faith, regardless of nationality, accents, and even language barriers (which is usually the trigger point I see in my neck of the Red woods here in the States).

With regard to revoking NBC's rights - yes, please. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I'd actually like to see a mainstream streaming platform have rights (with a free-with-ads option for nonsubscribers) over a network broadcaster, or have a specific Disney+/ABC network rights package. I really, really hope the IOC actually allows bids for US broadcasting after 2032; they didn't last time.

37 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

I think the problem is that there are so many more events now than 20 years ago, so they have less time to cover everything in prime time. The time difference with Japan probably doesn't help. When an event is live they have to show more of it. When they are showing things hours after the winners have been announced online they probably think people care less and edit it down to the top teams.

I hear you, but the 2016 Rio coverage had the same tape delay/limited coverage issue, and Rio's just one hour ahead of Eastern Time, which rules US network schedules. I ignored Beijing and London tape delays because of the time zone differences, but Rio made it clear that this is how NBC chooses to package the Games.

Ideally, they would start their tape delayed primetime coverage 30-60 minutes earlier, or start the foo-foo human interest stuff at 5:00PM to give people time to get home, cut for the 6:00-7:00 PM local/national news block, and then go back for 7:30 PM onward. Limiting commercial length and not running the same interviews/spots over and over again would also give them more time to show more competition...but that's not what NBC believes viewers want to see.

[Jess14]

18 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this the past few days. If Sam Mikulak had done this in the men’s competition, I would have been all “Of course Sam chokes and ruins everything.” So why don’t I feel that way about Simone? I don’t think it’s because of her gender. It’s because she has proven herself over and over again, and we all know how tough she is. So for me it isn’t her gender. It’s because she’s Simone.

But maybe I should be more understanding towards Sam Mikulak too? Lol.

I definitely think Simone’s history plays a role into it. Outside of people who just love to criticize (and especially criticize black, female athletes who refuse to just shut up and do thrift sport), it’s way more believable that she truly did have a real mental block that would’ve made competing dangerous than to believe that she didn’t. You don’t compete injured and with kidney stones, and stick around for 5 more years, and introduce new skills when you don’t need to just to “give up” during team finals at the Olympics. That doesn’t happen.

I also think that the fact that Simone is likeable and generally has such a bright persona etc plays a role. If Svetlana Khorkina had done the same, a lot of people would’ve said she was just being a diva. People are more likely to give people who they like or relate to a break than otherwise. It’s not right, but it’s reality. 

[Lady Whistleup]

I think I've mentioned that I don't follow gymnasts on SM in general because I've learned the hard way that many of them have a very different worldview than me. However, I've been checking the SM's of many gymnasts around the world (yes, even bitchy Svetlana Khorkina has said kind things). The outpouring of support for Simone speaks well to how loved she is in the gymnastics community. This isn't just USA gymnasts or her teammates. It's everyone. I think I mentioned that Tatiana Gutsu had girls in her gym record a message of support to Simone. 

So I think we should trust these gymnasts that if Simone couldn't continue, it was because she absolutely COULD NOT continue. Many of them have little reason to back her up as they've been out of the business for decades.

 

[Minneapple]

1 hour ago, kittykat said:

Honestly just revoke NBC of their broadcast privileges and give it back to someone else.  I think ABC had good coverage back in the day.  Or was it CBS?

NBC has paid $12 billion for the Games from 2012 to 2032. If ABC wants to outbid them for it, I'm sure the IOC would welcome the money. They will not "revoke" NBC's broadcast privileges.

5 minutes ago, dovegrey said:

With regard to revoking NBC's rights - yes, please. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I'd actually like to see a mainstream streaming platform have rights (with a free-with-ads option for nonsubscribers) over a network broadcaster, or have a specific Disney+/ABC network rights package. 

How is Disney+/ABC any different from NBC/Peacock? We would still have to shell out for Disney+, or more likely ESPN+. And you know they would force a Hulu/Disney/ESPN+ package on us. They would put a ton of stuff on ESPN which would cut out a lot of the cord cutters; plus, ESPN has a big baseball contract in the summer.

Honestly I have complaints about NBC's coverage but the fact is they're showing everything live so...I can't complain that much. I'm getting up at 7 am tomorrow to cheer for Suni Lee. Minnesota represent!

[DawnDavenport]

1 hour ago, Chaser said:

I can’t believe that he forgot to salute the judges. Gymnastics 101 

Well, it was even worse than simply not saluting! Here's how it went down:

1) Xiao finished his routine and does the weird fists in the air pump, turns and does it again then leaves the podium.

2) At some point (after the NBC commercial) , he is over on the side doing the salute after realizing he didn't do it.

3) He then gets back on the podium, which is explicitly against the rules, and salutes again while Nagorny is chalking his grips. After he "salutes" the judges on the podium walks in front of Nagorny and starts clapping his hands above his head celebrating into the empty stands while Nagorny and his coach look at him wondering what hell he's doing.

I can't believe the protested the deduction. It should have been more. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by DawnDavenport

[AuntieDiane6]

15 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

Don't blame us! Everyone I know thinks they're awful (if they're even watching, which is a bbiiiiiigg if).

People have been complaining about NBC's coverage since the dud TripleCast in 1992!  But I give NBC a pass this year:  they couldn't even promote it properly since no one even knew if it would be canceled. I personally think it's been wonderful to see real athletic competitions again in these dark times.  

 

[dovegrey]

14 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

NBC has paid $12 billion for the Games from 2012 to 2032. If ABC wants to outbid them for it, I'm sure the IOC would welcome the money. They will not "revoke" NBC's broadcast privileges.

How is Disney+/ABC any different from NBC/Peacock? We would still have to shell out for Disney+, or more likely ESPN+. And you know they would force a Hulu/Disney/ESPN+ package on us. They would put a ton of stuff on ESPN which would cut out a lot of the cord cutters; plus, ESPN has a big baseball contract in the summer.

Honestly I have complaints about NBC's coverage but the fact is they're showing everything live so...I can't complain that much. I'm getting up at 7 am tomorrow to cheer for Suni Lee. Minnesota represent!

Peacock is atrocious in every single way possible. It crashes; freezes; graphics overlap; trying to go back in the search box exits out the app entirely (at least on Roku); it's horrifically organized; live coverage is spotty as others have noted; and it's basically requiring people to pay in order to follow same-day coverage that was missed at 6 AM EST. These threads are rife with people who can't figure out where any coverage is, because it is so disorganized and poorly communicated by NBC. Plain and simple, NBC does not have the infrastructure in place to support coverage that modern viewers expect and an event this size requires, and they are going to die in ratings in 2024 and certainly by 2028. They're effectively killing the Olympics for US viewers, while younger audiences (the ones networks care about, unfortunately) are on YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and maybe Hulu; they're not hanging out on the Farmer Five. 

What you describe is going to happen no matter what, and it already is happening with NBC; they still want cable subscriptions to grant free access to full event coverage, when only 56% of the US still have cable subscriptions as of May 2021. I'd rather have all that happen with a network that has Disney behind it, a streaming app that can actually support an event the size of the Olympics, and a medium that the general population actually engages with (especially as everything continues to trend away from network and cable). It will always be monetized; that's not going to be walked back, ever. NBC has proven time and time again that...they don't have this.

I'm going to work tomorrow by 7 AM, and will either need to wait 3-4 days for Peacock Free to let me "replay" the event, pay for Peacock (that's the definition of a rip off), or enjoy 40 minutes of limited, scripted coverage tomorrow night on NBC's primetime show. It feels like 2008. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by dovegrey

[Daisy]

2 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

People have been complaining about NBC's coverage since the dud TripleCast in 1992!  But I give NBC a pass this year:  they couldn't even promote it properly since no one even knew if it would be canceled. I personally think it's been wonderful to see real athletic competitions again in these dark times.  

 

I feeel the same way I didn't even know the Olympics were happening (to be fair i was so sick, i wasn't aware of anything) but I was shocked that the Olympics was happening so quickly. it just felt like it happened lastminute

 

4 minutes ago, DawnDavenport said:

Well, it was even worse than simply not saluting! Here's how it went down:

 

LOL holy crap. That is just.. dumbness of the highest order. 

[filmfan2480]

I don't care what anyone says ... that was deplorable coverage of the Men's All-Around.  52 minutes and, really, probably 30-35 minutes when you take out commercials.  AND ... we saw 2(!) routines from the winner ... and 1 (!!!) routine from the Silver Medalist, and it was his final event when the caption read "Leader after 5 rotations".  WHO DOESN'T SHOW THE LEADER AFTER 5 ROTATIONS UNTIL THAT LAST ROTATION (AND FINAL 5 MINUTES) ???  

I understand that Malone/Mikulak weren't medal contenders, I understand the time change, and I even understand that some Live events would be coming on around 930 pm.  And STILL ... the coverage could have been so, so much better.  What a shame.  I don't remember coverage being this thin and scattershot in previous Olympics.  And yes, I realize that there are more events to cover every 4 years.  But Prime Time was always going to be the stalwart Gymnastics/Swimming/Volleyball/Diving, anyway.  So why shortchange some of those so very much?  Disappointed.

Edited July 29, 2021 by filmfan2480

[CherryMalotte]

34 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

I've noticed that NBC's coverage seems very geared towards "middle America."

I dunno about that - the middle aged middle Americans in this house want some more variety in the coverage,  Husband put on the Cubs game and is only occasionally flipping back over to the gymnastics and swimming. You lose NBC.  

Not that I can add anything further to the Biles conversation, but in keeping with NBC's shit coverage all I wanted to do was yank that fucking cameraman out of her face.  Isn't there anything like a respectful distance?  You could tell just from her body language she was off before she even started.  I'm happy that she was brave enough to stop before she seriously injured herself.

[windsprints]

Quote

enjoy 40 minutes of limited, scripted coverage tomorrow night on NBC's primetime show. It feels like 2008. 

If you subscribe to NBC (cable, youtubetv, etc) to watch on primetime you should have access to the replys on NBC Sports App. They have the full event replays same day. I don't mean to keep pushing them but it's worked so well for me I want people to know it's a good option if you have NBC access.

[AuntieDiane6]

Just now, windsprints said:

if you subscribe to NBC (cable, youtubetv, etc) to watch on primetime you should have access to the replys on NBC Sports App. They have the full event replays same day. I don't mean to keep pushing them but it's worked so well for me I want people to know it's a good option if you have NBC access.

I get my coffee every morning and sit down on the couch and watch the ENTIRE competition LIVE on nbcolympics.com!  I've really enjoyed it.  It is really easy to use, unlike Peacock which I see hear is difficult to navigate.