Rick Kitchen August 5, 2016 Share August 5, 2016 (edited) I decided to create this topic so we could discuss tonight's preview show on NBC, and maybe other coverage. Edited August 5, 2016 by Rick Kitchen Link to comment
Rick Kitchen August 5, 2016 Author Share August 5, 2016 Rio Preview, hosted by Bob Costas (who else?) The Opening Ceremony is described by its organizers as "cool". I downloaded the NBC app so that I can watch other coverage than the sports coverage on my phone, and it isn't letting me connect for the preview. Good thing I'm able to see it on the actual TV. Trying to watch it on my PC gave me "this stream is not available from your local NBC station." Bastiches. Bob Costas says he's never seen such a long list of problems that worry people before an Olympics. I call bull. He was in Sochi. Who was that Allen guy that was such an apologist for how wonderful everything is going to be? They're saying Usain Bolt had problems getting through his trials, but even 90% of Bolt will get him a gold medal. Damn, Rowdy looks old. Michael Phelps says he hasn't had a drink since 2014. The stadium where the Opening Ceremony is going to be held was built in 1950 for the World Cup. I love Katy Perry, think she is honestly one of the most beautiful women in the world, love her voice, and love "Rise". And the video is freaking awesome. Link to comment
holly4755 August 5, 2016 Share August 5, 2016 about other venues with problems, no one place had as many problems as in Rio, I mean they have a disease that has health specialists asking people to skip attending. Then I saw on TV that Rio has more particulate matter in the air than anyplace before except China, but then China did not have bodies floating in their water. Seriously the transportation does not work, that happened before, crime dorms with poor construction, bad electrical work (fires) and leaky roofs (mold) dorms where the furniture has been robbed (i.e. no beds) transportation not done and massive traffic jams in the city some arenas not completed water bad (both competition and drinking) crime - brutal crime that has not stopped,some athletes were already robbed. not killed yet but a lot of people get killed in Rio. Political uncertainty, the police teargassed a crowd near the olympics last wee, protesters targeting the olympics a symbol of bad government poor construction had a recently built bike path for competition get ripped away by a wave killing 2 people. I would say there were a lot of problem, and I don't just mean for the people who live there. 1 Link to comment
photo fox August 7, 2016 Share August 7, 2016 WTH is up with Bob Costas? Does he have a leg in a cast? A bad case of crotch chafing? Every time they go to him, he's standing with all his weight on one leg, with the other extended stiffly forward and out to the side. 1 Link to comment
Rick Kitchen August 8, 2016 Author Share August 8, 2016 The Chicago Tribune, in their story about the bronze medal won by Corey Cogdell, said, "Meet Corey Cogdell, the wife of Bears lineman Mitch Unrein". Link to comment
SnideAsides August 8, 2016 Share August 8, 2016 Worse. Their tweet was something along the lines of "Lineman's wife wins Olympic medal", without any mention of her name. Link to comment
Shannon L. August 8, 2016 Share August 8, 2016 I don't post much in the Olympic threads because I can't keep up with y'all, but I had come in here and ask if we could start a petition to get NBC to shift their evening airings to 6pm-11pm? Come on...who's with me? I can't be the only one who can no longer stay awake until midnight and still be functional the next morning. Oh, and since it's taped anyway, maybe we can ask them to stop wasting 5 or more minutes on banter while we watch the athletes hang out on the sidelines before their events. I know there's a large number of people who would prefer them live, but, a lot of people don't have time to watch the events live, so I'm fine with the evening highlights. Which brings me to: Remember when news outlets would have a separate Olympic section for you to click on so that you weren't spoiled on the home page? Or they'd have ambiguous headlines so that you wouldn't be spoiled without actually clicking on the article? Yeah, that seems to have gone along the wayside. I guess I shouldn't complain, though, since me staying up until midnight probably won't happen again. 5 Link to comment
maraleia August 8, 2016 Share August 8, 2016 Not sure where to put this but I just saw a tweet from Leslie Jones. She's going to Rio today. I can't want for her to shake up some of this boring coverage from NBC folks. 3 Link to comment
blackwing August 8, 2016 Share August 8, 2016 MichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelpsMichaelPhelps That's pretty much 80% of the media coverage so far. He swam in a preliminary heat today, so I'm quite certain that a huge chunk of the media coverage tonight will be devoted to him. What he ate for breakfast this morning. How he feels. What his mom thinks. What he thinks about what his mom thinks. What does it mean to be the greatest swimmer of all time. What he thinks about the greats of USA swimming past and where he thinks his place in history is. What he thinks about the future of USA swimming. Is his son going to be a swimmer. Repeat, nonstop. At least this time around, there is a schedule and NBC is showing the evening swimming events live. So they can't keep constantly baiting and switching. I know the gymnastics that aired last night was taped coverage from the day, and it was a bit odd to see NBC use gymnastics as a filler in between swimming events. 14 Link to comment
proserpina65 August 8, 2016 Share August 8, 2016 I think someone at NBC needs to realize that it's a really bad idea to follow up "swimmer flees war-torn Syria, boat capsizes, swimmer helps guide boat and fellow refugees to safety" with "she overcame having a baby between Olympic medal performances". Or "athlete overcomes near-death experience" with "gymnast overcame being homesick". Nothing against the athletes themselves, because they have worked hard to get where they are and are not responsible for how their stories are presented on tv. But NBC really needs someone with a little storytelling ability, because "swimmer was inspired by meeting hero at age 8", complete with interviews of swimmer and hero, is not compelling television. Heck, I don't even need their stories - just show the competitions. (Yeah, I know, that ship sailed a long time ago.) 1 hour ago, maraleia said: Not sure where to put this but I just saw a tweet from Leslie Jones. She's going to Rio today. I can't want for her to shake up some of this boring coverage from NBC folks. But what does Michael Phelps think about Leslie Jones' tweets? 6 Link to comment
legaleagle53 August 8, 2016 Share August 8, 2016 40 minutes ago, proserpina65 said: I think someone at NBC needs to realize that it's a really bad idea to follow up "swimmer flees war-torn Syria, boat capsizes, swimmer helps guide boat and fellow refugees to safety" with "she overcame having a baby between Olympic medal performances". Or "athlete overcomes near-death experience" with "gymnast overcame being homesick". One of these things is not like the others. Since when is having a baby considered the kind of adversity that one "overcomes"? Most people regard giving birth to a child (especially if it's healthy) as a happy event to be celebrated. In other words, shut up, NBC! 3 Link to comment
Superpole2000 August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 The CBC has an annoying habit of updating viewers on what has happened before showing it. "Good news in judo today, as a Canadian has won his opening match. We'll show it for you after the break..." 1 Link to comment
Minneapple August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 20 hours ago, maraleia said: Not sure where to put this but I just saw a tweet from Leslie Jones. She's going to Rio today. I can't want for her to shake up some of this boring coverage from NBC folks. Maybe she can replace Al Trautwig. A girl can dream, right? 1 Link to comment
merylinkid August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 NBC needs to stop with the packaged stories completely. That way they don't have to worry about "saving lives" followed by "had a baby." Let the competition speak for itself. But then again the head of NBC Sports doesn't think women watch sports and they need the packaged stories or they won't tune in. Yes, this is the frigging sexist Olympics. 4 Link to comment
Arynm August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 On 8/6/2016 at 10:53 PM, photo fox said: WTH is up with Bob Costas? Does he have a leg in a cast? A bad case of crotch chafing? Every time they go to him, he's standing with all his weight on one leg, with the other extended stiffly forward and out to the side. It's always something with Bob Costas. I would have preferred the pink eye of last time Link to comment
kili August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 Quote But then again the head of NBC Sports doesn't think women watch sports and they need the packaged stories or they won't tune in. It's like negative political ads. Everybody claims they hate them, but they work. Provided you don't cross a line. Pretty consistently, negative political ads can reframe the debate. That's why they spend hundreds of millions on them. Everybody hates packaged stories, but they must work because they are always there. Why would they spend money on them, otherwise? And NBC isn't the only broadcaster doing human interest stories. How many people watch Rugby 7 or Fencing during the non-Olympic years? Sure, there are people, but I'm not buying that millions of people tune into American TV (substitute some other sport and some other country as appropriate) to watch it every weekend. So, we don't know who these people are or much about their sports. We want to know who they are and how the game is played. Why do they keep sliding that ball between their feet like some gopher digging a hole? Tell us something about this competitor so that we become more invested in them winning. NBC Sports dude just isn't throwing wild theories at the wall. He has seen the statistics of who watches sports during the regular seasons and who does not. He's seen the study groups of what gets people invested. You want to know what else women watch more then men? Reality competition shows like The Voice and American Idol. Guess what they also feature? Packaged stories. Coincidence? Probably not. Do all women want packaged stories? No. Do all women not watch sport? No. Can NBC up viewership amongst female demographics with packaged stories? Yes. Should the head of NBC Sports have answered that question in that way? No. Hi, I'm kili. I don't watch diving or beach volleyball or archery unless it is during the Olympics and I like packaged stories. Yes, they are dumb and repetitive, but I like getting to know who these people are. I also like it when they explain the rules of the game because I might not know them or the rules sometimes change. Please also explain to me why one dive is better than the other so I don't have to rant about crooked judges. During the winter Olympics, I find sports I've never even heard of before. But all the packages don't have to be all sob-stories. Just interesting stories. It's okay if a middle class kid who never faced undo hardship wins a medal too. They must have a funny story to tell about a dog in a hat or something. Funny is good too. 2 Link to comment
Rick Kitchen August 9, 2016 Author Share August 9, 2016 Even Fox is calling NBC out for their coverage. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/08/09/tarnished-olympics-nbc-blasted-for-blunders-as-ratings-tumble.html# Link to comment
Shannon L. August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 1 hour ago, kili said: Hi, I'm kili. I don't watch diving or beach volleyball or archery unless it is during the Olympics and I like packaged stories. Yes, they are dumb and repetitive, but I like getting to know who these people are. I also like it when they explain the rules of the game because I might not know them or the rules sometimes change. Please also explain to me why one dive is better than the other so I don't have to rant about crooked judges. During the winter Olympics, I find sports I've never even heard of before. But all the packages don't have to be all sob-stories. Just interesting stories. It's okay if a middle class kid who never faced undo hardship wins a medal too. They must have a funny story to tell about a dog in a hat or something. Funny is good too. Hi kili! I'm Shannon and I could have written all of that. What I don't like is: Not seeing other teams compete in things like gymnastics and diving. 5 minutes or more of commentators talking over visuals of athletes doing nothing more than sitting/standing around and talking. Waiting until 11:20pm at night to see "the big event"!! Recording it until it's scheduled stop time at midnight, only to find out that they decided to air most of it on late night starting at 12:45am because the team didn't do so well. Guess what? I'm sorry they didn't do well, but I'd still like to see them and others (*see #1)! etc, etc, etc...... 6 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said: Even Fox is calling NBC out for their coverage. It was mentioned in the gymnastics thread that it was much better in the 90s and has gotten worse. Yes, with Dish/Direct tv and online streaming we have more choices now, but the Prime Time coverage on NBC is really bad this year. 6 Link to comment
backgroundnoise August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 I see NBC is continuing their tradition of pretending no one else is standing on the medal platform. One quick look at the three flags rising before zooming in Old Glory, then nothing but unflattering up-their-nostrils closeups of the American Gold Medal Winner. 4 Link to comment
Superpole2000 August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 4 hours ago, kili said: It's like negative political ads. Everybody claims they hate them, but they work. Provided you don't cross a line. Pretty consistently, negative political ads can reframe the debate. That's why they spend hundreds of millions on them. Your entire post is true, but my counter is that human interest stories in the Olympics generally write themselves. For example, I was watching weightlifting yesterday. A lifter from Colombia won a gold medal, and on his final lift, he took off his shoes, laid them on the mat (the commentators explained this is a traditional "I'm retiring!" move), hugged the weights, and started crying. It got me because I could appreciate how much this meant to him. The emotions of the competitors tell us everything. We feel what they feel without the contrivance of a packaged story. And often all we need is one or two lines of commentary to supplement what we see on our own. 8 Link to comment
kili August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 Quote What I don't like is: I can't argue with any of that. I'm puzzled why they are showing so much late at night. I can't see any logic in that. Could it be the NBC editors can't get their act together with the time zone too close to theirs? There hasn't been a summer Olympics in this hemisphere for a while and they winter ones are mostly daytime affairs (don't want people shooting in the dark). I haven't noticed that problem with CBC. They tend to scramble for something to show in the morning, but evenings seem okay on the West coast. Quote We feel what they feel without the contrivance of a packaged story. And often all we need is one or two lines of commentary to supplement what we see on our own. The packaged stories are to get people like me through the event. I like to cheer for somebody and I presume they will all be happy to win. I actually attended some Olympic events once. Some general competitor events and some games. For the games, you have to buy the tickets before you know who will play. So, once I found out who we would see (random countries to which I have no affiliation or know any of their team members), I bought flags for each country and half my party cheered for one team and the other for the other team. One time, there was a family of one of the team members that were introduced to the audience by the warm-up-person. After the team member accomplished a hat trick (which he'd never in his life done before), while they were cleaning the hats off the ice, somebody started the chant "He's their dad! He's their dad!". I have to tell you that it made it much more fun having a team to cheer for and having one team member in particular to care about. Now, I know that many people are probably side-eyeing me right now. I should just watch for the execution of the game and all the grand athleticism. I admire that too. But, I have more fun when I care who is winning. I love the story about the shoes and that would make me happy even if I wasn't cheering for the guy, but I like to cheer for somebody during the competition and I'm far too lazy to do in-depth research before the Olympics start to find somebody in each sport to cheer for. Sorry people who hate packages. 4 Link to comment
KenyaJ August 9, 2016 Share August 9, 2016 3 hours ago, backgroundnoise said: I see NBC is continuing their tradition of pretending no one else is standing on the medal platform. One quick look at the three flags rising before zooming in Old Glory, then nothing but unflattering up-their-nostrils closeups of the American Gold Medal Winner. Regardless of country, I'm not sure how engrossing it is to see people silently stand while they listen to an anthem that's not theirs, TBH. At least not compared to the emotion of seeing the gold medalist hearing his/her anthem. But I definitely wish NBC wouldn't join the medal ceremonies "in progress" and showed the other athletes receiving taking the podium and receiving their medals. 2 Link to comment
Dots And Stripes August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 5 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said: Even Fox is calling NBC out for their coverage. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/08/09/tarnished-olympics-nbc-blasted-for-blunders-as-ratings-tumble.html# Fox is a competitor of NBC, and one with its own rival broadcast network, sports network, and news network. I would expect other networks to say they could do better. I'm not convinced anyone else would expend the same resources NBC does. For all the crap I give them, they do give airtime to Olympic coverage on several stations and are committed to being the Olympic network. No guarantee any competitors would do better. On another subject, I noticed the U.S. Gymnasts are wearing leotards from Under Armour even though they aren't a sponsor of the Olympic. Turns out, they sponsor gymnastics but not the games so they can't use Olympics in there commercials. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/under-armour-blog/bal-how-under-armour-says-olympics-without-actually-saying-olympics-20160808-story.html Link to comment
backgroundnoise August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 Different strokes. I'd rather see all three medal winners having the courtesy granted them of at least being shown during what is also their medal ceremony. It doesn't take anything away from the Gold medal winner to have the others in the frame. It just makes Americans look so ethnocentric, especially if the silver or bronze medalist is also American. It's almost comical the camera angles they strive for to keep that other person out of the frame. Basically, I think it's rude. YMMV. 8 Link to comment
Cherpumple August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 As an American who has watched several Olympics in the UK, I am genuinely shocked by how different the NBC and BBC coverage is. It's like night and day. I definitely miss Bob Costas and hearing the Olympic theme every night, but overall I think the BBC coverage is much better- much less emotional manipulation, a more even showcase of athletes/countries, full coverage of events across 8 different channels, and, most importantly, no commercials! I do find many of the commentators rather dull, and I actually miss having more personal stories, but I wouldn't trade it for NBC, which sounds even more Amero-centric than I remember. Speaking of medal ceremonies specifically, it really is great to see ALL the winners on the podium. Some silver and bronze medal winners are just as emotional and the gold medalists, and I like seeing the camaraderie and good sportsmanship between all the competitors who have achieved the top spots. On the flip side, I've also really enjoyed seeing the awkward moments, such as the pouty French swimmer who was scowling and fidgeting like a big baby after his relay team lost to the US team- he could not wait to rip that silver medal from his neck! And it was hilarious to see the swimmer Sun Yang taking his time with his 'victory lap', posing for every camera and hugging random officials, until they had to shoo him off the pool deck so they could continue the events. It's these little moments that I love, more than the slickly packaged highlight reels. 8 Link to comment
friendperidot August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 thank you NBC for moving the closed captioning to the top of the screen! I am relying on closed captioning right now since I can't hear temporarily (I hope) and if I turn the volume up any more, I think the neighbors will complain! But with the closed captioning at the top, the competitor/race/event information at the bottom of the screen, I can follow things better. Wish they had done this several days ago. 4 Link to comment
Genius August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 21 hours ago, Shannon L. said: What I don't like is: Not seeing other teams compete in things like gymnastics and diving. 5 minutes or more of commentators talking over visuals of athletes doing nothing more than sitting/standing around and talking. Waiting until 11:20pm at night to see "the big event"!! Recording it until it's scheduled stop time at midnight, only to find out that they decided to air most of it on late night starting at 12:45am because the team didn't do so well. Guess what? I'm sorry they didn't do well, but I'd still like to see them and others (*see #1)! Amen! I was pissed that the men's gymnastics team final was promised in prime time, and then came on at 11:40 for 20 minutes. The rest of the competition was shunted to the Ryan Seacrest late night show, but the guide description for the late night show said canoeing and kayaking, so no one would know to DVR. So frustrating. Also - for the women's gymnastic team competition, we got less than an hour's coverage, and NBC didn't even bother to show us the vault and uneven bars events. Seriously?? Yet we got over 2.5 hours of swimming, including semi-final rounds that frankly I think could be sacrificed from prime time coverage. Thanks for nothing, NBC. And regarding the athlete profiles - I don't mind context and backstory, but I don't need a "package." Just tell it to me quickly while they're on the sidelines. 3 Link to comment
Matt K August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 16 minutes ago, Genius said: And regarding the athlete profiles - I don't mind context and backstory, but I don't need a "package." Just tell it to me quickly while they're on the sidelines. Same here. I do actually like getting to know who these athletes but I don't need a segment for it. That said I think it would be nice if they just saved that stuff for the website that way people can decide what they want to know and about whom. I do have to give props for the streaming they have this year. Great being able to see whatever sport I want in full and if I miss it they archive them as well. For London I had a different cable provider (Comcast) which wouldn't let me access anything and I didn't feel like dealing with all the hoops they required for 2008 so I have no idea how this years compares. 1 Link to comment
ElDosEquis August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 That fucking annoying piece on the US women gym team has been played to death. A cheat sheet for the interviewers? 1 How did it feel to win? 2 How did you train for the games? 3 What about your injuries? 4 Are you going to retire after the Games? Buh - Bye. -------- FUCK MICHAEL PHELPS. He is the greatest swimmer, medalist, father, pot head, dick bag, and American. What is next? Does he take over the Submariner's job after this? 1 Link to comment
BitterApple August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 On 8/8/2016 at 2:35 PM, legaleagle53 said: One of these things is not like the others. Since when is having a baby considered the kind of adversity that one "overcomes"? Most people regard giving birth to a child (especially if it's healthy) as a happy event to be celebrated. In other words, shut up, NBC! Right?! I also find it completely offensive that having a child is seen as something that should sideline or kill a woman's career, like it's an anomaly that a female athlete can whip herself back into shape and compete on the same level. These announcers are making me stabby..... 3 Link to comment
ElDosEquis August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 On 8/5/2016 at 0:21 AM, holly4755 said: about other venues with problems, no one place had as many problems as in Rio, I mean they have a disease that has health specialists asking people to skip attending. Then I saw on TV that Rio has more particulate matter in the air than anyplace before except China, but then China did not have bodies floating in their water. Seriously the transportation does not work, that happened before, crime dorms with poor construction, bad electrical work (fires) and leaky roofs (mold) dorms where the furniture has been robbed (i.e. no beds) transportation not done and massive traffic jams in the city some arenas not completed water bad (both competition and drinking) crime - brutal crime that has not stopped,some athletes were already robbed. not killed yet but a lot of people get killed in Rio. Political uncertainty, the police teargassed a crowd near the olympics last wee, protesters targeting the olympics a symbol of bad government poor construction had a recently built bike path for competition get ripped away by a wave killing 2 people. I would say there were a lot of problem, and I don't just mean for the people who live there. Sounds like my old neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. That is why the IOC needs to be overhauled - BIG TIME. Starting with the component federations. Look at the FIFA debacle? You have one guy pulling the strings and those strings are attached to scads of money people were paying him to look the other way or fix things? ----- Look up the "LA84" group. Some 30 years later this group is still out there getting kids involved with Olympic sports - they started right after the games and haven't stopped since. Crazy to think that they still are viable after all these years. 2 Link to comment
AuntieDiane6 August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 Sorry, I find it offensive to think that having another human being 100% dependent on you does NOT impact a career. On the one hand, we're offended that a baby affects your life but on the other, we want extended paid maternity leave like every other civilized nation. Make up your minds! Most mothers gain between 30 and 50 pounds with a pregnancy and the idea that the next week after childbirth you can lose it all and be back to tip-top shape is highly unfair. Why do you think women get so upset with celebrity profiles that state these famous women are back in size 2 just 3 weeks after childbirth? It's a fair question. 1 Link to comment
SoCal Mema August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 On 8/8/2016 at 6:37 AM, Shannon L. said: I don't post much in the Olympic threads because I can't keep up with y'all, but I had come in here and ask if we could start a petition to get NBC to shift their evening airings to 6pm-11pm? Come on...who's with me? I can't be the only one who can no longer stay awake until midnight and still be functional the next morning. Oh, and since it's taped anyway, maybe we can ask them to stop wasting 5 or more minutes on banter while we watch the athletes hang out on the sidelines before their events. I know there's a large number of people who would prefer them live, but, a lot of people don't have time to watch the events live, so I'm fine with the evening highlights. Which brings me to: Remember when news outlets would have a separate Olympic section for you to click on so that you weren't spoiled on the home page? Or they'd have ambiguous headlines so that you wouldn't be spoiled without actually clicking on the article? Yeah, that seems to have gone along the wayside. I guess I shouldn't complain, though, since me staying up until midnight probably won't happen again. This...exactly...https://theringer.com/are-tape-delays-commercials-and-commentators-ruining-the-olympics-f2cbe4e55096#.89zffos8s 1 Link to comment
SoCal Mema August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 23 minutes ago, BitterApple said: Right?! I also find it completely offensive that having a child is seen as something that should sideline or kill a woman's career, like it's an anomaly that a female athlete can whip herself back into shape and compete on the same level. These announcers are making me stabby..... The commentary in this article, with quoted tweets, just sums it all up nicely. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/top-10-most-sexist-things-to-occur-at-the-2016-rio_us_57a88bfce4b0c94bd3c9fb86?section=us_women 2 Link to comment
galaxygirl76 August 10, 2016 Share August 10, 2016 Before I moved to the US from the Netherlands, I would take a vacation, adjust my sleep schedule to match the one where the Olympics were(especially fun during the Sydney games), and watch as much as I could and it was all live. It was a luxury because I was not only able to watch on the Dutch television, but I also watched a lot on the BBC, and if needed Belgian and German television. I really miss being able to watch events live. Sure you can watch them on a live stream but in my opinion it's not the same, not to mention it's not always fully reliable. 2 Link to comment
andromeda331 August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 15 hours ago, Matt K said: Same here. I do actually like getting to know who these athletes but I don't need a segment for it. That said I think it would be nice if they just saved that stuff for the website that way people can decide what they want to know and about whom. I do have to give props for the streaming they have this year. Great being able to see whatever sport I want in full and if I miss it they archive them as well. For London I had a different cable provider (Comcast) which wouldn't let me access anything and I didn't feel like dealing with all the hoops they required for 2008 so I have no idea how this years compares. I've been loving the streaming too. I went in after the women's gymnastics team final and watched each event in its entirety all of the beam, all of the bars, the floor exercise and the vault. I could even hear the music of the floor routines because someone was talking over the music. Its been so been so awesome. I love that there's no commentary or announcers just watching each country on beam. None of the endless, not stop talking. And getting to see all of the countries that are competiting! I I love watching the USA but its so much fun to see everyone else who's competiting. All of the Chinese routines, all of the Russian ones and Japan. And to see Germany! The Netherlands! Brazil! Great Britain! It was so much fun to watch. 1 Link to comment
fireice13 August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 I think this is a good article that sums up NBC's issue: http://www.vox.com/2016/8/11/12433144/nbc-olympics-bad Link to comment
Minneapple August 11, 2016 Share August 11, 2016 The issue is not necessarily how NBC covers the games overall. They stream everything. Everything is available to watch. For gymnastics today there were five feeds available -- the main all-around stream, and apparatus-specific streams. The commentators on the streams are quite knowledgeable, reasonable and sound like they actually enjoy what they do. On the newer Comcast cable boxes (remember, Comcast owns half the world including NBC/Universal), they've added the Olympics apps right to their screen. You press the "C" button on your remote and a menu comes right up so you can watch through the app on your TV screen. Yes, you have to have a cable subscription to stream these events. NBC has also put a ton of content on all its various channels, Bravo, USA, NBCSN, etc. My son has been enjoying watching archery, volleyball, diving. They hold back on televising a few big events like gymnastics and swimming for primetime. Their studies have shown that people will watch a tape-delayed broadcast, but they will not watch a rerun of a sporting event. Particularly not one where they already know the result. So, fine. Whatever. The big issue is with NBC's primetime package. First, if you're going to hold gymnastics back for primetime, then SHOW IT IN PRIMETIME (otherwise you paid for it to...just stream it on your app? What a waste of money). Second, they've gone very swimming-heavy (which, okay, fine, gets the ratings, but I'm not sure what they'll do next week) and it's very padded. It is, dare I say it, almost like football, which has very little actual action but a lot of filler and buildup between plays. And the TV announcers (at least for gymnastics) blow. Al Trautwig is offensive and Nastia sounds way too timid. On the live stream, Courtney describes the moves very well, explains why the gymnast did or didn't execute it, why it has xxx level of difficulty and so on. I keep seeing people say about the BBC "WELL THEY PUT IT ALL ON THERE AND IT'S ALL FREE AND AD-FREE." The BBC is state-backed television (so yes, someone is paying for it). NBC is advertiser-driven. They are two completely different models of TV so there's really no point in comparing them. Also. NBC pushing the later primetime events -- it's consistent with the way televised sports have gone the last 10 years or so. Most playoff games for the pro leagues start at something like 9 p.m. 6 Link to comment
AuntieDiane6 August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 Quote Second, they've gone very swimming-heavy (which, okay, fine, gets the ratings, but I'm not sure what they'll do next week) and it's very padded. Track and field. Quote The big issue is with NBC's primetime package. Absolutely. I miss the days of Jim McKay, when he open the show with an overview of WHAT WAS GOING ON IN! How are people in Brazil feeling about the games? How are the athletes? What's everybody talking about? It could be a 5-minute roundup. Then go to the event du jour. The problem with NBC is that they have events etched in stone and they won't change them. And dear God, those commentators have jobs for life like some North Korean dictator. I simply don't have the time to figure out what channel will have a review of the gymnastics (Today? Ryan Secrest's show?) 1 Link to comment
Aliconehead August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 (edited) So some dipshit reporter from Daily Beast did a story on dating apps like tinder and grinder and the proceeded to OUT the athletes that responded by giving their sex, sport and country. Did he not realize that this could have real consequences like I don't know, death to gay athletes in non tolerant countries?!?!? Edited August 12, 2016 by Aliconehead Link to comment
Shanna Marie August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 I thought that NBC had a lot of success with the way they handled figure skating in the last winter Olympics, where they showed the entire event live in the morning on one of the secondary channels, then did the highlight reel package of the Americans and medalists in prime time on NBC. Or did the nighttime ratings tank when they did that? It seems weird that gymnastics is supposedly one of the big ratings draws, and yet all they're showing on television, period, is the highlight reel package of Americans at night, squeezed in around swimming. Were they worried that the live event in the afternoon would be more competition for prime time than the morning live event? 3 Link to comment
ParadoxLost August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 I have a theory about what they are doing and although its still annoying as hell, maybe its not as stupid as at first glance. They have clearly prioritized Swimming. And they have done so to cater to the US audience in particular. They are ending the swim events at midnight Rio time which means the events must have been negotiated to be on NBC's preferred schedule. And because of this, the Team and AA gymnastics are getting the highlight reels at best during Prime time and ignored at worst. That seems counter-intuitive unless there is data that gymnastics has drastically dropped in popularity. But, the thing about gymnastics is that the gymnasts don't have multiple routines and they are using the same routines for Team, AA, and Individual. So if they heavily cover Team and AA then Individual is going to be somewhat repetitive. But this way, they are relatively fresh for the Individual events, despite most of the routines having been performed up to three times already, and the Individual gymnastic events are not competing with Swimming. 1 Link to comment
chitowngirl August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 And as much as we might complain about the Phelps media hype, ratings go up the nights he swims. Link to comment
ExplainItAgain August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 I'm hopeful that if Phelps retires, there will be a little less focus on swimming. It's still a great sport for USA, but without the domination by Phelps, I hope we don't have to endure 2 hour primetime blocks of straight swimming. 3 Link to comment
ParadoxLost August 12, 2016 Share August 12, 2016 I doubt that will happen. Team USA has won 45% of the Swimming gold so far. Even without Phelps, the field is going to stay strong enough that the number of US medal opportunities per couple minute events is going to keep the focus on swimming. 3 Link to comment
Kromm August 15, 2016 Share August 15, 2016 Proof that NBC isn't the only channel who can suck/have commentators say stupid shit.. Andy Murray reminds the BBC's John Inverdale that women are people too Although it was worth noting that the commentator was SORT of right if you only count singles and not doubles (and this Inverdale person has been a total sexist knob about other things before). 2 Link to comment
Danny Franks August 15, 2016 Share August 15, 2016 John Inverdale has not had a good Games, it's fair to say. He's irritated Sir Steve Redgrave to the point they fell out on air, he's been admonished by same for the 'breach of protocol' of attempting to interview a New Zealand gold medalist before the New Zealand media did, and now he's been told off by Andy Murray for either not knowing what he was talking about, or from blithely dismissing an achievement by mere women. But then, he's also the man who wondered if tennis player Marion Bartoli's father told her 'you'll never be a looker, so you'll have to be a fighter', when she was a young girl. Amongst other things. The man is a complete tit. Of course, my own personal dislike of him goes further back. In 2002, when Manchester held the Commonwealth Games and did a fantastic job of it (and I was spending my summer off from university working at the stadium), Inverdale said during one of the broadcasts that he thought the Games would have been much better if they were in London. Typically small-minded, London-centric assery by a rather large ass. 2 Link to comment
Superpole2000 August 15, 2016 Share August 15, 2016 CBC is OBSESSED with how Usain Bolt feels about Andre de Grasse. Did you know Bolt thinks de Grasse is good? Did you know Bolt actually talks to de Grasse, and they're almost friendly with each other? Isn't it great? CBC replayed Bolt and de Grasse congratulating each other after a heat several times. Then they replayed video of a 10 second conversation Bolt had with de Grasse multiple times last night without sound. They were trying to read lips and guess what they were saying to each other. Then when the CBC actually got to talk to de Grasse, they asked him what Bolt said, which got a "Oh, nothing much..." kind of response from de Grasse. Then CBC interviewed Bolt and asked him about that conversation again. This is reminiscent of some Canadian media who think Canadians really need to know what Americans (and sometimes the rest of the world) think of us. How about dropping the inferiority complex? de Grasse came home with bronze, and it's great. You don't have to tell us he actually talks to Bolt to confirm how big time he is. 4 Link to comment
Kromm August 18, 2016 Share August 18, 2016 The NY Post can always be counted on for the classiest reporting on things: Penis crushes pole vaulter’s Olympic dream 2 Link to comment
mehtotheworld August 18, 2016 Share August 18, 2016 On 8/15/2016 at 6:19 PM, Superpole2000 said: This is reminiscent of some Canadian media who think Canadians really need to know what Americans (and sometimes the rest of the world) think of us. I don't know why I find that so fascinating, but what kind of reporting do you generally see for that? Link to comment
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