And why isn't Katie Couric doing any evening Olympic coverage?
Bill Simmons writes: "I haven't watched more than like 45 minutes of the Winter Olympics. How can anyone expect us to watch tape-delayed sporting events in 2006? Am I supposed to avoid the Internet and ESPN all day, then show up at 8 p.m. every night and say, 'Come on, NBC, take me for a ride?' Would you watch the NBA Finals or the Super Bowl on a 10-hour tape delay if you knew the result ahead of time?"
But the main problem is not the tape delay. Rather, NBC seems incapable of showing more than four minutes of any event at a time before cutting in to tell us about yet another event that happened 10 hours earlier. NBC is like a domineering host with the remote control who flips around rather than settle in on something the rest of the room wants to watch.
Instead, NBC should show the events in full on its various channels (NBC, USA Network, MSNBC, Universal, MSNBC) and let the viewers do the flipping. Then if we want to watch bobsled, we can do that without interruptions of how skiing and figure skating are going.
But the main problem is not the tape delay. Rather, NBC seems incapable of showing more than four minutes of any event at a time before cutting in to tell us about yet another event that happened 10 hours earlier. NBC is like a domineering host with the remote control who flips around rather than settle in on something the rest of the room wants to watch.
Instead, NBC should show the events in full on its various channels (NBC, USA Network, MSNBC, Universal, MSNBC) and let the viewers do the flipping. Then if we want to watch bobsled, we can do that without interruptions of how skiing and figure skating are going.
Comments
Plus, then, when I get too snoozed, I just go upstairs and I can check on the internet to see who won! instant gratifacation. Love it.
I know it's an unpopular view--everybody for some reason loves to bash the Olympics...but I'm still a fan.
This gets to one of my complaints with Olympic coverage, though it mostly applies to the summer games: I'd like to see these oddball sports played at the highest level, and not just when the U.S. is involved. I demand to see the gold medal game of Olympic Mens Field Hockey!
Seriously.