Al Michaels: fearless NBC welcomes London Olympic challenge (Reason for no live coverage)

Guardian ^ | 29 July 2012 | Robert Booth

[JimWayne]

NBC has calculated that the TV audience for the Olympics in the US is 56% female, and this conditions what it calls its "storytelling model" of presentation.

[JimWayne]

This is why NBC does not carry events live. Their aim is to appeal to women who watch TV and tell them a story to keep them interested. Guess liberals would love this too.

[The people have spoken]

And NBC emphasizes events in which Americans are competitive. So we can forget about seeing table tennis and soccer, for example.

[ClearCase_guy]

Well, this reinforces my feelings of manliness, because NBC’s coverage has really not appealed to me at all. It just seems “blah” in so many ways. But maybe the ladies love it.

[Rennes Templar]

Soccer and basketball are available on other channels on DISH.

[combat_boots]

An added bonus: if there is a terrorist event, we won’t see it live, like we did in 1972. It can be edited out.

If we want, we can read about it. But we won’t SEE it. And the WH will fax the words for the talking twits to read.

[RightField]

From the article:
NBC is using the main feed from Olympic Broadcasting Services but will have its own cameras at most venues. "They show the whole of the competition while we zoom in on the guy's face to see the emotion," says Fritsche. "We have our stories to tell."

Some of us ladies would like to see the whole of the competition. I wonder if there's anywhere online to see that main feed?

[TigerClaws]

Also why they keep showing the moms in the stands.

[JimWayne]

I am sure you can find some foreign TV channel and watch their live stream.

[morphing libertarian]

I think there is an online feed from NBC.

Also, between Bravo, NBSSports, NBC, CNBC and even MSNBC there are a lot of sports and non-US competitions being broadcast.

I’m burning up my DVR.

[morphing libertarian]

Sorry. NBCSports channel. 603 on direcTV

[Proud2BeRight]

Last night was the first night I didn't have to use my DVR to skip massive segments on gymnastics and synchronized diving that I am not interested. Finally I could enjoy most of the broadcast. When they kicked off Friday night with over a half hour of past gymnastics at the expense of watching the many interesting events that went on all day, I was disgusted at the loss.

[RetSignman]

I love to watch golf but I will NOT watch it if it’s on nbc for the same reason...storytelling.

While live golf is being played on the course, they are storytelling.

[Mad Dawgg]

"I was disgusted at the loss.

I like to watch volleyball (Beach and regular)

Misty and Kerri were on last night so I sat down to watch. They were playing well and had a nice lead. Score was like 9-6 in the first Set. NBC goes to break. They come back the score is like 17-11. Its a freaking tape delay and they can't show the entire game. Next set they did the same damn thing. I switched it off and got some work done. I am finished with NBC and the Olympics.

[jeffc]

It must work. My wife DVR’s almost everything on the Olympics and watches it at night. I haven’t seen any of it, not interested.

[agere_contra]

The BBC coverage is IMO superb, with experts commentating live on each sport AND with catch-up available for every single event since day 1.

American FReepers can tap into BBC iPlayer if they carry out the steps here.

[hecht]

Anyone else remember the good ild days when ABC broadcast the Olympics like it was theWide World of Sports. I miss those days. I want the thrill of victory and not the agony of another profile.

[trailhkr1]

Their aim is to appeal to women who watch TV and tell them a story to keep them interested

I'm a red blooded American male and have been watching the Olympics nearly every day..

I love the " human interest stories" about the athletes behind the scenes..the one on Gabby Douglas was great..showed her training in her youth and what she went through...also showed her praying and said how much God was in her life...same with Missy Franklin.

The "human interest" stories make the Olympics better IMO

[Nepeta]

NBC trashes their coverage of horse racing with their “story telling,” hardly even mentioning the names of the people who make the game go—the owners, who pay the bills. They concentrate on a handful of trainers, most whom hardly train but are skilled at making themselves prominent. Do they show much in the way of past races? Heck no. Do we even see much of the horses? Heck no. Do they get a lot of content just plain wrong and incorrect? YES.

[JimWayne]

The "human interest" stories make the Olympics better IMO

If you give priority to sob stories over live telecast and can put up with delayed broadcasting, you probably have a some feminine wiring in your brain.

[oh8eleven]

. So we can forget about seeing table tennis and soccer
If I'm not mistaken, the men's soccer team was so bad they didn't even qualify to play in the Olympics.