By Matt Deyong
GUEST WRITER
The Olympics are here again, the worlds largest athletic competition which draws more worldwide media attention then any other event. The over half day difference between Australian and American time has allowed NBC to pre-package events, editing them extensively for television broadcasting.
NBC Sports has compressed events for time and chooses where it wants to focus its attention. And there is where the problem lies. What happened to the suspense of watching scores of various events come in?
Bob Costas must have talent for false enthusiasm when reporting an event which happened hours before. His commentary, along with others, does not seem as timely as in past years. Of course the commentators have hours to prepare. NBC usually has almost a full day to produce the coverage that will be broadcast the next day in America.
NBC Sports is able to compress the events for time and choose where they want to focus its attention.
The technique, known as almost live broadcasting, was used very successfully during the Atlanta games of 1996. NBC crafts events and ceremonies to feel like time does not elapse. But the minor time difference between Atlanta and the rest of America is quite different than Sydney and the United States.
For example, in Atlanta there was some live coverage, real live coverage, not taped. In the Sydney games you will be watching an event and after the advertising break you see highlights from the awards ceremony you watched three minutes before.
A possible reason for the contrived feeling of the games is due to NBC hopes to draw in different demographics, particularly women, than those usually associated with sports broadcasting. Even though NBC is trying to capture a new audience, it seems strange that they are showing many of the same sports repetitively. Most of the coverage thus far has focused on gymnastics, swimming, and running events (and trampolining). The network is hoping to have another good showing of ratings, especially considering their multi-million dollar purchase of the rights to the next several Olympic games.
But, disappointingly for NBC ,the ratings for the opening night of the Olympics were the lowest in Olympic history. Despite all the over-promotion of the games, it seems NBC’s formulaic style is not attracting viewers they way they planned.
As the games roll on, you can expect the network to focus its attention on women’s soccer, as well as basketball and wrestling.
Hopefully NBC will not drain the life out of the upcoming events and make people want to watch the games in the future. |
