Frozen Royalty: Overwhelming Outrage About NBC’s Winter Olympics Coverage Should Move IOC To End Exclusive TV Rights Deals
LOS ANGELES — As the heavy criticism of NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia gets louder and more overwhelming, if that’s possible, it is clear that the time has come for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee, assuming they have a say in the matter, to end the exclusive broadcasting deal with NBC for future Olympic Games.
Indeed, the criticism of NBC’s coverage has been vehement and unending since these Games began. But with their piece-meal, tape-delayed coverage of the Games, despite the fact that they are in Vancouver—not only in the same hemisphere as the United States, but also the same continent—NBC has no one to blame but themselves.
It seems rather obvious that, even though they are broadcasting the games on their affiliates across the country and on USA Network, CNBC and MSNBC, NBC is unwilling to preempt a significant number of their shows during the day on any of their channels so that they could air live coverage.
That decision has left a foul taste in the mouths of many Olympic fans.
“It’s frustrating,” said Erin Norton, 33, of Gilbert, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. “NBC pays a ton of money to have exclusive coverage and it’s on the same continent. The coverage they could have had for these Olympics would have blown all the other channels out of the water. They could show so many events live during the day on CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network and the local NBC station.”
“Yet they show things tape-delayed and if they show three hours during the day on NBC, then it’s a good day,” added Norton. “Instead, we’re still subjected to all their normal crap.”
“I know they still want to keep their soap operas and other crap on television, but I’d prefer to see more stuff live on NBC so it’s more widely available to the masses,” said Bruce Fung, 45, of Long Beach, California.
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