About NBC's Terrible Olympics Coverage

After reading countless write-ups and rants about NBC's coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, I'm starting to wonder if my disdain for sports is really a disdain for the American coverage of sports. Sure, I watch the Olympics every time they come around, and I cheer on the Americans when I'm supposed to, and ooh and aah at the spectacle, but it often feels like a chore. And as I was watching the gymnastics coverage a few nights ago, I realized that the whole vibe of NBC's coverage made it feel like I was watching a reality show. There were the pre-written narratives, the simplified caricatures foisted on the real-life participants, and a breathtaking amount of selective editing. I wasn't watching the Olympics. I was watching the American version of the Olympics, which was vastly different from what most other viewers around the world were seeing. And it's infuriating.

I skipped the opening ceremonies for various reasons, but I wasn't surprised to learn that one of the slower numbers had been excised so that NBC could show Ryan Seacrest interviewing Michael Phelps. Or that they let Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer chatter incessantly through the whole production, making awkward comments about other countries left and right. Opening ceremonies are pageantry and self-importance, and there's usually nothing special going on aside from stargazing. However, I didn't expect that the coverage of the competitions themselves would be so heavily manipulated. Admittedly I'm not watching the live streams of the events online, so I don't know if that coverage is any different, but the Olympics I'm seeing broadcast on my local NBC affiliate is essentially one long highlight reel.

I honestly don't mind the tape-delay, because I'm used to it, I guess. Avoiding the spoilers is a pain, if you really care about going into the experience not knowing the results, but at least the delay is only a few hours. I can understand being selective about which sports to highlight, about giving more attention to the athletes who are attracting more attention, and even some of the stupid mistakes like promoting a medalist's morning show appearance before the audience is supposed to know that they won. The Olympics are a broadcasting challenge, and I completely understand NBC needing to turn a profit on the event, trying to maximize their audience size at peak viewing hours. They're not the BBC or the CBC, who have more resources and don't rely so heavily on ratings. NBC paid for the exclusivity, so of course they're going to take advantage of it.

What I do mind the way that NBC stays so doggedly focused on the Americans that we keep missing big moments in the competition that involve other countries. I don't watch the Olympics just for the Americans. In fact, I love it when some of the underdog countries like Venezuela run off with the gold - for fencing this year, their first gold medal since 1968! And I really hate the way that they try to turn major rivals from Russia or China into outright antagonists sometimes. Even if you do only root for the Americans, the media's approach is often incredibly off-putting. Reporters asking inane and insulting questions are becoming a norm. Woe to any athlete who doesn't live up to expectations, or fails to conform to the narrative that has already been laid out for them.

But the absolute worst trend is the attempt to generate false drama by omitting parts of the competition. During the gymnastics team finals, the fall of a prominent Russian gymnast was one of the major shocks of the night. NBC claimed time constraints were to blame, but since the fall removed any doubt that the American team would win gold, and was certainly more newsworthy than some of the routines that they did show, I'm doubtful of the explanation. Then at some point they stopped showing the standings of the teams and the scores for individuals, which NBC has provided no excuse for. How is a viewer supposed to follow what's going on if they don't have basic information like scoring? Of all the things to skip, that should be at the bottom of the list!

The fun of the Olympics, of all sports and live events really, is the lack of predictability. Even if the odds are stacked in a way where the outcome seems inevitable, there's always a chance that something won't happen the way people expect. The networks don't like this, and tend to package and neuter every candid moment, turning them into reality television, which is of course heavily controlled and anything but real. Sometimes they're very good at it, so good that I forget there's any other way of doing it. Sometimes they're not, as is the case with NBC and the London Olympics.

The amount of negative feedback NBC has been getting is probably less about the manipulation than the network's sheer clumsiness at it, bordering on incompetence. The first rule of controlling the narrative is to not make it seem like you're controlling the narrative, and NBC has totally failed at that. Its actions have called attention to a slew of lousy practices, and given a focal point for fans who have been frustrated by them for years. I'm glad this is happening, but I doubt it will effect any real change.

Because NBC 's coverage has actually been a runaway success, Their ratings are through the roof. This year they stand to make money on the Olympics after a string of losses. NBC has no incentive to change their tactics because these tactics have paid off for them. It's infuriating, but what can you do?

I don't know. Not care so much about the sports, I guess.
---