Olympics Coverage and Articles

[Lipstick on a Hillary]

Yeah, Hamilton's passed his sell-by date IMO.

I loved the team of Dick Button and Peggy Fleming.  I think those two did a fabulous job the whole time they were skating commentators.

[Rapunzel]

Yeah, Hamilton's passed his sell-by date IMO.

I loved the team of Dick Button and Peggy Fleming.  I think those two did a fabulous job the whole time they were skating commentators.

Oh, yes.. absolutely... loved them.

IIRC years ago didn't ABC do the Olympics coverage?  Can't remember when "NBC" got the contract, but they suck overall.

[Lipstick on a Hillary]

I know!!!!

ABC hasn't had the Olympics in eons I don't think, but you're right--their coverage was so much better!  Remember those "up close and personal" things they did of the athletes?  I loved those. 

[Lipstick on a Hillary]

Remember Lolo Jones?  The track and field Olympian from a few years back?  She's on the womens' bobsled team!

[Rapunzel]

Remember Lolo Jones?  The track and field Olympian from a few years back?  She's on the womens' bobsled team!

Interesting - is the Women's Bobsled tonight?

 

[Rapunzel]

I know!!!!

ABC hasn't had the Olympics in eons I don't think, but you're right--their coverage was so much better!  Remember those "up close and personal" things they did of the athletes?  I loved those. 

Jim McCay was so much better than what we get from NBC....

History
1960s

The first telecast of the Olympics on American TV was from the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. It was shown on CBS. During the games, officials asked Tony Verna, one of the members of the production staff, if it could use its videotape equipment to determine whether or not a slalom skier missed a gate. Verna then returned to CBS headquarters in New York City and developed the first instant replay system, which debuted at the Army–Navy football game in 1963.

Later that year, CBS showed the 1960 Summer Olympics from Rome. The network showed about 20 hours of coverage of track and field, swimming, and other sports. Because communications satellites, which would have provided direct transmissions between the United States and Italy, were not yet available, production staff members flew footage from Rome to CBS headquarters in New York for later telecast. Jim McKay, then a relatively unknown radio and TV personality, was the host.[1]

In 1964, a different network showed the Winter Games: ABC. Roone Arledge won broadcast rights for his network and began a relationship with the Olympics that would last over two decades. The program used many of the same production staff from ABC's Wide World of Sports, as well as the same host, McKay, who moved to ABC in 1961. The following October, NBC showed the 1964 Summer Olympics from Tokyo, marking its Olympic TV debut. This time, NBC used the Syncom 3 satellite for direct broadcasts, with the opening ceremonies being broadcast live and in color (the first live color television program ever transmitted by satellite from overseas to the United States; the opening and closing ceremonies were the only portions of NBC's 1964 coverage from Tokyo seen in color). In 1968, ABC showed both the Winter Games and the Summer Games; both of which were (with the exception of a handful of events) broadcast in color.
1970s

In 1972, NBC showed the Winter Games from Sapporo, Japan, then ABC returned to carry the Summer Games in Munich, Germany. It was during the Summer Games that terrorists attacked the Olympic Village and killed 11 Israeli athletes. Although Chris Schenkel was the actual host of the Games that year, Arledge assigned the story to McKay largely because he was a local news anchor in Baltimore, Maryland prior to joining CBS (and later ABC). McKay was joined on set by ABC news correspondent (and former and future evening news anchor) Peter Jennings, and coverage continued for many hours until the outcome was known. McKay later won an Emmy Award for his coverage.[2]

By the time the 1976 edition came around, McKay was now installed at the host, a role he would play throughout the 1970s and '80s.
1980s

ABC aired the 1980 Winter Olympics, both the 1984 Winter and Summer Games, and the 1988 Winter Olympics. After that, the network, at the insistence of new owner Capital Cities Communications (much to the chagrin of Roone Arledge's successor at ABC Sports, Dennis Swanson), opted not to bid for the rights to show any future Games.

NBC had won the U.S. broadcast rights for the 1980 Summer Olympics, but when the United States Olympic Committee kept U.S. athletes home to honor the boycott announced by President Jimmy Carter, the telecasts were canceled. In the end, what had been 150 hours of scheduled coverage, shrunk to practically nothing. Highlights were fed to local NBC stations for use on local newscasts. Many affiliates however, refused to show the Olympic highlights on their local news. They also refused to clear airtime for what little coverage NBC did present.

NBC then bid for, and won, the rights to show the 1988 Summer Olympics. Network officials convinced the organizers in Seoul to stage most of its gold-medal finals in the afternoon, which is primetime of the previous night in the U.S. Bryant Gumbel was the host that year.
1990s

Just as his mentor Roone Arledge had before, Dick Ebersol, who took over NBC Sports in 1989, decided to make the Olympics a staple of his network's sports television schedule. NBC continued its Summer Games coverage into the decade, with both the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. And as with Arledge, Ebersol had to deal with breaking news during the Games. During the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996, NBC suspended its coverage of a volleyball game and broadcast the news for several hours commercial-free. Bob Costas made his debut as primetime host in 1992. Costas had previously, hosted the late night coverage in Seoul.

As for the Winter Games, CBS had a similar sweep of coverage in the U.S. during the decade; it showed all three contests (1992, 1994, and 1998). The 1994 Games saw the nights with the highest ratings in the history of American Olympic telecasts, as a result of the scandal in which associates of Tonya Harding attacked Nancy Kerrigan and the media frenzy that followed, as well as Dan Jansen's speed skating gold medal win. The short program on February 23 is, as of 2008, the sixth-highest rated primetime TV program in American history. It had a rating of 48.5 and a share of 64. The long program two days later had a rating of 44.1 and another 64 share; it ranks 32nd.[3] Each telecast had a different primetime host(s): Paula Zahn and Tim McCarver in 1992, Greg Gumbel in 1994, and Jim Nantz in 1998.

To help defray the increasing costs of broadcast rights, both CBS and NBC turned to cable and satellite services for additional coverage. CBS' Winter Games coverage was shared with TNT, which aired events under the promotional slogan "The ultimate daytime drama." Jim Lampley was the host all three times. In 1992, NBC teamed up with Cablevision for the Triplecast, which provided three channels of pay-per-view telecasts that supplemented NBC's regular coverage. However, NBC lost over $100 million, the package was dropped, and there was no supplemental coverage from Atlanta.
2000s

Coverage in the first decade of the 21st century revolved around two major storylines:

    NBC became the sole U.S. rights holder for the Olympic Games for the entire decade and beyond. The network could rightly boast of being "America's Olympic Network" as it made the longest and most expensive commitment ever since the Olympics were first presented on TV. For the 1996 Summer Games, and all Games from 2000 to 2008, NBC paid a total of $3.5 billion, mostly to the International Olympic Committee but also to the USOC and local organizers. To extend rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics, NBC then gave up another $2.2 billion.[4]

    The rise of various media platforms extended the reach and availability of Games coverage. NBC returned to supplemental cable/satellite coverage in 2000, with some events on CNBC and MSNBC. In 2004, it added USA Network, Bravo, and Telemundo, all of which parent company NBC Universal had acquired earlier in the decade. Finally, in 2008, events were streamed live for the first time on the Internet through the website NBCOlympics.com (Also in 2008, Oxygen replaced Bravo as a supplemental network, and NBC launched high-definition channels dedicated to the basketball and soccer competitions).

As was the case with Seoul in 1988, NBC convinced the organizers of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics to stage many of their major events during the late morning and early afternoon hours, which translated to live coverage during prime time in the United States.
2010s

With Comcast taking over NBCUniversal many people thought they would not bid for the television rights for the next Olympics, after losing money from the 2010 Olympics. Also Dick Ebersol left as NBC sports chairman, who lead NBC for overbidding in the last two Olympics. However it was announced on June 6, 2011 that NBCUniversal had won the television rights for the 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 Olympics, beating out ESPN/ABC and Fox. The entire package for the rights was $4.38 billion, making it the most expensive television rights deal in Olympic history. NBC paid $775 million for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and $1.23 billion for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Also NBC paid $963 million for the 2018 Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea and $1.45 billion for the 2020 Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan. NBC has announced that it will begin airing all of the events live on TV or either the internet.[5][6]

Thanks to favorable time differences, much of NBC's coverage from Vancouver (2010 Winter Games) was live; as will be most of NBC's prime-time coverage of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. It is commonly believed in the television industry that NBC will likewise push the organizers of the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeonchang to schedule major events (such as alpine skiing, figure skating, and the championship game in men's hockey) during the late morning and early afternoon hours to allow live prime-time broadcasts to the East Coast of the United States.
Criticisms

Of course, there are some complaints about Olympic coverage on American TV. Perhaps the most often heard is the insistence that some events be shown on tape delay rather than live, which is what most sports fans seem to prefer. Even if sports are shown live to some parts of the country, it may remain delayed in others, especially in the Pacific Time Zone. NBC has explained that primetime coverage of select events, regardless of when they actually occur, is designed to maximize the total viewing audience.

Some examples of tape delay include:

    The 1980 Miracle on Ice, which ABC showed in primetime, about three hours after it actually took place. (The Americans' gold medal-clinching game against Finland was aired live, despite a start time of 11am EST on a Sunday morning. All US hockey games in Winter Olympics since 1988 have been shown live, and since 1992, in full.)
    The relay race in 1984 in which Carl Lewis won his fourth gold medal.
    In 1996, much of the Artistic Gymnastics competition at the Atlanta Olympics was held in the afternoon, and was shown by NBC three to four hours after the competition ended.
    Nearly the entire 2000 schedule from Sydney, Australia, in some cases by nearly a day. (The only live telecast was the men's basketball final, which was shown live only after fans objected to the delayed coverage of earlier games.)
    For Pacific and Mountain Time Zone viewers, most of the 2010 Winter Olympics coverage was on tape, despite that the games were held in the Pacific Time Zone. As a result, viewers in Bellingham, Washington couldn't watch NBC's live coverage as it aired on the east coast despite the fact that they are just over 50 miles away from Vancouver.
        Also, viewers in most of the Mountain time zone and all of the Pacific time zone couldn't watch live prime-time coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics despite the fact many of the prime time events took place around the Salt Lake City, Utah area. However, KSL-TV was allowed to air NBC's prime-time coverage live.
    The Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 London games, which NBC refused to air (or even stream on the internet) live, choosing instead to tape-delay for US audiences, and during which broadcast chose to cut away from important segments of the performance to air a taped interview with US swimmer Michael Phelps.[7]

The tape delay practice even for major events has become increasingly frustrating with viewers in recent times due to the increased usage of social networking and Web sites (including the official Olympic site and NBC's Olympic website) posting results in real time.[8] As a result, these practices has spawned outrage across the internet and even raising concerns from politicians.[9]

Anecdotal, if not official, evidence indicates that some American viewers in border cities have decided to turn away from NBC coverage to watch events live on such stations as CBET in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and XEWT in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Nearly all Olympic coverage broadcast in Canada (traditionally CBC, CTV for the 2010 Vancouver Games) and Mexico (Televisa) is live regardless of venue or time difference. Often, events shown live during fringe hours in Canada and Mexico will be rebroadcast there in prime-time.

In a related note, networks not part of the Olympic coverage, even including NBC News, are given very restrictive policies on showing highlights. For example, ESPN can show only a total of eight minutes of highlights per day, and must essentially wait until the next day to show any of it. (Reportedly, the only reason it can even show highlights at all is the deal that sent Al Michaels to NBC Sunday Night Football in 2006.)

Some decisions as far as what events to show also seem to create questions. For example, NBC got the Beijing organizers to show live swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball in U.S. prime time in 2008 (the next morning in Beijing). Such prominent sports as track and field and basketball were not selected. The network cited Phelps' potential for winning a record eight gold medals at a single Olympics (which he did), as well as demographics for gymnastics and beach volleyball that favor females.[citation needed]

One other concern among some critics is the emphasis on covering American athletes ahead of all others on the U.S. telecasts. Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated noticed this in 1984, when the Games were held in Los Angeles, California.[10] After winning that year's decathlon gold medal, Daley Thompson of Great Britain wore a T-shirt that read, "America, thanks for the Olympics, but what about the TV coverage?" Again, NBC has said that the emphasis on American athletes and teams is what the public has demanded.[citation needed] To that end, a minor controversy erupted during the 1984 Games when it was discovered that televisions inside the Olympic Villages were showing the US ABC Network feed and not the world feed.[11] It should be noted that any country's Olympic coverage usually has a major emphasis on sports where the country the network is broadcasting to has the best shot at medals.[12] Also, in 2008, USA Network called itself "home of the United States Olympic Team" in event promos and commercial breaks.

[Lipstick on a Hillary]

Okay, here's an NBC tidbit:  Access Hollywood (or one of those kind of shows--not sure of the name of it) comes on NBC right before the Olympics.  The show is highlighting the Games/athletes at this time.  Tonight they interviewed Johnny Wier.  I'm sure you remember what he looks like and how he dresses, right?

Weir said that during negotiations with NBC last fall, the only limitation they put on his on-air dress/hair/make-up was that he couldn't wear fur.  He could dress like a total flamer goddess, but God-forbid he upset PETA.   

[Rapunzel]

OMG...........

[truth_seeker]

I watched this and was yelling at this dumb woman to leave him alone, they had the camera real close to his face and you could see him tearing up and she just kept pushing and pushing...

And viewers "react" to the drama created by the professional entertainers, brought into your homes on their television equipment and channels.

They would do it again. If it bleeds it leads.

[truth_seeker]

We're tied with Russia for medals - 16 each - Russia has more silver.  Norway is in first place.

Norway has 4 million people

Russia over 150 million

The US over 300 million

[happyg]

He could dress like a total flamer goddess, but God-forbid he upset PETA

This is a tad off topic, but I have an infiltration of tiny ants. Those beasts kept coming back, and driving me nuts. I put Terro behind the frig and places the cats can't get to, but still had a problem, even trying cornmeal, and all the other things that repel ants without killing them.

I then Googled the problem and came upon a site that gave me a spray that would repel them without harming my cats. The directions said to spray where they appear, but to be cautious not to spray them directly because ants have feelings and the spray is painful. You guessed it, it was a PETA site.

[Rapunzel]

, but to be cautious not to spray them directly because ants have feelings and the spray is painful.

 

[Rapunzel]

Finally they are getting some snow at Souci..... too bad they didn't get this a week ago.

[Lipstick on a Hillary]

Norway has 4 million people

Russia over 150 million

The US over 300 million

How many of America's "over 300 million" live in cold, snowy climates akin to those of Russia and Norway?

If you're going to toss one of your monkey wrenches into this discussion, putting some thought into it would be refreshing.

[jmyrlefuller]

How many of America's "over 300 million" live in cold, snowy climates akin to those of Russia and Norway?

If you're going to toss one of your monkey wrenches into this discussion, putting some thought into it would be refreshing.

About a quarter live in the Northeastern megalopolis, and another good chunk live in the Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. So I'd venture to say probably about half. Granted it's not as many as it used to be because of the South's growth, but it's still a good chunk.

We northerners may be a dying breed, but we ain't dead yet.

[NavyCanDo]

Historically the Norwegians are just where they should be in the Sochi medal count. The Norwegians have a record 107 Golds in Winter Olympics competition.  The Americans are No. 2 in Golds and Silvers (behind Norway) and No. 3 in bronze medals (behind Norway and Austria). Overall, the U.S. is No. 2 in the medal count behind the Norwegians.
We can take all of those population totals and forget about them. It really comes down to the per capita involvement in competition winter sports, and when it comes to that, Norway has a stranglehold on that record and is not likely to give it up.   The country has a deeply engrained sports culture, and has organized competitions at every level encouraging young talent,   
I  found this interesting tidbit - 700,000 Norwegians over the age of 18 (in a country with a total population of just 5 million) own two or more pair of skis that are in frequent use. Norwegians, according to the survey, have the most pairs of cross-country skis per capita in the world. An astonishing 70 percent of Norwegians have at least one pair of cross-country skis.

[NavyCanDo]

About a quarter live in the Northeastern megalopolis, and another good chunk live in the Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. So I'd venture to say probably about half. Granted it's not as many as it used to be because of the South's growth, but it's still a good chunk.

We northerners may be a dying breed, but we ain't dead yet.

Come on where is the optimism?

The United States is still the king (and queen) of speedskating and figure skating. U.S. athletes have won the most medals in both those sports, as well as newer disciplines like freestyle skiing, snowboarding and skeleton.   And the only sport that the U.S. has not medaled in, the Biathlon we have finally won that.

[Rapunzel]

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

Czech-mate
WATCH: The United States defeated the Czech Republic on Wednesday, advancing to meet Canada in the semifinals on Friday.

[Rapunzel]

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/ted-ligety-finally-lives-expectations?ctx=att-olympic-news-desk

Ted Ligety finally lives up to expectations


News Desk: Julie Donaldson checks in with Ted Ligety and the men's giant slalom. After failing to meet expectations in his earlier races, Ligety grabbed the gold medal in what is largely considered his best event. This is Ligety's second Olympic gold medal in Alpine skiing, becoming the first American man to ever accomplish that feat.

[Rapunzel]

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/bode-miller-tweaks-knee-first-run-giant-slalom-sochi-games-come-end?ctx=team-usa

Bode Miller tweaks knee in first run of giant slalom, Sochi Games come to end

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Bode Miller will skip the last Alpine race at the Sochi Olympics, the slalom, after tweaking his surgically repaired left knee during Wednesday's giant slalom.

Miller finished 20th in the giant slalom with a two-run time of 2 minutes, 47.82 seconds, more than 2½ seconds slower than gold medalist Ted Ligety. Given that he'll be 40 during the 2018 Winter Games, the GS might have been Miller's last Olympic race.

Miller owns a U.S.-record six Olympic Alpine medals, including a bronze in the super-G last weekend that made him the oldest ski racer to win a Winter Games medal. He said Wednesday that his knee bothered him after that race, and it's been swollen during the Sochi Olympics.

He missed all of last season while coming back from a knee operation.

[Rapunzel]

 Medal Standings
Feb 19 4:33pm ET
USA
23
7
5
11
RUS
22
6
9
7
NED
22
6
7
9

[Rapunzel]

Women's Bobsled
Oh, so close
Canada won its second straight gold medal in women's bobsled Wednesday, rallying to edge the American duo of Meyers & Williams by .10 seconds. The U.S. team of Greubel & Evans won bronze.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/

[truth_seeker]

About a quarter live in the Northeastern megalopolis, and another good chunk live in the Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. So I'd venture to say probably about half. Granted it's not as many as it used to be because of the South's growth, but it's still a good chunk.

We northerners may be a dying breed, but we ain't dead yet.

People living in Southern California (2nd largest megalopolis) can be in mountains for skiing in 1 to 2 hours max. People living in Phoenix can be in Flagstaff in 2.5 hours. People in the SF Bay area say 3 to 4 hours.

From Texas to Florida, plus Hawaii seems like the only regions where snow skiing is out of easy reach.

Indoor winter sports can and are done everywhere, all year.

Equally important would be that Olympic caliber competitors often go to training centers--both during winters and off season, when nobody in the US lives next to a snowy locale.

[jmyrlefuller]

Canada survives Latvian scare, advances to men's hockey semifinals
http://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/canada-survives-latvian-scare-advances-men-hockey-semifinals.html

Canada needed a third-period goal from Shea Weber to earn a tight victory 2-1 over Latvia, advancing to the semifinals.

Latvia gave Team Canada everything it had and more in a game that was astonishingly close despite the massive discrepancy in talent between the two teams.

Once again Canada’s defence came to the rescue. Weber drilled home his third goal of the Olympics with just under seven minutes remaining in the third period. It was a slap shot from the left point, with Latvia shorthanded.

While Latvia didn’t win, the Ted Nolan-coached team threw a gigantic scare into Team Canada — not to mention Canadian hockey fans.

Nolan was hired by the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 13 to replace Ron Rolston with the understanding that he would honour his commitment to coach Latvia at the Olympics.

He somehow managed to get a team with hardly any NHL experience to believe in itself and after knocking off Switzerland in the qualifying round Tuesday and followed it up with a heroic effort against Canada.

Nolan was the NHL’s coach of the year with the Sabres in 1997, but has drifted around hockey for years before returning to Buffalo when the organization decided to shake things up.

Canada owned the ice, severely out-shooting Latvia, but the never-say-die Latvians bent, but would not break.

USA's offense explodes again in win against Czechs
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/sochi/2014/02/19/usa-czech-republic-men-hockey/5611193/

The U.S. men's hockey team has flown across nine time zones to continue a long-standing feud with their neighbor.

The Americans (4-0) moved into the Olympic semifinals for a meeting with Canada (4-0) after downing the Czech Republic 5-2 in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

With the win, the Americans are guaranteed to either be in the bronze medal game or the gold medal game. The semifinal against Canada (noon ET) is a rematch of the 2010 gold medal game won by Canada.

Van Riemsdyk, Dustin Brown, Backes, Zach Parise and Phil Kessel all scored for the Americans, who have outscored the opposition 20-6 in the tournament.

[DCPatriot]

Too bad Alex Ovechin....now that Russia can't win a medal whatsoever, can't put on a USA jersey for the semi-finals.  LOL!