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NBC Still Can't Get Olympic Coverage Right, Won't Air Opening Ceremonies Live
mystery-ak:
http://www.businessinsider.com/nbc-still-cant-get-olympic-coverage-right-wont-air-opening-ceremonies-live-2012-7
NBC Still Can't Get Olympic Coverage Right, Won't Air Opening Ceremonies Live
Cork Gaines | Jul. 27, 2012, 1:25 PM
Despite NBC promising more than 3,500 hours of live video from the London 2012 Olympics, American viewers will still not be able to (legally) watch the opening ceremonies live, even online.
And despite a lame excuse from NBC, the real reason is that they are making a ratings grab.
Instead of being shown live on one of NBC's six networks, two specialty channels, one 3-D channel or streamed online, the opening ceremonies will be tape-delayed on NBC tonight at 7:30 pm, on both the east coast and the west coast.
NBC released a statement (via Mashable.com) in which they explain that the opening ceremonies are "complex entertainment spectacles that do not translate well online because they require context." Of course, this doesn't explain why the ceremonies can't be aired on one of their networks.
The real reason is that NBC wants to maximize the ratings, if not the actual viewership.
Rather than giving as many people as possible the opportunity to watch the ceremonies, by spreading the viewers over multiple platforms, NBC will be able to draw a smaller audience to one broadcast. But that one broadcast will now have higher ratings.
NBC will then turn around and scream at the top of their lungs, "LOOK AT OUR RATINGS! LOOK AT OUR RATINGS! WE'RE SO AWESOME!"
So, in the end, NBC wins, but once again, the viewers lose.
You can watch it on a live feed, or keep up with our live blog here.
jmyrlefuller:
I'm close enough to the Canadian border to get the CTV coverage. Blech. They just choreographed this massive tribute to... their universal health care system, the National Health Service.
Complete with villains trying to attack it. I kid thee not.
Interestingly enough, all these Britons who love their "free" health care have to have a TV license to operate the televisions on which they're watching the ceremonies.
Rapunzel:
a TV License???????
jmyrlefuller:
--- Quote from: Rapunzel on July 28, 2012, 02:57:35 am ---a TV License???????
--- End quote ---
Yes, Britain has a TV license program. All people who own or operate a television within the bounds of the UK have to pay for a license fee for the privilege, and in U.S. dollars it's about $300 a year (or $25 a month), $100 if you settle for a black-and-white model. They have vans that go about scanning electrical fields around houses and finding potential offenders, and they track the names and addresses of every person who ever buys or leases a TV in the UK. The money goes to the BBC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom
Chieftain:
My wife had this on for a few minutes and I couldn't stand it any more. What does any of this nonsense have to do with the Olympic games??
Answer: nothing. This is a massive display of outrageous spending on garbage to feed the TV.
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