Summer Olympics 2020/1

[RunningBum]

I probably watched more of the Olympics this time than I ever have before, because of all of the different NBC affiliated networks showing different things. Maybe I'm forgetting if they did the same back in 2016.

The analysts they had were fairly uneven. Kara Goucher did great on the distance running events. I liked Rowdy Gaines for both his enthusiasm and insight on the swim events, though he was totally clueless on the marathon swims. Vince Carter did well with basketball. I didn't watch that much of the gymnastics but Nastia Liukin was spot on about a lot of things, including Simone Biles before she even pulled out of competition.

Beach volleyball was good, but the guy who did the indoor volleyball was an idiot. At one point the other guy asked a question on a controversial topic, and he said he didn't have enough time to answer it, but a few points later he was speculating on which guy had the best beard of Olympic volleyballers, which he had also brought up the day before. He seemed like he was getting bored with the matches. Despite that, I still watched a lot of volleyball because the play was so good.

Seems like you could tell who had done their research on the athlete and who hadn't.

The time or two I came across Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart I switched to another channel. What little I saw wasn't entertaining to me, and it didn't reflect what actually happened.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I guess the Olympics has fully evolved to "entertainment", as opposed to sports coverage.

No, I don't want Snoop Dogg, or any other celebrity, analyzing the Olympics. Really, why should I care what he thinks of an Olympic event or athlete?

So, I watched very little. Only when DW had it on. Never turned it on myself.

I would say more, but then Porky will come along.

Well, there was plenty of "sports coverage" if Snoop Dogg isn't your cup of tea. That's the beauty of the "off" switch.

 

[triangle]

I think the root of my complaint about NBC's coverage this year is my perception that the network continues to increase its treatment of the "Olympic Games" more as entertainment rather than as sports competition. The talking heads and all those human interest stories seek to create far too much drama where none is needed. Let us watch the athletes compete - plenty of drama in that.

And yes, they also need to get off my lawn.

Yeah, the coverage over time seems to focus more on the personalities and back story as much as the competition. Trying to create emotional appeal and greater engagement I guess, but when taken too far I tune out. I am most interested in the sport and physical/mental achievements made, only later do personal stories become of any interest.

Perhaps there were free streams available, but the NBCSports Roku channel only gave limited/timed access. I thought I had got lucky when tuning into NBC's broadcast coverage of the golf and there was about to be a playoff to determine all the medals, and they skipped the large pairing going for bronze. IMO golf should not be an Olympic sport with professionals playing, but if they were going to cover it, why not show the crucial part. Same could be said with Basketball with professionals playing it. IMO modern professional level sports could be removed from the Olympics to give more prominence to the traditional athletic competitions.

 

[harllee]

Olympic golf was on the Golf Channel, the entire rounds were shown. I enjoyed the golf, both men's and women's, I got to see many players that I normally would not get to see on the regular tours. I especially liked the men's playoff for the bronze shown on Golf Channel.

 

[RunningBum]

IMO modern professional level sports could be removed from the Olympics to give more prominence to the traditional athletic competitions.

That ship sailed a long time ago. And it didn't make for a better Olympics. Many athletes lived in or near poverty because they couldn't have a regular job and still train at the level needed to compete at an Olympic level. Or they took money under the table and risked being banished. Meanwhile countries like the USSR put its athletes in the military where they focused solo on their sport but still got paid. It wasn't a good system. And you point out golf and basketball, but clearly aren't aware that nearly every athlete at the games is a professional.

 

[Aerides]

Yeah, the coverage over time seems to focus more on the personalities and back story as much as the competition. Trying to create emotional appeal and greater engagement I guess, but when taken too far I tune out. I am most interested in the sport and physical/mental achievements made, only later do personal stories become of any interest.

I think that's been the case for a while though, certainly the last 2 or 3 olympics. And more noticeable (more likely to be injected) when they can't broadcast live to the US audience. The ability to edit and snip and craft the stories is sitting right there... Reality TV in reality!

There has to be some logic to the argument that, especially now... people already know the results before the show is on so the production team feels obligated to add to it. I don't personally think what they are doing is working, but I'm also not watching beyond snips and clips anyway.

 

[cathy63]

... Perhaps there were free streams available, but the NBCSports Roku channel only gave limited/timed access...

To use the Roku streams, you had to have access to an NBC channel through a regular service provider. We watched full events on the Roku, but I had to sign in with my Spectrum login first. I could also have used a login from Hulu, YouTube TV, Dish, etc, so it wasn't free, but it was available to anyone who pays for some type of TV service that includes an NBC channel.