NBC is too slow for Olympic fans these days
Technology these days allows for instant streaming and viewing of just about anything from TV shows, to sports, to movies. Technology has answered viewers’ demands instantaneously, and now the expectation of viewers is that they can watch anything, anywhere, anytime.
The Olympics is one of the most viewed programs in the world, and anything but live, up-to-date broadcasting is just not good enough. NBC unfortunately made the big mistake of not airing certain events live, such as men’s swimming and men’s basketball, and chose to air them instead on a tape delay in the primetime slot, which is a more lucrative spot for NBC.
That decision has upset many viewers this year since social media sites are now giving updates of the games at a feverish pace and therefore show results of certain events before fans can watch the event.
Twitter has been blowing up with tweets from the disgruntled viewers. The latest result of that anger is a new Twitter account, @NBCDelayed, that was created to mock NBC. Since its birth on Sunday, the account has been “breaking” news such as:
While the tweets from @NBCDelayed are clear over-exaggerations and are amplifying the severity of NBC’s delayed airing of Olympic events, NBC has responded to some complaints about the network’s editing of the Opening Ceremonies.
Instead of airing the Opening Ceremonies in its entirety, NBC chose to cut out the segment of a memorial dedicated to the terrorist attacks that occurred in London in July of 2005 and showed an interview with Michael Phelps instead. NBC said it edited the sequence out because “our programming is tailored for the U.S. audience.”
As for the tape delays, NBC chief digital officer Vivian Schiller offered her two cents on Twitter, where she retweeted a message saying, “the medal for most Olympic whining goes to everyone complaining about what happens every 4 yrs., tape delay.”
It seems upset and angry viewers and fans will continue to complain about NBC’s airing of the Olympic events until their airing strategies change. It remains to be seen if NBC will see the effects of these complaints through lower viewing numbers.
