Oh, NBC

[mariness]

Every single Olympics I optimistically assume that, bad though NBC's commentary will be, it cannot possibly be as bad as the commentary at the previous Olympics.

And then, we have tonight's NBC Coverage of the Opening Ceremonies - on tape delay, of course -- with this gem:

"19th century [Russian] imperialism is about to be swept away by two events -- the Russian Revolution AND THIS COMMERCIAL BREAK."

Brazil, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. If you decide to deny visas to the entire NBC staff, we're behind you.

Comments

[starwatcher]

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I've been an avid Olympics watcher since '84, but this year all I feel is, "Eh." I recorded the Opening Ceremonies, but then deleted without watching. I just don't care. Part of it is the politics, I think, but the larger part is memory of NBC's horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad coverage.
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[mariness]

You know, this year I think it would be fine for NBC to bring up the political aspect because it has made the news. But instead of bringing that up, or having a serious discussion/report on Putin in Russia, they resorted to making mean, snarky comments.

On another note, I get that NBC likes to package up a sporting event for evening viewing. I really do. But I'm baffled as to why, after paying millions for broadcast rights, NBC chose to broadcast kid's programming when live events featuring Americans with medal hopes were going on this morning. Granted I have no idea if anyone would tune into endless ski jumping, but figure skating was on and that's always popular, and the kiddie programming has lousy ratings - I checked. I don't get this from a purely business standpoint.

And the live streaming irks me on another level -- they are demanding a cable subscription to access. That's understandable for HBO or TNT, but NBC is a broadcast channel.