Over the years, I have been somewhat off and on regarding my interest in the Olympic games. Since I will only have access to NBC’s coverage this year, I will pass.
Let me go back to the Nagano Olympics. That was the first time that NHL players competed. That alone made them games that I had to see. I didn’t just restrict myself to hockey. The very first day, there were some skiing events scheduled. Weather conditions caused a delay.
Since CBC started coverage three hours ahead of American coverage (I believe it was CBS) on the West coast, that was the only option for me. Three hours into the Olympic Games, CBC cut away and I switched over. What did I see? A three hour delay of a delay. Events were finally starting, but CBS filled the air with absolutely nothing. It wasn’t too long before CBC resumed. It was somewhat embarrassing that Americans had nothing to show while the Canadians were giving us live coverage.
Like I said, hockey was my primary interest. CBS bragged about the schedule being suitable to give us live coverage of the sport. What they meant to say was that they were giving the east coast live coverage and they were giving us a three hour delay of an east coast feed. If a game started at 10 PM and lasted until 1ish, their “live” coverage started at 1AM. Let me ask you something. Which is better for ratings, 10 PM-1 AM or 1 AM-4 AM? CBS’s decision made no sense to me, especially since their “live” games started after I had finished watching on CBC.
Nagano was the last straw for me. CBS kept complaining that the games were a letdown resulting in lower ratings. In all honesty, those might have been my favorite Olympics to date. I think the real problem was the horrible job that CBS did covering the games. After the poor coverage and blame throwing, I decided never to return to American Olympic coverage.
Let’s move forward to Beijing. I remember CBC showing off the stairwell that was their base of operations. They also showed us NBC’s far more significant home for the games. I got my usual worthwhile coverage while numerous misguided locals kept complaining because they were stupid enough to watch NBC. I knew better and had no major problems with the coverage.
2010 brought the Olympics to my home country of Cascadia. Unfortunately, CTV outbid CBC for the 2010 and 2012 games. Since local cable providers don’t carry CTV, my only choice for supporting my region was to turn to NBC. As always, we received a three hour delay of an east coast feed despite the games taking place in the same time zone and there were even a few people staying on the Washingtonian side of the border who travelled the world for the games.
What if a local athlete such as Apolo Ohno was in a potentially history-making race during prime time? NBC would kick him out for this delay. Despite the network’s beliefs, “live from the West coast except on the West coast” does not have a ring to it. It was perfectly clear that NBC didn’t care one bit about us.
By comparison, CBC gave the West live coverage. CBC has even given our state a bit of a shout out to thank us for watching. Unlike NBC, they are willing to acknowledge that we exist. It’s remarkable how much better the Canadian media treats the Western U.S. (and Cascadian states under the influence of the U.S.) than the American media does.
It’s not just the over-the-top east coast bias that influences absolutely every single component of the American media. NBC is more about propaganda and corny human interest stories. The games take a back seat, and they care more about exploiting viewers than entertaining them. While we are supposed to blindly follow our country over cliffs, one of the biggest appeals for watching the games in recent years has been to root against propaganda. I am proud to say that I rooted hard against Michael Phelps in Beijing.
I wonder if NBC is embarrassed by the fact that a broadcast out of a stairwell in Beijing blew away what they could do with all their resources while they were in Vancouver.
Since the London games don’t have the same benefit of being in Cascadia, there is no reason for me to subject myself to NBC’s torture. I hope I’m not alone. If any Americans or Cascadians currently under American influence have consciences, please don’t reward NBC’s beliefs that how we are treated should be based off of where we live. Please avoid NBC’s coverage of the games.
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