Suck it Sid

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/02/10/publiceye/entry1303855.shtml

# Other networks must wait until the end of NBC’s prime time broadcast in each time zone to use highlights. On most nights the broadcast runs until 11:00 or later.

# Highlights can only be used within 24 hours of when they air, and must have appeared on an NBC station. (Thus CBS couldn’t air video provided by, say, the family member of an athlete, or a foreign network.) An interesting sidenote from the document: Other networks cannot “broadcast, disseminate or otherwise exploit multiple-exposure still images with a refresh rate designed to simulate the look and feel of video.”

# There can be no use of audio or video highlights on the Internet.

# Highlights can only be shown in news programs – not “news and sports magazines, news promos and updates, entertainment programs, entertainment news programs, magazines and features, sports features and other sports programs or special programs.”

# Highlights can appear in no more than three newscasts per day, and cannot exceed two minutes. Thus a rival network cannot air more than six minutes of highlights per day.

# There must be a “Courtesy NBC Olympics” credit shown over all highlights.

I also don’t think you can broadcast an entire downhill live and keep an audience, but you can cover it and something else golf-style with something else. My problem is that the broadcast gives the impression that 6 people made it down the hill. Curling’s also frustrating, as they only show the final part of the ends when the scoring takes place. It’s like watching the last pitch of a 15 pitch at bat, or runners crossing the plate with no context.

The current coverage model is broken, but nobody’s really going to do it any different unless there’s a big paradigm shift at a network.

I see your point about the live then tape thing. There has to be a way though. I also don’t think it automatically becomes better if someone else gets it, but I think new ideas are not the enemy as NBC seems to think.

As far as showing things without commentary or without a lot of anaylsis, I’d like that option, at least online. Then again, I am one of the few who not only bought, but loved the NBC PPV Triplecast in 1992.

Good points about the Comcast merger. Hopefully it will bring some new ideas. I’m not apologizing for NBC, by the way. I just don’t think that any other American network can automatically do a better job just because they’re not NBC. It’s like the saying about a backup goalie or quarterback being the most talented guy on a bad team.

You’re right that you can’t compare 1980 with today, which is also why Aaron’s comment about ABC’s history with the Olympics doesn’t hold.

See my response to Brian regarding the show-live-and-package-later idea.

I don’t mind that they only show the Americans, the medal winners, and a few crashes. As Brian wrote on Monday, in many of these events (particularly the high-speed ones), we can’t see the minor technical details that separate first from last. We’d feel the same way about figure skating if not for its artistic aspects. So to show an entire downhill or luge event, where it’s all individual runs that look the same, and let the natural drama of the competition flow doesn’t make for good TV.

The argument of competing against yourself shouldn’t hold, because they should sell the ads as a whole Olympic Package.

What would be interesting is if/when the Comcast/NBC merger goes through. That’ll give lots of channels and internet access to a lot of people. And maybe some fresh brains. The Aaron’s right that you can show the events live and then re-package as some sort of catchup prime-time thing.

Watching the women’s downhill last night, where the coverage consisted of Americans, a bunch of folks that fell down and like two other skiiers….watching you knew there would be a crash if they weren’t American, my wife commented that the analyst kept repeating herself. I replied that she must, because she doesn’t know what’ll make the air. The Olympics coverage is impaired due to the big fishing net used to call in announcers and analysts from all corners of the globe, but the style of broadcasting the games further waters down the experience.

But I don’t think that ESPN/ABC can do a better job. They’re already saturated with NBA and NCAA Basketball….and poker.

Agree about Costas with a guest, but given that ESPN invented that style, again, are they going to be better?

The reason NBC doesn’t show stuff live in the afternoon and then replay it in the evening is because, once it is broadcast, it becomes available for other broadcast news outlets. They don’t want to lose exclusivity.

Leann:

The BBC can do that because they’re not a commercial entity. Now imagine if the Olympics were on Sky…

One problem I have is that no one seems to be willing to consider that you can show stuff live at one time and then packaged at another. Try a new model and see if it works. Show the downhill start to finish in the afternoon on cable, then put together highlights and analysis in the evening on the network.

And the Miracle on Ice thing isn’t exactly the best argument since ABC wanted to move it, but the IOC wouldn’t let them. They would surely be more flexible nowadays.

Lastly, their online coverage is horrific. They show curling and hockey live, but there may be breaks that coincide with TV. Nothing else is live.

I think the only times you ever see Trautwig are for XC skiing, the Tour de France, and on an old Youtube clip where USA Network cut to him just as a Dino Ciccarelli-Denis Savard spat is about to erupt into a free for all bench clearer. Youtube Blackhawks-North Stars brawl. He is a pro though.

XC Skiing is a lot of fun to do, I actually got to do it twice this winter and probably a third time next weekend. I want to learn snowboarding now so I can snowboardcross, that is as fun as hell to watch.

But I really hope Bode Miller gets a gold so all the haters can F Off and eat crow.

Actually Ms. LB and I discussed the gap between the skaters today and Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov.

Matt: Michaels moved to NBC in 2006 to replace Pat Summerall as John Madden’s partner in the booth on Sunday Night Football. Patrick left ESPN in 2007 to go freelance and has been doing SNF since 2008.

6. That’s not a problem for me. As David Plotz argued in 2001, the Winter Olympics have long been the exclusive domain of Northern European countries, which make it Paul Gardner’s worst nightmare. Remember that both Sapporo and Seoul have hosted the Winter Games, so bringing sports popular in Asia expands the global appeal of the games and, probably more important for the IOC, brings in boatloads of Asian money. Besides, the IOC has added snowboard cross and freestyle skiing, which only Americans are good at.

6. I hate it because it was mainly manufactured and advanced just so countries that couldn’t compete consistently with the Europeans could win some medals. I’m looking at you Japan and Korea. I think this is my Olympic blog topic of the day.

7. Have the US and Canada play a three-game exhibition tournament until other countries catch up. I read that the US could have won by much, much more but let off the gas to try and make Canada look bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC62U-olXkY

No wonder we are Liverpool supporters

IOW, this is old, old, old.

times. We went to Albuquerque only because of the show and we also saw James Taylor while we

were there so an excellent road trip for the family.

And I’m with Matt on the second one. Seriously, she annoys the shit out of me and I’m only seeing her for 15 seconds.

Take care,
Harriet Brown

Thanks for keeping me under control during the chat…I’d been drinking.

He is fantastic live. I ended up heading to a show alone once because I couldn’t find a willing partner on short notice and I certainly didn’t miss having anyone there with me. I was so wrapped up in the music and he an extremely charismatic performer.

“My theory is that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby. And times being what they were it would be hard for a same sex, interrracial couple, so they abandoned the child somewhere between Exit 8a and 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike”

“When you listen to Bruce’s music, you aren’t a loser, you are a character in an epic poem about losers.”

Jon Stewart when introducing Bruce at the Kennedy Center honors.