Scott Bush

Like everyone else, I’ve been watching the Olympics in the evening. It’s an amazing event and I look forward to it every four years. But this year, more than ever, I can’t stand the single-minded focus of NBC’s producers: American or (almost) nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of the American medal count (14 gold, 12 silver, 18 bronze as I write this). And I understand that it’s NBC’s right to decide what they broadcast and how they spin it. After all, they shelled out nearly $900 million bucks for the privilege.

I just get tired of over-caffinated producers cutting away from other countries’ teams so they can show more B-roll of the Americans: stretching, taping their hands, or just standing around. That time would be better used showing us what the Romanians or Polish are doing. And the Cult of Michael Phelps is growing old, too. It’s as if the swimmer has been picked by NBC to be “the guy” for this Olympics. Commentators talk about him constantly, and I even saw a little graphic overlaid during gymnastics coverage that showed Phelps swimming with the label “Phelps in 5 minutes.” Give me a break. But, it makes business sense for them. According to NBC researcher Alan Wurtzel:

“We know that the ratings spike when Michael appears,” Wurtzel said. “There’s no question that Michael is an extraordinarily important driver.”

Oh, and if I hear one more thing about some American athelete’s dating life or how their family has struggled to get them where they are, I… I… well, I’ll do something. Probably just mute Bob Costas until the sports are back, but still—it annoys me. And I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who feels this way.

To be fair, they do show a lot of China’s atheletes. Whether that’s because they’re neck-in-neck with the US in medal count (and have more golds) or because they’re the host country, I’m not sure. And their online coverage (http://www.nbcolympics) is much more expansive. (However, you have to use Microsoft’s Silverlight, a relatively new video-delivery plug-in for your web browser, to view it. I’m curious about the decision to use it over something like Flash-based video, which nearly ever browser can support. It’s likely related to the NBC-Microsoft relationship. I’ve not used Silverlight yet so I can’t talk much about it.)

And since I’m writing a wish list, how about showing more of the lesser-known but very cool sports? Judo would be great, as would archery. And hey, why aren’t they showing more trampoline! Who knew trampolining was an olympic event?