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Post by phil on Feb 22, 2006 15:23:06 GMT -5
Bah ! It's mostly about "entertainment" now ...
Nobody cares that much about the athletes !!
Except when they are part of some "Dream Team"
or if "his mother is on her death bed
as he is getting ready for the Gold Medal race of his life"
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Post by rockysigman on Feb 22, 2006 15:42:25 GMT -5
Might have some to do with the Cold War ending for some people...any competition is more exciting when there is a defined enemy...but to me, it's just that these particularly sports don't strike me as particularly exciting. It's not really the lack of star power factor either, as every summer Olympics supplies me with a new sport that I've never watched in my life that sucks me in, with athletes I've never heard of and who's names I cannot recall a month later. Those sports are just more fun to watch.
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Post by chrisfan on Feb 22, 2006 15:46:31 GMT -5
I think another big factor is the change in the TV landscape. It used to be that when the Olympics were on, the other networks pretty much rolled over and played dead figuring no one would watch anything but the Olympics. This time around is one of the first times the other networks have not just run new programming but have really gone after the Olympics. They're running high-profile stuff to challenge the Olympics. If the appeal of the Olympics were huge, it woudlnt' work. But when the interest is average, and you can watch the shows your in the habit of watching, or miss big episodes for bobsledding and figure skating, the habit of regular TV is going to win out.
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Post by phil on Feb 22, 2006 16:19:21 GMT -5
After all, the Olympics roll around once every 4 years ...
Why take the time to catch those when you can watch "Survivors" playing volleyball
or other "reality" shows where contestants get to eat really disgusting stuff ...
Nothing better than routine !!
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Post by RocDoc on Feb 22, 2006 16:30:31 GMT -5
But with the timeshifting aspect that DVRs (and the increasingly antiquated VCR) give you, you don't have to miss any big shows either...tho I guess that technology hasn't become 'friendly' enough just yet, to outweigh just enjoying what 'good' (however you wish to define it for yourself) there is during these Olympics...
But obviously an episode of 'Idol' on Mon thru Fri WILL be a far too much to just record for 'a later time'(or for later that same night...people DO gotta work!)...for most people anyway.
That shit comes on like a blizzard...good strategy there.
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Post by Kensterberg on Feb 22, 2006 16:37:33 GMT -5
You know, I've found that I'm watching a lot less of this year's Olympics, even though I've got a TiVo and almost never watch my favorite shows "live" any more (I find watching stuff like Battlestar Galactica is a lot less frustrating when I save up a few weeks worth and watch 'em all at once ... gets rid of the cliff-hangers that way, and those damn commercials, too!). I think I've identified the reason why ...
I HATE NBC! Seriously, I'm just sick of the way that they package the Games. In particular, I'm tired of having people crammed down my throat, like Bode Miller, BEFORE they do anything worthwhile in their events. IMO Olympic coverage was better when they didn't stay on one network for a bazzillion years. The coverage was more varied and, well, less repetitive. Dick Button's skating commentary has been by far the best thing in the broadcasts this time, and he just joined the network's coverage this year.
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Post by chrisfan on Feb 22, 2006 16:41:12 GMT -5
But even the skating coverage is driving me nuts. If I have to hear about the "brand new scoring system" one more time, I may give into the urge to stick skate blades in my eyes.
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Post by Kensterberg on Feb 22, 2006 16:53:37 GMT -5
I didn't say the whole skating coverage ... just Dick Button. I love him ... he'll say great things about a skater, and then tell you in detail everything they do wrong that night. There is absolutely no bullshit when Dick Button is talking about the details of skating.
But I also don't need to hear anything else about the new damn scoring system!
That's one other thing ... don't treat us like idiots! It would have made sense to talk at length about the new scoring system throughout the men's competition, and then to talk about how it applies to ice dancing (I still don't understand how it applies to ice dancing, but honestly, I don't understand ice dancing period! deep edges? WTF?) ... but by now, there's really no more need to beat the damn thing to death.
And then the Today Show talks about Cohen's lead after the short program like it really gives her a big edge going into the long program, when we know from experience that any of the top three could easily win this with a great skate, or do so poorly that they take themselves not just off the podium but land waaaaaaaay down the roster.
NBC is just really losing me with their coverage ... I love the winter sports, I'd much rather watch skiing than swimming, for example, but the coverage is just sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad this year.
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Post by chrisfan on Feb 22, 2006 17:02:04 GMT -5
Here's the thing with explaining the scoring system - NBC is running a 1 hour skating show on USA each night, and the first night, they basically spent the entire hour explaining the scoring system. The people who are die-hard skating fans would have watched that, and know what it's all about. The others, like me? I am not going to watch skating any different regardless of the scoring system. I didn't understand the old one, so why do I care about the new one? When I watch skating, I think things like "Oh, that was pretty". "Wow, that's impressive" "I bet she's gonna fall" and "That outfit is ugly. I bet she was inspired by Santino's outfit". (unrelated note - one of the skaters last night, I think it might have been that Kimmie girl, had an outfit that looked SO much like the outfit that got the tall menswear desinger booted from Project Runway. Just further proof that he was robbed and Santino should have gone home that night) But ANYWAY - I can't watch skating and judge it. I never will. The diehards know it. MOVE ON!!!
One more thing on the announcers - does anyone else think that the guy doing color commentary on the alpine skiing sounds EXACTLY like Jason Bateman's character in Dodgeball? I was watching on Saturday, the day of the big skiing changes for the US men, and it was killing me. I kept on waiting for him to tell me to stay tuned to the ocho.
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Post by rockysigman on Feb 22, 2006 17:07:37 GMT -5
It's also been pointed out by some writers that the internet is taking some viewers away from the television coverage. Ratings are way down, but that doesn't necessarily mean that less people are following the Olympics; it could just mean that they're following it through means other than by watching on television.
Not only does the internet allow people to avoid the lame coverage that NBC is doing, but they can do so while actually following the events as they are happening instead of hours later. Plus, they can sit at their computers and follow the games while still watching whatever they normally watch on TV at the exact same time.
I think interest probably is down a little bit, but not as much as the TV ratings are indicating.
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Post by RocDoc on Feb 22, 2006 19:24:56 GMT -5
Yeah, it's a given that NBC just can't cover all these thing adequately with respect to marketing it to to 90th percentile who are as casual-as-can-be viewers of most of these sports...the diehards are going to watch pretty much regardless.
But to those of us who're watching NOT for the competition necessarily but for the simple beauty (I love the way you characterized the skating, CF! Just add 'Oh, kickass music' to your list for me..) or for a vicarious thrill of the close-in cabel shot of a Giant Slalom racer blasting by at 70 mph...they simply grasp at straws with their commentary.
I also hate (like I've mentioned here before) the way they pretend that things are happening in real time....
NBC blows.
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Post by riley on Feb 22, 2006 19:30:03 GMT -5
no medals in hockey for Canada. fucking embarassing.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Feb 22, 2006 20:18:10 GMT -5
The women's team were all class winning the gold. But yeah, I know what you mean.
Had a bad feeling about the men's team this year from the start.
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Post by luke on Feb 22, 2006 22:50:48 GMT -5
My brother-in-law is flying out to Italy tomorrow for six days for the games...lucky bastard...
Mind you, the winter Olympics are super fucking gay, but an all expense paid trip like that...fuck...
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Post by RocDoc on Feb 22, 2006 23:06:09 GMT -5
'Expense paid'? What does this guy do??
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