It seems like hating on NBC's coverage of the Olympics is rapidly on it's way to becoming an Olympic event all by itself. The race to achieve some kind of 'snark-nirvana' and trash the Peacock's Efforts starts at the Opening Ceremonies and doesn't seem to let up until the Closing Ceremonies- by which point, everyone is exhausted, tired and ready for a two year break until Bob Costas, Mary Carillo and friends come back for more in Rio De Janeiro.
That said, I think the Peacock can genuinely do better- not because I, like so many others love to bitch about their coverage (and deservedly so in some places) but because, well, they're getting better, but they're not quite there yet. Acknowledging the massive pain in the ass it must be to try and broadcast a two week sporting event on the other side of the world far, far away from Eastern Standard Time- I decided to try and restrain my snark and really take a critical look at how the Peacock actually did and throw my two cents (purely as a consumer- I know they've got advertisers to satisfy and ratings to make) about how it could be better.
The Good:
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir: If NBC doesn't ship their current prime time figuring skating crew to the retirement home before 2018, they're out of their damn minds. Never mind Weir and his fashion explosions, this duo knows what they're talking about when it comes to figure skating and, refreshingly, doesn't speak in sweeping metaphors or stilted cliches. If they see a mistake, they tell you what it is and, refreshingly, why they made it. They bounce off of each other nicely and could have done without Terry Gannon (the 'guy in the suit') as their chaperone. You know what? Keep Scott Hamilton, stick him with these two and the magic could happen in 2018.
The Paralympics: Are apparently going to be on NBC/NBC SN come March. I don't know if the Paralympics have ever gotten serious coverage on American television before- certainly this is going to be the first time I'm going to get to see them or can recall finding them with such ease so let me just say this: about fucking time and well done. Looking forward to scoping these out.
The Bad:
The Spoiler Problem: I actually have a little bit of sympathy for the Peacock here- because how do you broadcast these events, when most of it's happening live when your primary viewing audience in the United States is fast asleep in bed. And what do you as a viewer do? I made myself avoid the ice dancing finals live- but a random article on downhill skiing and what do I see in the right column? The news that Davis/White won gold for the U.S. There has to be a better way to handle this- because Primetime Coverage, unless it's Live, looks stupid as shit- I mean, everyone knows that it's already happened- going for 'plausibly live' in the age of internet just makes you look foolish. About the only thing I can think of to help resolve this would be to have a dedicated platform of a 'Medal Zone' like the NFL Red Zone thing they do- people tune in, see the medal runs for every event they want and go away happy- because, let's face it- if an event gets spoiled for you, all you're really left with is wanting to see the medal winning performance. Maybe. I don't know.
Human Interest Fluff: I suppose these inspiring stories are inevitable, but I'd like to see more balance. Apparently the CBC focuses on the mechanics of a lot of these sports and technical aspects of them as well as the occasional human interest fluff piece- so a Sports Science type of segment now and again would be cool and shifting some of these fluff pieces to the Today show to spare us the site of Lauer and Roker attempting double's luge would not go amiss either.
The Ugly:
The Parade of Nations: OK, NBC: never again- and I do mean NEVER AGAIN- should you let Lauer or Viera do this. They're awful. If I would have been told about the Cyrillic alphabet one more time in the Opening Ceremonies I would have had a rage-stroke and died. I didn't catch the name of the third guy (you know, the sensible one who actually knew something about Russia) but he can stay. He was pretty good. But Lauer and Viera are awful.
The Bode Miller Thing: Look, I get that sideline reporters have a crappy job, but seriously? Not cool NBC.
Basically, if you dial back the fluff pieces and the inane commentary a bit and create a Hulu-like Olympics platform where people can watch events maybe the day after they air, I'd be a happier camper overall. Rio De Janeiro should be a little better, time zone wise but a lot of these problems will crop back up with a vengeance for Pyeongchang in 2018. The Peacock has time to prep though!
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