Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mount Olympus

Is anyone out there as uninterested in the Olympics as I am?  I couldn't even work up any interest in watching the opening ceremony, which usually has me on the edge of my seat.

NBC is loosing millions, or maybe even billions on the television coverage, so maybe I'm part of a pack.

There were all sorts of theories tossed around on NPR today why the ratings are down... delayed broadcasting, twitter, facebook and the like showing the sports either live or shortly afterward, pre-empting the network.  But I have my own theory.

I remember a time when the Olympics were every four years.  The summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics were both held in the same year.  That, to me, made them really special.  I knew that after that year, I would have to wait four long years before seeing a spectacle like that again.  Then, for their wisdom or maybe it was the allmighty dollar calling, the Olympic committee staggered the summer and winter Olympics so that there is now some kind of Olympic competition every other year. 

Given the long build-up - like six months - of qualifying competitions before the games themselves, it seems like there's hardly any time between Olympic games.  Never mind winter vs summer sports.  I wouldn't watch any of them on a regular basis.  None of them are that interesting.  But when there was no broadcast of Olympics for four years, then I was glued with interest to the TV for both the Summer and Winter games.  It was so interesting then.

Was it the inexperience of youth that called me, or is my theory that the games happen too often to be special correct?  Or do you agree with the NPR coverage that the internet has made TV coverage obsolete?

28 posts in 28 days.  Today is day 16.

1 comment:

Pickyknitter said...

I want to watch the olympics. I am starving for coverage. 4 hours per night is a travesty. and it starts at 8! WTF??? i have to be asleep by 8:30! If they are going to have a monopoly on coverage, NBC needs to have 24 hour broadcast of all the events they can squeeze in. Also, I have heard **nothing** about internet coverage. If there was a 24 hour internet channel I would be glued to it.

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