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2008 Olympics (pg. 3)
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| verndogs |
While the rest of the world gets to see the Olympic opening ceremonies live, we in the US have to wait for it on tape delay. :rolleyes:
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For Olympic Viewers, a Long Wait
American television viewers are in for a 12-hour wait to see the opening ceremonies of the Olympics on Friday, as NBC is waiting until the evening in the United States to show the three-hour spectacle from the Bird’s Nest in Beijing.
The ceremony started at 8 p.m. in Beijing and at 8 a.m. on the East Coast of the United States. Because the network paid $894 million for the United States rights to the Olympics, it is waiting until prime time to show the ceremony. A wider audience will equal higher revenues for NBC, which has sold $1 billion in advertising time during the Olympics.
In an Internet age where virtually every other news outlet is covering the ceremony in real time, NBC’s lack of timely coverage irritated some would-be viewers. “The opening ceremonies are under way and ‘Today’ has a cooking segment,” remarked Charles Barthold, using Twitter to complain about the restrictions.
On “Today,” the network’s morning show which is broadcasting from Beijing for the duration of the Olympics, the co-hosts barely acknowledged that the nearby stadium was abuzz with activity. That may be because, according to TVNewser, Friday’s Beijing segments on “Today” were pre-taped. The program interviewed Michael Phelps, showcased Olympic fashion and hosting a dumpling tasting session, and repeatedly reminded viewers that the ceremony broadcast would begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on NBC.
On NBC the ceremony will be part of a four-and-a-half hour block of coverage co-hosted by Matt Lauer and Bob Costas.
Because NBC is the United States rights-holder for the Games, television viewers will see little video of the ceremony during the day on Friday. But other television networks sought out unique ways to cover the event. CNN broadcast live from one of the “fan zones” in Beijing where citizens could watch the ceremony on giant screens.
On Twitter, frustrated users posted links to international live video feeds of the Games, including one from the CBC in Canada. The Rings blog has collected links to other video sources.
Alexander Meyer, a mechanical engineer in Milwaukee, summed up the predicament in a post on Twitter Friday morning: “Trying to not look at any media because I want to watch the NBC hi def broadcast of the opening ceremony.”
For viewers like Mr. Meyer, it’ll be a long day. |
http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/...rs-a-long-wait/ |
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| Intuition |
| We got to see the opening ceremony live on CBC this morning, and it was most impressive. I only got to catch the last half hour or so, but the lighting of massive torch was cool, and then fireworks display at the end was just ridiculous. As I was watching, I was wondering how much the whole thing cost, and I just read estimates of costs close to $100 million (WTF!?) for this and the closing ceremony combined. Pretty crazy. |
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| nettwerk |
| I saw the whole thing... pretty much :o |
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| partyhopper |
| Nice haircut that Dirk Nowitzki sported while carrying the German flag |
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| partyhopper |
| Spain keeps its great summer going with Sanchez's win in the men's cycling road race |
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| Dj Smitty20 |
I'm surprised so many people are actually watching this Olympics, what with China's record and all.
Oh well, further proof of the apathy of most people when it comes to real world issues. |
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| basd |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dj Smitty20
I'm surprised so many people are actually watching this Olympics, what with China's record and all.
Oh well, further proof of the apathy of most people when it comes to real world issues. |
So we shouldn't be watching the world's best athletes, who worked their asses off during training while you were whining away behind your computer screen, competing in the world's biggest sports event just because it is being held in a country with a questionable human rights record?
Just for the record, how many pieces of clothing / equipment / furniture that say 'Made in China' do you own?
Clown. |
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| flavdave |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dj Smitty20
I'm surprised so many people are actually watching this Olympics, what with China's record and all.
Oh well, further proof of the apathy of most people when it comes to real world issues. |
The Puppy Games are on Animal Planet if you want to watch that. |
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| jonze |
| quote: | Originally posted by flavdave
The Puppy Games are on Animal Planet if you want to watch that. |
Buddy got robbed in the freestyle frisbee competition :p |
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| trewqy |
China got owned by the USA basketball team..
AND PHELPS IS A FREAK. CUT 2 SECONDS OFF HIS WORLD RECORD. JESUS CHRIST!@ |
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| verndogs |
| quote: | Originally posted by Trance Nutter
pfft, NBC demanded (and got) the whole schedule of the swimming competition changed to suit American audiences.:rolleyes:
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PS: It's only live for half of the US (East and Central time zones). Tape delay for the rest of the US
Go NBC! :rolleyes: |
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| LeopoldStotch |
| quote: | Originally posted by trewqy
China got owned by the USA basketball team..
AND PHELPS IS A FREAK. CUT 2 SECONDS OFF HIS WORLD RECORD. JESUS CHRIST!@ |
USA looked real sloppy in the perimeter. hopefully they can fix that up between now and when they play Spain (they play Angola inbetween), or their medal pursuit may be in history, due to Lithuania's upset over heavy favored Argentina.
as for Phelps, some people may think 2 seconds is not much, but in races like swimming, 2 seconds = an eternity. man you are talking about michael phelps actually increasing his strokes per minute by almost 10 more per minute. :eyespop: |
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