London Olympics 2012

[Adrock-JD]

Re: The London Olympics Opening Ceremony

http://www.london2012.com/spectators/venues/olympic-park/orbit/

Wow. I did not know it had an observation deck and elevator or that it is 337 feet tall.
Interesting. So those spiral parts represent the olympic rings.

 

[Telstra]

Re: The London Olympics Opening Ceremony

Well allow me to remedy that. The film quality isn't too good, but this is, as gsdx says, the day after 9/11 when, at The Queen's command, the American national anthem was substituted for the British one at the ceremonial Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

The guards playing that music at the right place and the right time.
Making people to have tears

 

[JayHawk]

Re: Fantasy Olympics

How about the random faces of pooping divers from around the world.... lol

 

[Axxess]

Re: Fantasy Olympics

How about the random faces of pooping divers from around the world.... lol

What is this I don't even...

The internet's got some messed up people.

Might as well add this --> to the list

 

[Audio Tech]

Re: Fantasy Olympics

What the hell...... ???

 

[talbot57]

It was certainly a great experience being in the park. The park is vast, anyone going be prepared for plenty of walking. Was in the Basketball Arena yesterday. Back in the park on Saturday for Athletics in the main stadium, which thankfully is close to the main gate.

 

[broadshoulder]

I am going to the Olympic Park tomorrow to lap up the atmosphere. Looking forward to it.

 

[cgymike]

Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

Ok so I've been watching various feeds of the Olympics on line and have notably seen those provided by NBC in America and the BBC in the the UK (I have no cable/dish at present so must rely on these for viewing).
But I have noticed that on NBC there are lots of breaks for adverts and on the BBC channels (BBC Sport, BBC/1 etc) there are hardly any ads and if there are any they are more directly related to the games. Plus during halftime or a break in play they focus the cameras around the venue a lot more and have more interviews with people etc. Contrast this with NBC which has ads totally unrelated like for cars or disney and crap like that. Also NBC stupidly puts their initials in the Olympic logo (as if they own it - ok in a way they do for american consumption) which they blast at the screen on every fade out or camera switch. BBC does have their logo on the top corner of the screen but they simply blast the Olympics logo out and not as frequently.
Far more authentic coverage by the BBC IMO and more enjoyable to watch. I know there are other feeds too but these are most notable.

 

[gsdx]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

CTV in Canada has minimal commercials and rarely interrupt an event for advertising. One other thing which I've heard NBC do is to cover only events with American athletes. With so many networks owned by CTV, virtually every event is covered. CTV gives a broad array of most of the daily events. TSN (The Sports Network) and SN (Sports Net) give more intense coverage, broadcasting only a few events from start to finish. There are many other stations as well.

You can see today's broadcast line-up here: Viewers Guide - TV Broadcast Schedule | Olympics - London 2012 - CTV

 

[unloadonme]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

The BBC is a state rather than a commercial broadcaster. It carries trailers for its own programs, but no commercials. I expect NBC will have paid a large amount of money for the US rights and needs to recoup that somehow.

 

[pat grimshaw]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

The BBC is a state rather than a commercial broadcaster...

It's an instrument of England's Welfare State subsidised by compulsorily-aquired taxes.

 

[cgymike]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

CTV in Canada has minimal commercials and rarely interrupt an event for advertising. One other thing which I've heard NBC do is to cover only events with American athletes. With so many networks owned by CTV, virtually every event is covered. CTV gives a broad array of most of the daily events. TSN (The Sports Network) and SN (Sports Net) give more intense coverage, broadcasting only a few events from start to finish. There are many other stations as well.

You can see today's broadcast line-up here: Viewers Guide - TV Broadcast Schedule | Olympics - London 2012 - CTV

CTV no good but SN is what I watch. The CTV video fails even after Silverlight was updated. Tried in IE, FF, and Chrome no difference.

 

[cgymike]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

It's an instrument of England's Welfare State subsidised by compulsorily-aquired taxes.

Not sure what you mean but the coverage is good.

 

[HunterM]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

I live in the US. All my buddies, friends, family & relatives, coworkers are only interested in watching events with US athletes involved.

 

[Orlandude]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

NBC paid $2.2 Billion (yes, that's billion with a "B") for the exclusive right to broadcast the Olympics. They out-bid Fox and ABC/ESPN. Those details are available on line to anyone who wants to look it up. Therefore, they have every right to brand their logo wherever they choose. They paid for that right. They have projected $9 billion in ad sales and, according to the rating services like Nielsen, are killing everyone else in the ratings, including Fox and ABC/ESPN. The Olympics have always been a huge profit center for TV networks, as are most major sporting events. The BBC cannot be compared to NBC. The BBC is not a commercial TV network.

 

[cgymike]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

NBC paid $2.2 Billion (yes, that's billion with a "B") for the exclusive right to broadcast the Olympics. They out-bid Fox and ABC/ESPN. Those details are available on line to anyone who wants to look it up. Therefore, they have every right to brand their logo wherever they choose. They paid for that right. They have projected $9 billion in ad sales and, according to the rating services like Nielsen, are killing everyone else in the ratings, including Fox and ABC/ESPN. The Olympics have always been a huge profit center for TV networks, as are most major sporting events. The BBC cannot be compared to NBC. The BBC is not a commercial TV network.

Yes,that's the business side and I thank you for your explanation. So that explains why there are so many ads. Too bad it ruins the viewing experience IMO. "The business of America is business" as someone once said. Seems to be pervasively so. But they could have ads more relevant to the games. But again whoever pays the most gets the spot. Weird and rather the way corporate sponsorship in sport seems to be going.

 

[JayHawk]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

You either have corporations pay for it and ads or you have state sponsorship and you pay directly out of pocket. I like our process better. in that way if I don't enjoy it or consume the product advertised I essentially enjoy the coverage for free. I have u-verse with a DVR as well and typically watch the relevant portions of six hours worth of Olympics in about an hour. Fast Forward is your friend. When I have time to do it... currently I am failing that miserably...

 

[bma1983]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

CTV in Canada has minimal commercials and rarely interrupt an event for advertising. One other thing which I've heard NBC do is to cover only events with American athletes. With so many networks owned by CTV, virtually every event is covered. CTV gives a broad array of most of the daily events. TSN (The Sports Network) and SN (Sports Net) give more intense coverage, broadcasting only a few events from start to finish. There are many other stations as well.

You can see today's broadcast line-up here: Viewers Guide - TV Broadcast Schedule | Olympics - London 2012 - CTV

All events are being shown in the US as well (not just ones with American athletes). On NBC, MSNBC, Bravo, NBC Sports, or nbcolympics.com. It wouldn't make much sense for NBC to spend all that money to air the Olympics and only show events with American athletes.

 

[roadtripboy]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

NBC paid $2.2 Billion (yes, that's billion with a "B") for the exclusive right to broadcast the Olympics. They out-bid Fox and ABC/ESPN. Those details are available on line to anyone who wants to look it up. Therefore, they have every right to brand their logo wherever they choose. They paid for that right. They have projected $9 billion in ad sales and, according to the rating services like Nielsen, are killing everyone else in the ratings, including Fox and ABC/ESPN. The Olympics have always been a huge profit center for TV networks, as are most major sporting events. The BBC cannot be compared to NBC. The BBC is not a commercial TV network.

All true...it's American commercial television all the other US would have shown just many commercials had they gotten the contract.

But, as been their pattern for last few years...NBC is really blowing it by provide piss poor coverage. Not surprising from the network that thought Jay Leno in primetime would work. Keeps producing sitcoms that aren't funny. Spent millions of dollars on Rock Center, a show has had 5 timeslots and is a dismal failure. Putting Smash on the air before figuring out what kind of show they wanted it to be. Massive mis-step in changing hosts on the Today show.

In short NBC is a train wreck.

 

[gsdx]

Re: Why are there so many ads on American coverage of the Olympics?

All events are being shown in the US as well (not just ones with American athletes).

Things have changed, then. I remember discussions here about past Olympics in which some Jubbers complained that NBC wouldn't cover events in which Americans weren't competing. When they did, they concentrated on the Americans even if they weren't winning. If the Americans lost, NBC concentrated on them instead of the winners.

And now there's a new controversy:

NBC, already beaten about the head and neck for delaying broadcasts to air them in primetime, is being raked over the coals for editing Tuesday’s women’s gymnastics footage to inject drama. Viewers were led to believe that the American female gymnastics team was battling valiantly for a gold medal, when in actuality it was a cakewalk to the podium.

What Olympics fans tuning in to the Peacock didn’t see was Russian sprite Ksenia Afanasyeva fall during her floor exercise, which locked up a gold medal for the Americans.

Afanasyeva was the reigning world champion for the floor exercise and delivered a strong performance on Tuesday until she crashed on her knees during her final pass. The mistake devastated her teammates, who were visibly shocked and upset. None of it was seen on NBC. Russia settled for silver in the event.

NBC edits Olympics women’s gymnastics | Sympatico.ca TV Guide