I won't be watching a nanosecond of these Olympics. What the Xi regime is doing to Uyghurs and others, on such a mass scale, is horrifying and nauseating. It's disgusting how US companies continue to suck up to Xi.
54
I hate to say this but China is our enemy. The country's political system is antithetical to human freedom. There's no greater threat to a peaceful world than China and it's inevitable that things will get worse. NBC doesn't want you to be aware of the many Chinese atrocities going on right now which is why NBC's news division never criticizes China. Rather than inform the American public about the reality of China's human rights abuses, NBC lies to you because of, you guessed it, MONEY.
28
I see a lot of readers commenting here saying they are boycotting the game due to human rights issue in China. How many of you have been to XinJiang? These "genocides" are reported by scholars funded by the US government, who also brilliantly claimed "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq. NYTimes readers, please be more critical in your thinking! And also a minor background to wit, Uighurs region experienced many violent terrorist attacks decades ago initiated by some Islamic element called East Turkestan Islamic Movement, these attacks triggered the crack down in XinJiang by the Chinese government. Since 9/11, this group was labelled a terrorist orgnization by many countries including USA. However, in 2020, US government quietly dropped the label and before starting a smear campaingn of human rights abuse and genocide by the Chinese government. What a ridiculous double standard! Google it and read for yourself. Don't be misled by one sided info, do your own research!
9
@Alex Thanks "Alex". Please let us know how we're also being lied to about Taiwan, Tibet, and even your alleged place of residence, Hong Kong. When I was last there in December of 2020 youthful and peaceful protesters were being clubbed, teargassed, and more. But do let us know, I'm sure I was mistaken even though I witnessed this with my own eyes.
I also enjoyed how you told us we were being misled about the plight of the Uyghurs but then proceeded to also justify their plight in the name of defense against terrorism. In conclusion, some things don't require "our own research".
91
The Olympics are sickening with China persecuting the Muslim minority. Sickening.
22
My favorite part of the article was that “NBC will not have access to many aspects of the Games…charming travelogue segments…live shots of the family and friends...commentators rushing up to a competitor.”
Thank God!! Now we may actually get to see and enjoy the actual events for a change! This should be made permanent.
I’ve always hated seeing the talking heads blocking out the action. And the overly sentimental crap about feelings - Yuck!!!
I will not be yelling at the TV if that happens. I will just change the station. They think we’re idiots.
46
I would much rather watch Canadian coverage of the Winter Olympics. More events, more shown in real time, more athletes from other countries.
Why should we care if NBC News or its morning show (that I've never watched) is at the Olympic venue? And who needs the sports interviews always conducted in front of a gas fireplace?
And the "political analysis" by the China apologist prof from Yale and the mansplayed analyst were pathetic. Why not use NBC's best foreign correspondents and analyts to host and present these pieces?
27
To all those commenting on boycotting so that the IOC doesn't pick China again, keep in mind that China has now had basically back to back Summer and Winter games. It will be 24+ years before the games would likely return to China again in any event. Just look how long has passed between the Atlanta games and the upcoming LA games. China shouldn't have gotten these games given its awful record, but in any event they will likely be a VERY different country (crashing population and other issues) by the time they are in real consideration again.
8
NBC is deluding itself if it expects a big ratings boost for its Olympics coverage following the Super Bowl. The game, which starts at about 6:30 PM EST, usually ends between 10 and 10:30 PM EST, and the post-game interviews and awarding of the Lombardi Trophy pushes the end of the broadcast closer to 11 PM...on a Sunday night.
I fully expect football fans and those having SB parties will simply shut off the TV and call it a night, as we did for a decade after hosting Super Bowl parties. Rams fans, Bengals fans, and football fans aren't necessarily interested in winter Olympic sports.
Between the time zone differences and the unpopularity of China hosting the games this year (I don't plan to watch any of the coverage for that reason), the final ratings might be lower than they were in Tokyo...and those were pretty bad.
9
Nothing against NBC, but our household will not be viewing one second of the 2022 Olympics. The IOC is primarily at fault. China could not be a worse venue for the international sports event. Their human rights atrocities, warmongering, infecting the entire planet with Covid (while trying to cover-up their culpability), and their oppressive government does not deserve any feel-good sentiment. Sorry for the sponsors. the athletes and NBC for getting stuck with a popular event in a very unpopular place.
But, who knows. If the GOP takes (emphasis of takes) a majority in whatever passes for our next election cycle(s), other free and democratic nations may feel the same about America, should America host another Olympics.
23
The Olympics help us see who will be hawking toothpaste and ugly shoes and alternate currencies in the near future.
I may watch a bit if there is nothing else on and I am comfy and deep in my chair. I hope dog frisbee will get good coverage.
3
I have no interest in watching these Olympics anymore than I'd "celebrate" the Olympics had I been living back when they were held under Hitler's purview.
The fact that so much of the media is whitewashing CCP's human rights violations as "just another nuance" or as an inconvenience to their "big show," is sickening.
Your editorial boards and opinion writers cannot clutch their pearls on one end and then ignore their supposed moral convictions when it suits their pocket books.
Its high time that our major institutions stop doing the CCP's bidding.
Hiding behind the athletes who "worked so hard" is intellectually dishonest and just plain lazy.
NBC's decision to "cover the athletes" without touching the politics or pushing to have broader access to the country for genuine reporting shows cowardice.
The same should be said about almost all media organizations covering the Olympics.
16
All the (worthy) comments about China's return to its previous uber-totalitarian policies aside, NBC has made the Olympics unwatchable for me.
I've looked forward to and watched summer and winter games for most of my life. Like so much else, those times are gone. Not even watching the opening ceremony.
11
Much of NBC's problems are self-inflicted, in this viewer's opinion. NBC has forever not changed its coverage formula, involving tons of commercials, studio interviews, and fluff. Molly Soloman, its Olympics exec, is quoted here as saying “the athletes do remain the centerpiece of our coverage.” That's a good focus, but the way they are covered is often superficial.
I'm stuck with the NBC station for coverage, so I know how superficial and Least Common Denominator--ie, uninspired--the network's coverage is. I'm also stuck with an enemy who hacks my TV to include voice-overs of the audio that blind people usually hear--quite a confusing mess. The Olympics are less appealing than ever, as long as all these traditions are maintained.
9
I'll watch the Olympics to celebrate the athletes. Yes, the IOC is corrupt, the event should not be in China, and NBC's coverage always has some really bad moments. But, none of that is the choice of the thousands of athletes who have worked so hard to prepare for this one moment in their lives. I admire their effort and talents, and look forward to the games.
17
@Ellen Those athletes will get their medals whether you watch the games or not. What will be different with your viewership is that it will validate the CCP's view that the world will turn a blind eye to their authoritarian behavior as long as they put on a good show and twist enough arms.
9
Maybe spending your whole life to work up to one moment that may be decided by a hundredth of a second is a colossal waste of time.
13
Getting true 4k HDR streams in the recent summer Olympics proved too complex and ultimately impossible through their own apps. So I'll skip until that's easy.
NBCs own apps and peacock did not stream 4K HDR Olympics. Even if they did, the 4K HDR events were hard to figure out, most stuff was just HD.
2
I vividly recall watching the US vs. USSR semifinal hockey game live at the 1980 Olympics...well not, because ABC, then the Doyon of Olympics, chose to show it on tape delay because it started at 5 pm eastern. Thus Al Michaels' famous call, "Do you believe in miracles, YES!!!" was lost on a nation lusting for live coverage of the game. But regardless, those games were special in the sense that they were held in Lake Placid and still retained a sense of a true winter atmosphere in a small town setting, like further Lillehammer and Albertville sites.
Now, Winter Olympics in Beijing...I think I'll pass. The corruption, the ersatz winter setting, the constant barrage of inane ads destroys any sense of enjoyment. I'll stick with Prime, Netflix, Hulu and HBO.
15
I love watching the olympics and try to cram in as much as possible. What I don’t like is the pandemic, which has had a bad effect on just about everything. But that was a natural disaster, brought about the same way pandemics have been in the past. Think the Black Plague. What I can’t abide is the politics and corruption that has been creeping into sports for decades. These young athletes need to be supported as athletes, with the division by nation a healthy competition not as geopolitical pawns.
12
I would like to know how much of the ratings drop in the US was due to much of what happened during the last Summer Olympics bringing. The actions of the Woman's Soccer Team, some of the track and field athletes really did turn a lot of people off. The statements about hating the United States, that they are being treated unfairly, etc. I know left a very sour taste in my mouth and I believe it did for others. It is fine to share your thoughts, but especially the Woman's Soccer Team they were disrespectful and really quite obnoxious in the way they made their feelings known.
I know it is unfair to those competing in the Winter Olympics as they haven't been saying or doing the same thing but I know many people are saying they are not going to watch simply because they don't want to hear people who are representing the US say so many negative things about the US.
It would be an interesting study.
4
Like the rest of us at the moment, NBC will have to manage the hand they have been dealt.
As for the rest of us: Please don't watch the Games, here on a screen or in person in China. Our athletes should still be permitted to participate. Should this paper be covering the Games? I don't know. I believe it would make a difference if the US Constitutional free press agreed en masse to not cover them. Will the IOC change its ways if its sponsors don't stop sponsoring them, or if NBC continues to pay them so much for broadcast rights? Probably not. And the sponsors and NBC won't change their ways until we all decide to watch something else that does not paper over or indirectly contribute to such atrocities. A false feel-good story of the Games should not be permitted to obscure the genocide by the Chinese government in Xinjiang or the brutal repression by the Chinese government in Tibet or the repression by the Chinese government of the free people of Hong Kong. These are folks just like us. They don't deserve this brutality.
8
It will be fine... The ice skating will be superb. Hopefully no terrible accidents skiing, snow borading... so far as the madding crowd.. I don't care-- I'm not there anywya nor are any others of the viewing audience.. Maybe the crowds impress the on site journalist-- who can throw flowers and Teddy Bears and the skaters if they wish.. but they do nothing for the at home viewers. PS some of us hate crowds... and are happy with social distancing esp. at the grocery store.
I can do without Hoda KotB drinking tea in London or looking for wine.. So happy kathy Lee is GONE in the AM. Drinking before noon. This AM was tea-- the wine of China-- not quite-- and there's lots of scotch an great beer.
BTW why all this "woe is me " Cassandra stuff?? Part of the now PC stance that China has human rights abuse? How about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan?? How soon we forget -- and then go right ahead and blander into other wars.
7
@Auntie Mame - "...who can throw flowers and Teddy Bears..."
Just don't throw any Winnie The Pooh bears. They've been banned in China, due to a perceived resemblance to their president for life...
5
I will watch one night coverage of ice skating when an athlete misses a Triple-Salchow-Toe-Loop-Double-Toe-Loop and flops to the ice and how devastated everyone will be. The end of the world as we know it.
Then off to ski Crystal Mtn.
2
American networks have no idea how to televise an Olympic Games. The last good one was Seoul in 1988. EVERYTHING was live. You could watch any event, any day of the week at whatever time it happened. I got up regularly at 3am to watch Track and Field. In 1996 I was watching the women's all-around in gymnastics and at 10:45 flipped the channel to check something and saw the final results of the event I was watching. It had ended an hour before but they told nobody they were not broadcasting live. Now they barely show any sports at all, preferring to take us to Salami Museums. If you watch skiing you get to watch the favorites and the Americans, athlete numbers in sequence are regularly missing, for example. The most important sporting event in the world without sports. Nobody cares about the stupid back story of the athletes or what Mary Carillo thinks about Chinese food. It's unwatchable and embarrassing. I'm glad they are stuck in CT. It's where they belong. They add nothing. Couple that with throwing the Olympics in the most morally bankrupt countries in the world where the athletes are told to keep their opinions to themselves, you basically have programs nobody wants to see. Maybe NBC should exercise its considerable financial power and demand the Olympics not be held in China every four years for the foreseeable future and maybe it should also realize it is televising a sporting event, not a public interest piece on local massage techniques.
24
The deep corruption involved in awarding the Olympics to China does great disservice to those living in Hong Kong and East Turkistan. Oppression is the biggest winner of these Olympic Games.
20
NBC's Olympic coverage has been unwatchable for years. If they dispensed with the fluff and the hours of wasted "Coming up this evening....." lead-ins, and just show the competition, that would be good. Instead, maybe 10% of airtime is actual events; everything else is some chatterbox reporter, advertisements, and sentimental background stories. Waste of time.
49
@Jack - It's been said that, during a 3-hourtelecast of a pro football game, there is only 20 minutes of action on the field. The rest is timeouts, commercials, halftime, and huddles.
A similar ratio likely applies to NBC's Olympics prime time coverage. During that 3-hour window, there is likely 30 minutes of actual sports activity. The rest is "feel good" backstories, endless (and often pointless0 chatter among analysts, and commercials.
11
Stopped watching the games after the Late Great Jim McKay passed away. No one did the Olympics like him. When NBC bought the rights I watched the games the first time they were given the rights. Pretty much stopped watching from then on. NBC give too much time to the up close and personal fluff that passes for sport today gives you only the highlights and that's about it. Yawn.
30
@Margo Channing Jim McKay was great! I miss him.
10
@Bulldawg I remember as a child watching the 1972 Munich Games and being transfixed (weren't we all) and just hearing that soothing authoritative voice of Jim McKay. We were a changed world after that.
I sadly will not be watching the Olympics, too much fluff, no substance if I wanted a travel log I'll watch the travel channel or E for the fluff.
12
I will be glad when NBC is no longer the network to watch for the Olympics. I like to watch all the the events, not just the chopped up coverage NBC wants to shove down. They have used the same broadcasting pattern for the Olympics for years it is tired and useless. Technology has moved forward NBC as not.
22
I worked at NBC in the 1990s and was involved with coverage of the Atlanta and Sydney Games (summer, obviously). Even then, the unseemly aspects--the blatant corruption of the IOC, the manipulation of the coverage with scheduling, the disruption to the host city without evident benefit to residents other than local elites and speculators--were evident.
But that was Camelot compared to this. When Bob Costas (a genuinely good guy, in my limited experience with him) made a comment about China's human rights offenses during Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta, we got thousands of email complaints, presumably ginned up by that ugly authoritarian government. I am pretty certain that NBC's on-air talent won't breathe a critical word, given that wealthy Americans' economic interests are vastly more entangled with the regime now.
NBC's Olympic fixation was rooted in Sports chairman Dick Ebersol's personal obsession with the Games. I never got it myself. But I suppose it's been profitable enough that they've kept at it. I just wonder at what point the world moves on. "Now" would make sense.
22
TV coverage of the Olympics does not spark joy, so I will be getting Big Air under delayed Marie Kondo condo ops.
6
NBC is basically of the propaganda arm of the IOC. All shiny happy coverage all the time.
11
Eurosport has done major sporting events remotely in 8 languages for years. And Beijing has scheduled popular events sequentially to suit global broadcasters. NBCs task isn't that hard.
3
NBC will do a competent and credible job. Plenty of the athletes will accomplish spectacular feats. However, these are a "Potemkin Front" Olympics: Not a flake of snow (on which the Ski and Snowboard events will be contested) will be genuine. it is all artificially generated. The one thing that will be real is China's "Panopticon State", with the Athletes themselves getting to experience total surveillance, draconian infringements on their liberty, especially with regard to Covid protocols, and stark inhibitions on their freedom of expression. If the skies are temporarily clear, it will be at the expense of Chinese school kids needing to attend school in a building which won't be heated. Going forward, the IOC should resolve never to award another Olympic Games to the 5 Countries which enjoy the status of being Permanent Members of the U.N. Security Council. (The IOC has already awarded the Summer Games to Paris, France, in 2024, and Los Angeles, in 2028.) Probably, it makes the most sense to simply award the Winter Games to the Nordic Countries (Finland, Sweden, and Norway), on a permanent basis. They are developed countries which will be better suited, in terms of dealing with effects of climate change, until it becomes untenable to hold the Winter Games, at all. The Summer Games ought to be held among Western Democracies (not including the USA, France or the United Kingdom, who already have the infrastructure and venues) and aren't hosting the Games for "Sportswashing".
10
@Outerboro
If China is so dreadful why on earth are American companies operating there-- using their people to make goods to sell to Americns? Frankly, I could care less about politics and the games-- which are really just another form of saberrattling... and encouraging yound men to stay fit for battle-- javeline throwing, running fast, doing whatever really well -- think about it... the Greeks did...
I rather like your arguments for an economic plan... when will Aplle have to make it's I phones and pads-- here??
2
@Auntie Mame
You have to ask this question?
Bottom line
Slave Wages
Cheap to make.
High Mark up in the States
Consumer pays more, but corporate profits soar.
11
@Auntie Mame not here to participate in this thread. Only want to pay a compliment of your name.
1
The Winter Olympics is a reminder to get out my cross-country skis and participate in my own winter sporting events.
Do. Don't watch.
20
The entire event should be boycotted by the global community, on the basis of recent events in Hong Kong ALONE, without even bringing in all the other human rights abuses and megalomaniacal tendencies towards the Republic of Taiwan.
Let it be Russia and China alone, two pariahs competing against each other, basking in the glow of mutual admiration.
9
@Mark Crozier
And what about all the human rights abuses of which the US is guilty?
9
@Ron Scrimshaw
The USA should stop putting in bids to host the Olympics Games -- Summer or Winter. They are a sheer boondoggle. I think that currently, perhaps the U.S. sins are not as great as those of China or Russia. But, if I had to select from two options, namely that all Olympic Games hosted by China, Russia, or the USA will henceforth be Boycotted, or that none of them will be, I would prefer to have them ALL Boycotted.
By the way, Thanks for inserting the perfect example of "Whataboutism"! Really sublime work.
6
It's the winter Olympics of our discontent.
10
Does anyone really care about the Olympics anymore?
8
@Robert i enjoy watching the curling and biathlon.
5
@Robert
Yes. Some of us do.
5
@Rob I love the curling and will find a way to watch them it certainly won't be on NBC. Only highlights for them. Their coverage stinks.
6
Yes! Let's boycott 'em! Hit 'em in their pocketbook!
Next on the boycott list: the perpetual-war-biggest-bully-on-the-planet that randomly invades and occupies smaller, weaker, mostly brown-skinned nations, spending gazillions of dollars on it's MIC, while it's citizens increasingly struggle for lack of affordable healthcare, childcare, senior care, education…
PS: that nation also has a dismal civil-rights record and imprisons more of it's citizens than those other, "less-enlightened" countries.
14
NBC needs to figure out how to get the Olympics to people who don't have cable. Peacock as it is right now is not the answer. With a streaming service I want to see ALL the events when I want after they have happened. I'm happy to pay $20 for only Olympic coverage or as an add-on to Peacock.
2
@A I believe this time around they said they would put every event on Peacock, full replays
3
@A - So watch your local NBC station (WBTS 10.1) with an antenna FOR FREE and don't bother with the Peacock app.
2
Why reward a country that was required to notify W.H.O. of sars2 human to human infections within 3 days, yet waited weeks and let people from China fly all over the world, ensuring a global pandemic?
China owns this and it is past time to own up to it.
11
@J House
Indeed why buy anything made in China!! PS we don't really know...
All these naysayers. How would they like it if one of their family members was participating?
Nothing is perfect. Snubbing athletes? To prove a point?
I’m watching, and am proud of all those who are participating in the Olympics. Now and forever.
15
@MIMA Agreed. I watch for the participants and the general "spirit of the games"
NBC has less than perfect coverage. Also less than thrilled with China. And the IOC for that matter, who continue insist on royal treatment while ignoring the lousy conditions the host countries people often endure (China, Brazil, Russia)
But I will always love watching the Olympians compete.
3
Thank god I now live in Europe and will watch the Olympics unscreened by NBC. Yes, the same issues with China, covid, etc. will exist, but without the myopic lack of vision of NBC executives.
25
I will watch the athletes.
15
It's hilarious, frankly, to see all these people huffing and puffing, "I won't watch the Olympics out of principle!" as they're typing on devices made in China.
18
@Lisa Simeone A nonsensical equivalence. Just because China has come to dominate manufacturing due to the relentless obsession of large corporations to make things as cheaply as possible does not let them off the hook for their endless human rights abuses. Many of us make a conscious choice every day to avoid 'Made in China' goods and its hard but not impossible.
11
Well said. The hypocrisy of the American consumer is exceptional. We bought our ways into the messes that we find ourselves in now. Then we pretend to hold lofty geopolitical views. Vanity and pathos on an epic scale.
7
@Lisa Simeone
I'm not watching them because NBC's coverage stinks to high heaven.
6
I hope in my own small way I can contribute to making this a lower rated Olympics than 2018. Not going to spend a minute watching NBC carry water for the CCP.
12
It’s weird to see Savannah Guthrie sitting in her chair on the TODAY show - in New York - during the Olympics! Her kids are probably happy.
4
When NBC in ‘92 convinced the Olympics to bifurcate the Games because it would increase viewership, it became obvious that they have become nothing more than a corporate message cloaked in amateurism.
Eastern Europe could be on fire during these Games, but NBC will use the money it paid to be their exclusive “partner” to justify avoiding anything other than “Team USA is ready to take the ice!” fluff pieces.
14
I won't be watching, now or in the future. The stench from the rot of corruption is just too unbearable.
22
I'm still not over all the American Olympics management turning a blind eye to sexual abuse of teen age girls.
I also don't like that the networks make this about a medal count between countries, hoping the US will get the most.
Also not right that to be best in the world, athletes have to give up everything else in life, it used to be a normal childhood, but now it just goes on and on.
Last and not least, it is all about the money. It's a cash losing proposition and this year only China and one Eastern European dictatorship were willing to host. There is no way China should have the Olympics, but no other country wants to raise huge debts on facilities that mostly never will be used again.
OK, one more. I wonder how the networks will react when the first athlete mentions that the host country is committing genocide. It's going to happen, and then what?
I'm not going to watch.
13
@Jerry S
Yes, doesn't it get tiresome to see all those Chinese athletes competing for.... the US??
Charity begins at home....??
1
Politics aside, NBC coverage is terrible. Way too US centric and not for people who enjoy watching sport. VPN and CBC is the way.
32
Always the same: We get complete coverage of every skating event and skater from beginning to end but only highlights from all the other sports. Wouldn't it be great if just once they reversed that formula?
19
I just can't abide China's many human rights violations. So this household is boycotting.
17
The Olympic coverage provided by American television has long since become not "The Summer/Winter Olympics" but "America in the Olympics." Sad that so many events and performers are left out of what we see because they are from another country. Which ironically undercuts the momentousness of when an American does win a medal, not allowing us to see the full array of competition that athlete was faced with to achieve the victory. Not to mention how few of the events are broadcast live. No thanks, I'll read about it all here.
33
It’s difficult to catch the excitement of a good ol’ Olympics in this twenty-first century dystopian fog.
6
I’m sorry to all the athletes and NBC staff, but I am boycotting this Olympic. That’s my choice, just like the IOC has a choice. No country is perfect, but …
11
"My friends and colleagues at NBC have been dealt the worst hand imaginable."
I think the Uyghurs might disagree.
107
In addition to China’s civil rights abuses, artificial snow is not in keeping with the spirit of the Winter Olympics.
14
The Winter Games are boring because too much figure skating and Summer Games are boring because too much gymnastics.
23
@Robert Notice a recurrent trend there? What do those two sports have in common? Another popular summer sport seems to be beach volleyball. Again, wonder why? ;) Seems people care a lot less about the sport than they do seeing, well.. Yeah.
8
I enjoy watching athletic competition, especially non- traditional sports, but I stopped watching NBC’s Olympic coverage years ago. The main reasons were too many slow-motion replays, travelogue segments that interrupt competition, the never ending athlete profiles, and recorded coverage of events.
40
Choosing to not watch the Olympics because of the host country is a valid personal choice. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re hurting NBC, China or the IOC. Unless your part of Nielsen’s ratings household sampling group, your boycott is just personal.
For me, I’m in awe of NBC efforts to produce the games, and in even more awe of the skilled athletes who provided exhilarating moments in winter sports. I appreciate the athletes from around the world but plan to root for the home team, especially in hockey. Their commitment to their sport transcends my political feelings about China and I don’t want to miss a minute of the thrills of victories or agonies of defeat.
13
@Dennis - "Unless your part of Nielsen’s ratings household sampling group, your boycott is just personal."
Nielsen has fallen out of favor with broadcast TV networks (which themselves have fallen out of favor with audiences) because they can't track streaming viewers accurately. And all the corporate ownership groups (Disney/ABC, Comcast/NBC, Viacom/CBS, Fox) care about now is their streaming services, as their cable/off-air viewing numbers are pretty dismal for 2021.
This makes it difficult to set advertising rates as streaming viewership isn't tracked the same way as traditional Nielsen diaries. NBC took a beating with its TV ratings for last year's Tokyo Olympics and things are likely to be just as bad for these games. So yes; every viewer counts - the problem is in counting them.
For what it is worth; here is a thought. Instead of endless mind numbing hours of hyping every athlete wearing a U.S.A./ U.S.A. logo; it would be SO REFRESHING if just for once N.B.C. could actually highlight great athletes across the board and from around the world to instill what the Olympics are REALLY supposed to be all about. You know...the best HUMANITY has to offer in terms of athletic excellence irregardless of their nation of origin.
I can assure you most Canadians will NEVER watch the prepackaged HYPE machine designed to highlight ANY American winning a medal while ignoring events where they are complete non-factors. Three hours of slavishly highlighting one event to the exclusion of anything else just so they can serve a USA/USA dish of patriotism to the HOME TEAM. At least Canadian broadcasts cover the Games in their entirety. Of course we highlight Canadian athletes doing well. But not to the exclusion of everything else. And be and large they show events LIVE; not some CANNED & after the fact packaged show.
The only major sporting event in the world where the U.S. is on a delayed bases just to find the best "U.S. story" available. Ironic that the so called "Miracle On Ice" was shown in Canada long before it ever aired in the U.S.; since it was deemed a likely LOSS beforehand and therefore not a story until AFTER the game was won. Forty years later the song remains the same.
71
Just don't watch it. I'm not. It's even more of a travesty than usual due to the totalitarian excess of the host country, the host site locked down for covid and to stifle speech, and the host site not being a place that has natural snow. Plus in the U.S. we're stuck with NBC's ill-conceived, incompetent coverage if somehow someone wants interested in watching. The article quotes an NBC employee extolling their decades of production experience. Ok, if decades of doing it badly is something to celebrate. I'll be spending my time on other things this year.
21
It’s hard to get excited about winter sports in general anyway. Take curling, the thing on ice with the brooms. It’s kind of funny but definitely not fun. The money machine behind the event screaming how money trumps anything - and I mean anything - is the other major turn off, the ICING on the cake if you will.
3
We shouldn't be televising any of this. Those among us who really want to know how America's athletes do in Beijing should simply read the sports pages of their local paper.
9
I watched about 10’ of Olympic coverage tonight and over half of it was commercials. No thanks, I’ll pass.
33
I’ll never understand most people. A few weeks ago, anyone who walked into a room and breathlessly asked those there to turn on the tv or switch the channel so they could watch and exciting bobsled or skating competition would have their sanity questioned. Call it the Winter Olympics and they’ll lap it up like a bowl of warm milk placed in front of a starving cat.
3
Re: COVID...What did they expect? Just because there is a collective fantasy that it is over...it is not. Planning the Olympics now was an act of foolishness , poor judgement and magical thinking. The price will be paid.
18
I stopped watching the Olympics ages ago. The whole thing reeks.
The few athletes who are truly amateurs get little financial support from the overpaid administrators of national and international organizations. Many of the athletes are truly professionals who shouldn’t be competing in “amateur” games. And the constant focus on national medal counts just seems like a cold war flashback. The Chinese structure around these games seems like a Potemkin village.
Just ugh.
60
The Summer/Winter Olympics. The event has evolved from a once highly respected international sporting event into a tiring two hundred hour commercial. All designed to make some $$. Even the medal winners hope to cash in.
Yet there promises to be some exciting stuff to watch. And the Chinese will have lots of face-saving opportunities. Plus viewers will also get to escape covid for two weeks. Enjoy if you can.
7
I’m currently watching Nathan Chen skate in the men’s short program and can’t see how anyone would shame him. I support the athletes.
30
NBC doesn’t show much of the Olympics live anyway, so not much to miss. Constant “rah rah” profiles of American athletes is getting tiresome.
43
@Ron B actually you can watch every event live on their app.
1
Well the good news for NBC is they don't have Bob Costas anymore, who seemed to do nothing but chat about not much and just introduce another announcer. NBC Sports (as well as all the other sports networks) would be well served to eliminate most of the announcers who can't even pay attention to the game on hand as well as all the cutesy side nonsense and just show all the games and all the contestants. I personally have watched very little of the Olympics the past decade because sports is secondary to the giant talk show it has become. It certainly would be much more profitable by eliminating all the bloviating talk and just focus on each event.
42
As much as I won’t be watching, I have to admit I checked in to see the first of Nathan Chen’s triumphs. If the IOC had any integrity, it wouldn’t have to be this way.
12
It’s hard to separate the despicable behavior of the host country, China, from: the absolutely amazing feats the athletes perform AND the fact that these athletes are kids who have given up their childhoods and adolescent years to perfect their sport so that they can reach the pinnacle, the Olympics.I truly understand the dilemma between politics and the pandemic that NBC is facing. BUT: I’ve never seen so many commercials in my life! 2nd night and thereafter will therefore be recorded so ads can be fast forwarded. In the end, as always, the Mighty Buck takes precedence for the networks.
11
Kudos to the athletes, and I wish them well…but I will not be watching (because China).
17
Not only will I not be watching the Olympics, I’m going to make a point of finding out who bought television advertising with the network and studiously avoid those brands and services.
25
I wish the commentators, especially in ice-skating, would just be quiet! It’s not about them, it’s about the athletes. I realize some commentary is necessary but sometimes they talk right through the performance. Please show some restraint!
70
Putting all the politics, etc aside, I can honestly say I haven’t watched any Network television in many years…… I suspect I’m not alone in the fact, and that’s what NBC is up against- obsolescence.
9
I think NBC would have an even worse hand if the 2022 games had gone to second choice Kazakhstan.
8
I just watched the Picabo Street street feature on Peacock, and it spurred to reflect on why I love the Olympics so much. I couldn't care less about which country receives the honor of holding the event. What I focus on are the amazing athletes who train for years not necessarily to stand on the podium but just to participate. There were 11,417 athletes who competed in the Summer 2020 games, but only 1,080 competitors, (9.4%), medaled. And this is typical of the Olympic games. The vast majority are there just for the sheer joy of being among others who enjoy their individual sports, and worked just as hard to get there as they did. If they failed to win gold, silver, or bronze, so what?
The one big beef I have had with t.v. coverage of the games is that way too much attention is devoted to that small minority who are expected to win gold medals. U.S.A. athletes won a total of 113 medals in this past year's Summer Olympics, yet our NBC/Peacock coverage made it seem as if those 113 athletes were the only ones there worthy of any attention.
I wish NBC's coverage of the Olympics were more like ABC's Wide World of Sports from years ago in which " the agony of defeat" was valued as being as important a part of sports as "the thrill of victory" was to the viewing audience.
39
If I watch any of it, and that’s a big “if,” it will be on CBC — the one Canadian channel that I get. Much more toned down coverage and the commentators don’t blather on throughout the entire opening ceremonies.
28
So much seems to be about that defining American commodity, Bottom Line....
I stopped reading at some point - I just wanted to see when the Games begin, and if it's possible to watch online, I haven't watched TV for 4.5 years and don't have cable so have no reception.
Likely,, would only be able to get the summary of American gold-medals, as always. Since the Sport is just, again, a commodity; and only the Winners are of interest (Is the Wheaties box still a thing, eh).,
All the rest are - Losers....
1
@Rachel
You can get a cable subscription for the 2 months to cover the Olympics and Paralympics.
Plenty of other athletes are covered.
Enjoy!
@susie Which media source is offering such coverage? See my contribution above. I would love to see more coverage of many other athletes from more nations other than U.S.A. who do not aspire to win medals, but are there for the sheer joy of participating.
2
Note well that the Peacock app collects your identity and location and identifiers and shares it with third parties so that you can be tracked all across the internet.
This data is available for purchase by totalitarian governments, or can be requisitioned without a warrant by the US.
As in the east, so in the west. Spyware apps are spyware apps whether they come from Chinese companies or American ones.
18
Don’t count in me watching.
5
NBC has kowtowed to China for years they deserve what they lose.
5
What Olympics? With the human rights abuses and the awful way NBC covers the Olympics, my family is ignoring these games being held in an authoritarian country.
21
The only good thing about NBC's coverage is Mary Carillo...
8
We can only hope that the "color" will be less than what it has been. Most of the time is wasted with stupid fluff pieces about the athletes that we care nothing about while the real competitions are chopped up and in many cases simply not shown. I want to see ALL of the competitors, not just the ones chosen by NBC.
Please, no more "UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL" as ABC used to say. Just let us watch the games in peace!
29
It's shameful any so-called "democracy" is participating in this sham. The Olympics is wholly corrupt and so is anyone who participates in it by extension. Double shame on all the athletes.
10
The fact of the matter is that nobody wants to be reminded of the pandemic. Having remote camera setups in athletes’ family homes, people wearing masks, and no fans breaks the dream that the Olympics represents to many people. And that isn’t even mentioning the human rights abuses by its host nation…
9
An antiquated corrupt games administration hosted in a corrupt country with human rights violations. It used to be that the Olympic committee and its blatant bribery and corruption were reason enough.
42
There are numerous reasons why broadcasting the Olympics have become such a challenge:
1) It is still a network TV event and fewer people are watching network TV.
2) With the introduction of the internet and venues hours ahead of our times zones results are known before prime time, further dampening enthusiasm.
3) Making the Olympics an every two- year event dampens the anticipation.
4) Way too much "Human Interest" fluff
Ratings wise, this will improve when the 2028 Games are held here in Los Angeles, but NBC will still have a long-term problem broadcasting future Games not held here in the States.
5
@Sean Peterson
Re #2, if you don't want to know the results, you can just skip the Internet. I always go on a news blackout during the Games. It is so refreshing that I have greatly reduced internet usage for a while after the games.
4
I’m somewhat surprised all the comments about human rights abuse. America is hardly in a position to Judge.
18
Because we are open and honest about our problems. It is painful to watch at times, but remember, our Constitution says “ in order to form a more perfect Union” . Every journey has its ups and downs.
11
The fact that there are abuses in America isn’t a reason to be silent to the atrocities being committed by China.
I see this argument posted frequently, but the logic escapes me.
17
I'm in my mid 50s. For the first time in my adult life, I will be skipping these Olympics. The Chinese government is barberic. Not interested in the propaganda. We get enough of that here in America.
43
“My friends and colleagues at NBC have been dealt the worst hand imaginable,”
Yes indeed, when ever he (Bob Costas) took over as the online
"personality". Terrible.
My memory seems to recall, it was about then or a bit before that era when EVERYTHING came to totally revolve around the USA & nothing else. That completely defeats the whole purpose of the entire thing. Sure, I wanna see how the US does, but not to the exclusion of everyone else everywhere on the Globe. Whomever engineered this change - destroyed the Olympics for all who used to enjoy the Games.
36
The glory days of the Olympics coincided with the Cold War. It reenergized a discredited event after Berlin and made it easy to root for your side. After the Cold War it became a large number of youth playing obscure sports. An increasingly desperate IOC made things worse by watering down the games with new, even more obscure sports and doubling the supply by going to every two years. Count on continued declines in viewership.
15
I agree. Many sports are obscure.
I also was disheartened when pro at Helen’s were allowed to participate. The Olympics was originally a showcase of the best of college athletics.
2
@Jim
One of the best parts of the Olympics is to see sports you don't see every day! Otherwise, just watch the NBA....
7
NBC hooked its wagon to one of the most corrupt organizations in the world decades ago. Their partnership with IOC has made NBC many billions of dollars in that time.
This commenter hopes Olympic ratings fall off the cliff for NBC this year.
The Olympics were meant to be a celebration of amateur athletics, not the cesspool of professionalism it has devolved into. It is purely a commercial enterprise at this point.
I will not watch one minute of the coverage.
I was a top flight track and field athlete in the 1960's who aspired to be an Olympian. It is quite sad to have observed what the Olympics have become over the years.
50
@David Olson - The IOC heavily depends on revenue derived from NBC's payments to acquire US broadcast rights. It's the largest source of their income. You'd think that would give NBC (Comcast) a bit more sway in calling the shots.
1
These Athletes have been training most of their lives for this Olympic moment. Blood, sweat and tears along with immense talents have enabled them this one chance in a lifetime. We should put political, financial and personal reasons aside and support these incredible competitors. I will be watching irregardless of the Country, or the lack of spectators. After all, these gifted Athletes deserve everything we can possibly give them. Good luck to all!
15
@Stephen Chappellie
I'm with you! Hope I can find a way to watch online..
3
Maybe NBC could focus on just broadcasting the games instead of inundating us with fluff pieces. In general, NBC's coverage has been so bad that I have mostly tuned out. Viewers want to see the events not listen to talking heads.
173
How I miss the days of ABC and Jim mckay
37
OK, this will be unpopular. I love winter sports. And the athletes have worked hard to perfect their skills. I will watch the Olympics and cheer on the US athletes, especially the ones from Colorado.
Also, still like to believe that the games should transcend politics. The games celebrate human spirit and competition. I know that doesn't work for everybody. But for me, it does.
Finally, it seems to me that, for many people, it is a little hypocritical not watch simply because the games are being held in China. As they post their opinions on computers likely built in China and transmitted to the world on an internet backbone made components likely built in China.
But I will try to avoid NBC and their inane commentary, and try to watch as much as I can elsewhere.
25
@Rich Stern
Agreed. The site is what it is but China draws its strength from all the darn stuff people buy from them not holding the Olympics. I will watch too.
8
@Rich Stern yes, the athletes have worked incredibly hard and they are in the prime of their lives. i’ll support them by watching.
13
@Rich Stern
... not so sure it will be unpopular.
I am very politically active and aware, usually to the left of most Democrats.
I love the Olympics and will watch with interest and admiration for the athletes.
I don't personally know anyone who thinks otherwise, though I accept that some do.
7
Have not decided whether to watch or not. Usually love watching the Summer and Winter Games, but the IOC's continued corruption and the awarding of these games to China, really dampens one's enthusiasm.
At the same time. the athletes have worked for years to perfect their abilities and is it fair to deny them their moment in the sun? Not certain about that. Personally knowing two such athletes, the sacrifice made by these two people for many years, one is reluctant to just cast out the Olympics bc of the corruption by the ruling authorities. The athletes have to put up w/the corruption and dishonesty as well, so perhaps, do deserve our support.
It is long past time for the IOC to seek to establish two permanent sites for the Games and to stop the charade of a fair and apolitical process of selecting sites for each Games. Enough of that.
6
@Rachel
Why should they select two permanent sites. If they did that you'd hear people complain "Why is the Winter Olympics so Eurocentric it should be open more to Asians". The you'd have some giant sports complex fro the Summer Olympics that would probably be hideously underused for much of the time.
As for the "corruption" of the IOC, they never had any bribery scandals until they admitted all those members from Third World nations where that is a way of doing business.
1
@Susan Bribery began with Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 (Americans and Australians).
3
NBC is complicit in enabling corrupt regimes in China and the IOC. And as much as I feel for the athletes, believing that NBC will also accept Chinese censorship and oversight in NBC’s coverage simply makes this unwatchable.
39
I’m not going to watch. I’m glad the athletes have a chance to compete, but the Olympics as an organization are corrupt. It makes no sense to have these events in awful places like China and Russia.
55
@Neildsmith
So you are the IOC and only Almaty Kazakstan has bid against Beijing. What did you want them to do...award it to Kazakstan. Also, when Sochi was awarded there was hope for fledging democracy in Russia; there is a long lead time.
4
If you want to have a party, and no one will rent you space except some criminal gang, then what does that say about you and your party?
3
That control room looks really cool. Olympics not so much. I'm TRYING, but. . . China? The athletes are under threat of punishment if they speak or twit or whatever. Pass. Loving the birds at my feeders. They're the acrobats I need to see.
32
I remember when the Winter Olympics were actually held in countries that had real snow.
My favorites were the 1976 Winter Olympics in Austria and the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway.
Better days/times for the world.
103
@Rob
Except behind the Iron Curtain or in Bosnia. The world is a harsh place.
4
Only because the TV on NBC when I turned it on, I watched the Olympics for a few minutes. It was the very first race of a downhill skilling event on-wait for it-ALL man-made (or more probably, slave-man) snow. Seriously? The Winter Olympics in a country that doesn’t have mountains with natural snow?
To make matters worse, the announcers shamelessly milked the event, constantly making inane comments like ‘watch that turn-he’s really loosing time’ and ‘Not a good run, he can’t be happy with that time’. Compared to what? This was the VERY first race in that event. There was absolutely nothing to compare his run to.
I’m appalled that the Olympics are being held in China. If it takes blocking NBC from my remote, I will not be watching again, even accidentally.
4
Didn't they just have an Olympics in China recently? A Summer Olympics, maybe the one before Tokyo?
It seems to be getting harder to find countries willing to bear the expense of hosting them.
I won't be watching but my spouse will. She likes the figure skating.
4
@Venus Transit
Hardly - back in 2008.
They are using some of the same venues for these Games! You can see the Bird's Nest from the outside shot.
3
Why reward a country that was required to notify W.H.O. of sars2 human to human infections within 3 days, yet waited weeks and let people from China fly all over the world, ensuring a global pandemic?
China owns this and it is past time to own up to it.
54
@J House You do realize that Beijing was awarded the Winter Olympics back in 2015, well before the pandemic came?
7
@J House
Olympics got awarded 7 years ago long before the pandemic.
6
@J House
The Olympics were awarded 7 years ago long before the pandemic.
3
NBC News did a segment about the plight of the Uighars a few days ago, including emotional testimony from separated family members, it seemed odd timing in the run up to the Olympics.
I’m now convinced it was choreographed with the Chinese, in an attempt to deal with it, move on, so NBC could neuter any accusations of ignoring human rights abuses during the games themselves. There was even a Chinese official made available to take reporter questions.
20
Not watching this year.
China can go stuff itself.
105
This isn’t the Olympics, it’s the Winter Olympics, which absolutely nobody cares about at all.
10
@Big blooper I stopped caring years ago when art on ice overshadowed athletics on the hockey rink and alpine slopes.
2
@Big blooper I dig the Winter Olympics. The summer olympics are beyond boring to me. Even so I won't be watching the CCP propaganda.
1
For this Boomer, the Olympics will always be an ABC broadcast, led by Jim McKay.
66
Allegiance to a broadcast network is very Boomer indeed!
1
It would be great if NBC could at least be honest about what is being shown live and what is on tape…which they never seem to do.
38
@EJ I would hope that in time NBC would give us alpine events in prime time.
Be done with incessant broadcasts of figure skating and ice dancing.
12
@EJ
It is basically all taped if it is a final.
2
Boohoo NBC, too bad, so sad. I have given up on watching anything on Peacock due to so many ads. I gave up on the last winter Olympics due to the coverage by Tara and Johnny who only babbled during the skaters presentations. They interfered with the actual appreciation of the athletes skills and beauty of the program. Add to all that is the disgust at the IOC and it's methods, and the fact that it is in China. It's a pity that NBC has the monopoly until 2032. But, fortunately, other countries have much better coverage, without the editing of content, ads, and don't seem to have commentators that make the events seem like a podcast. This Peacock may actually become extinct.
70
I will sit this one out. The corruption in the IOC and China is just too much to stomach. Knowing that China will use this to promote their brand of totalitarianism, knowing the reporters that did go their will not be free to report without minders, and wondering how much slave labor went into making equipment, trinkets, and facilities is just too much to stomach. First Russia then China, can we expect North Korea next?
120
@Bill
You make good points.
As I read the comments here, I'm in agreement with most.
I think the decision point for excluding corrupt regimes was with the IOC choosing China. The IOC could have made a policy to exclude such countries from consideration.
But, they didn't.
And, the games were given to China.
I want to support the athletes.
I can see clearly if one objects to NBC doing any non-Olympics collaboration with such regimes.
Just as I decry the regular citizens who get hurt by international sanctions (even if I support sanctions generally), I want to shield all these wonderful athletes from the politics of it all.
I sure don't have the answers.
7
Hey NBC! Ask the Uighurs and Tibetans how they feel about the Olympics. Oh right, China has imprisoned them in their own country and won’t let you near them.
Basically the Olympics broadcasts have become totally boring.
107
@chamber
Hmmm, and how much Chinese made stuff is crammed into your residence. Olympics/no Olympics doesn't make a whit of difference for the Uighurs...they aren't going to alter their domestic policy. Now if loud American activists could get people to boycott Chinese goods or at least reduce purchases not that might have practical effect. But your ilk prefer to post and "not watch". Kind of like sitting out the election for Hilary. Do something practical!
14
Chinese officials are a country of fake smiles, propaganda of lies and theft of intellectual property.
Under present conditions of total control by Chinese authorities of what the athletes do and say, I hope that all athletes will do their best and return home safe.
68
@Gerry O'Brien
well said.
4
I think NBC’s Olympics coverage is rubbish and always has been. I prefer the British coverage where I get to see lots of other countries competing and can root for the underdog.
86
@JLB
Is always fun to see "other" sports - i.e. the ones where the US does not dominate, If you get off NBC proper and go to its sister channels (USA, CNBC, NBC Sports, Bravo, etc) you will see the other countries.
18
Am looking forward to athletes marching into an empty stadium of cardboard cutouts, -NOT!
8
I don't plan to watch ANY of the Olympics.
32
14 comments. How many people even know they are having the Olympics right now? Long past it's prime.
13
Olympic events need to be in locations that suit the event. There does not even need to be a “host city.” And the main venues should be in the same place each time. A skating rink is a skating rink. The skiing needs a couple of big mountains. Track and field needs a track with a big infield. A marathon need 26 miles and 300-something yards. Etc, etc. For each season (winter or summer) the event can all held in the same venues each time. Broadcasting and the internet makes it all possible. Come on, tennis fans watch the Opens without leaving home. The Super Bowl moves but people watch from home. Ditto for World Cup soccer.
As a big plus, cities would not have to pony up a couple billion to build a massive infrastructure to support an event and they wouldn’t have bribe IOC officials to select city A over city B, C, or D.
And while the Olympics are being revised, get rid of the subjectively judged events like ice skating. Speed and skill matter, not the opinions of some judges.
10
@Noley
Two of the events you mention move also.
People watch the Olympics on TV from their homes.
Big cities like London, Paris, and LA don't build many new venues.
Many of the judged events have produced some of the greatest Olympic moments in figure skating, diving, and gymnastics.
4
@Noley
I'm with you.....only the clock and the scale are important. No potential problems with "scoring".
In a world without COVID the tens of thousands of visitors pouring into China from all over the world would have been appreciated by the Chinese people fostering stronger bonds and understanding of other people from all over the world and maybe even contributing to the demand for greater freedoms in China. Without those visitors that opportunity is greatly diminished.
5
I am a huge sports fan. Live sports have provided temporary relief from the tedium of the Pandemic. Over the last few weeks we have witnessed some great tennis from Australia. NFL playoff football has been compelling. Many NBA games have provided thrills and chills. Especially our Toronto Raptors. But the Olympics in China leave me cold. No desire to watch. No great story lines. COVID seems to impact all phases of the Olympics. NBC count me out.
30
@Milton Lewis
Hmmm Djokovic created an international incident at the Australian Open yet you watched just fine.
Watch the athletes at the Olympics. They've worked hard.
10
I wish the athletes the very best, they worked hard for so many years.
But I won’t be watching an Olympics held yet again in a totalitarian country.
Maybe the IOC should choose a permanent home for the summer and winter games.
57
And Greece would be the OBVIOUS choice wouldn't it ?
3
@Dheep'
For just the Summer Games, I say yes.
6
While I am rooting and hoping that all the talented US athletes bring the gold, I am boycotting China’s human rights abuses, restrictions of freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
Watching a sporting event in NBC has become so commercialized that they show 56 minutes worth of commercials and 4 minutes worth of the actual sporting event.
48
I don't plan to watch any of Xi Jinping's propaganda in the guise of the Olympics. There are plenty of quality streaming options out there for anyone who feels the same way.
71
I'm boycotting the Olympics on television due to China's human rights abuses and NBC's and US sponsors' ignoring them. It's something I can do.
175
@David Appell
Yet you're typing on a device made in China.
13
I’d like to watch the Olympics but the last time it seemed like Nothing But Commercials and that really turned me off.
131
@NativeNYer - Totally agree! I haven't watched in decades due to endless TeeVee blahblahblah, occasionally interrupted by an (excellent) athletic event.
3
The Olympics as currently organized are long past their sell date. Too much corruption in how they are awarded to specific countries. Every sport has separate world championships so what’s the point? If the Olympics are to continue, pick two spots one for summer one for winter and hold the events there forever more.
These games should never have been awarded to China and I, for one, won’t watch a minute of them. NBC is going to be making lots of make good refunds to advertisers due to less than guaranteed viewership.
193
@T Smith
1. The only competing venue was Almaty Kazakhstan. You want it held there?
2. The awards process is now completely different than what produced Beijing but I'm sure you were aware of that when you posted.
3. Explain exactly what corruption there was. Are you remembering the Salt Lake bribery scandal? Guess what many IOC members now hail from Third World nations. Bribery is endemic there. It never existed in the IOC before their influx in the 1970s.
4. What is the rationale to pick two permanent locations? You do realize btw that Greece was a military dictatorship for about thirty years a couple decades ago. Ya you knew that too I'm sure.
9
@Susan So, none of the venues that have been built over many past Olympic cycles are unsuitable? As far as Greece, who said anything about Greece?
8
I won't be watching the Olympics at all, because they're in China; a country with a government that has little regard for basic human rights.
140
@Marcy Of course, all the righteous commenters here also boycott Apple and hundreds of other products they buy which are produced in China.
31
@Paulo Well, but that would entail having to make a sacrifice. It is easier to be self-righteous about it and feign horror of the spectacle of it all than to give up your beloved Apple products.
11
@Marcy - Pssst, Marcy. Guess which country has the most prisoners on the planet? Hint: it's not China.
9
NBC will not have access to many aspects of the Games that viewers are accustomed to: charming travelogue segments about a host city; live shots of an athlete’s family and friends...; commentators rushing up to a competitor who just scored gold.
Viewers may indeed be accustomed to such content, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they enjoy it, or will miss it.
I tune into the Olympics to watch the actual events, and to see some of the best athletes in the world compete at the very top of their respective sports (many of which are only televised once every 4 years, unless you subscribe to the Bobsledding Network). I much prefer to watch the drama that unfolds ON the field/rink/track/slopes, than off.
104
At least none of the participating countries have to worry about defections to China.
161
@C. Engo Excellent point!
10
@C. Engo
North Korea's team is staying home, theirs would be the only athletes who'd even remotely consider it.
14
Have faith and be positive about Olympics. It represents sports competing in the highest level globally. I would rather watch NBC's Olympic broadcasting than dreadful news about inflation, gun deaths, or virus.
If you really want to know the evil China in the eyes of our politicians, this will be the time you will find out the truth about its people, places, and activities.
6
I'm sitting this one out, not wanting to support the CCP.
125
NBC - good for you for trying in a very challenging time. I’m grateful to be able to watch, regardless of whatever the limitations might look like because of the pandemic. Been waiting for the Olympics!!! I’m still annoyed that one can’t find a single tennis Grand Slam tournament on network tv anymore. Everything’s been sold off to cable and ESPN is “not the greatest” in the streaming access world. For those of us who don’t care to pay for the cable packages, when we don’t watch that much, THANK YOU!!!! for on-air TV!!!
23