NBC has achieved the unthinkable.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

They took what has been historically one of the greatest international sporting events and turned it into something resembling night soil, except NBC's is far more pungent and lacks any ability to fertilize vegetation or crops.

Watching video of American spouses of athletes? Seriously? When there are exciting matches being played live? US- centric coverage might be understandable, but for the fact that so little sport is being shown.

Even worse, you'd figure that with all of the advance warning that they won the monopoly bid to film and show the games, that they would have designed a fantastic (with emphasis on the "fan&quot app for android or iOS. Instead, their Rio app is buggy, consists of mainly advertising and silly commentary, and shows little sport. For the few hours that I tried to watch, between crashes and hang ups, I saw no sport at all, but got to see lots of ads.

NBC Has to go. We need to prevent them from ever doing such a lousy job again. I think a healthy dose of competition would serve everyone a lot better.

NBC has earned an F+. Barely

[lapfog_1]

1. I usually love the Olympics

Not watching this time for the first time in 50 years (since I was old enough to actually be interested).

I'll get a summary online, maybe catch a 30 second video of something... but I just can't stomach the constant cut-aways to inane babble by commentators or commercials.

[Tracer]

47. It's not the commercials.

I can play the channel-switching game as good as anyone.

It's the crappy sound.

I absolutely cannot hear a thing the commentators are saying during the meets (swimming, gymnastics) --- or afterwards when they interview the winner --- due to the crowd noise.

Aren't there directional mikes or something like that to focus in on the people talking?

[exboyfil]

2. I stopped watching 20 years ago

or longer for this very same reason. I can't imagine it has gotten worst. Other than a few college games for our regional university when they are in the playoffs (and bowl games with family) the only sport I ever watch is NFL and that is usually only the playoffs when it is too cold to be outside.

[Chimichurri]

3. Their coverage is abysmal

[gordianot]

4. The assinine TODAY show cheese that prevails in Olympic coverage is sickening.

I have repeatedly turned it off even Women's gymnastics which I wanted to see.

[66 dmhlt]

5. NBC: Nothing But Crap

[n2doc]

6. Plus you have to have a cable subscription to watch online

I think I will have to figure out the ways to spoof your location in order to watch another countries feed if I want to watch the Olympics. NBC has ruined it for Americans

[Nitram]

7. The Olympics should be available for free viewing to everybody in the world.

We need to remove the stranglehold that band of criminals known as the International Olympic Committee has on the event. Read this and weep - or laugh: "The IOC is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers. "

[TheManInTheMac]

34. How would you manage that?

No investors, no show.

[Nitram]

39. Use a little imagination. First, establish a permanent venue in Greece.

Second, make the staff truly volunteer. Third, advertisers can pay to associate their brand with the Olympics, exactly as we do now. That would pay for costs associated with the games.

[TheManInTheMac]

40. So, then, what you are suggesting is

1) Ask the Greeks, who can barely afford to feed themselves, to host the games.
2) Make the staff, hahaha, truly volunteer. My god, are you willing to take a few weeks out of your life every four years to support the Olympics?
3) Advertisers pay the contestants. They don't pay the Olympic Committee a dime, except when they specify otherwise.

There's nothing free in life. Nothing.

[Nitram]

41. It wouldd only take a little imagination to figure out how to make a profit with the games

and still make it available for viewing by everybody in the world. I'm sure a clever capitalist would find a way. We just need to pry it from the cold dead fingers of the present Olympic Games apparatus and build it again from scratch.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

8. One improvment this year I noticed...

They didn't have Bob Costas yacking constantly over the opening ceremonies.

You could actually hear the music.

[gordianot]

9. Good one Costas is the human equivalent of elevator music.

The sound is there but not worth listening to.

[melm00se]

10. Do you find this

limited to just NBC (traditional network) or applicable to their secondary outlets (MSNBC, CNBC and NBCSN)?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

16. I kicked the cable addiction a few months ago.

I find I am much better off with Apple TV

[stopbush]

33. I've been watching on all of the affiliated channels, and the coverage has been great.

Lot's of variety, lots of sports we don't usually see in the States.

The coverage on NBC itself is basically focussed on sports that Americans like: swimming, gymnastics, basketball, beach volleyball, ie: sports where we win lots of medals. That coverage can be disappointing.

[KittyWampus]

11. This is nothing new. Haven't watched since the 70's and with doping wouldn't bother now

even if it wasn't turned into crap by fillers and partial coverage of events.

[PoutrageFatigue]

12. It has been truly abysmal. It is so maddening to program the DVR based on the guide. .

...and then go home and find that when they say 'Cycling, Fencing, Archery' they actually mean 'Whatever sport Team USA has a medal shot at, and fuck your fringe sport'....or women's beach volleyball...

With as many channels as they have available, including two on DirectTv dedicated to 24/7 coverage of men and women's soccer, why couldn't they have a separate channel for complete individual event coverage, you know, like the fans that actually attend the event?

But yes, the minor role of Costas has been a marked improvement...

[closeupready]

20. That's my biggest complaint. I don't have enough room for a 6 hour installment

or whatever it is. So fuck it, I have other things to watch.

[Wednesdays]

13. It's been horrible since 1984

when NBC started airing the games. At least on the cable TV NBC Olympics channels, I can watch events truly live with absolutely no commentary. It's a godsend.
(For the few of you who aren't aware, none of the coverage on NBC's main channel is live and unedited, in spite of the "live" caption in the corner of the screen.)

[maryellen99]

14. I pretty much stick to CBC plus on the NBC streaming app the announcers aren't from NBC nt

[rurallib]

25. how do you get CBC plus?

[maryellen99]

31. I live about 20 minutes from the Canadian border nt

[JCMach1]

15. They have done a great job on my TV. On ROKU I can watch virtually any sport I want

no one chooses for me!

[xmas74]

22. I'd been watching on my antenna.

Does Roku have a channel now?

[mcar]

24. I've been watching via Roku as I can too

Much better than the nighttime wrap up. At least I can get some soccer!

[Javaman]

17. I have been watching them and have been enjoying the hell out of the Olympics.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

18. Thanks, finally someone

from the real world.

[cpwm17]

19. The 1988 Olympics were the worst.

In prime time they had about 5 minutes of sport per hour. It was one up-close-and-personal after another. Those are fortunately far less common now. They show far more sport now.

[AgadorSparticus]

21. I totally agree. Their commentators yap way too much,

Their broadcast of the events have been really bad. They show part of one event, skip to the next before it is done, and then goes back to the first one. They are all over the place. And it is frustrating as hell.

[mcar]

23. It has been terrible

I watch the live stuff during the day when I can - that's much better. The nighttime broadcast has been nothing but swimming, beach volleyball and gymnastics and fluff. And so many commercials!

Costas is barely on. Didn't they used to have him at least do short updates on other sports? I love swimming but showing swimming prelims over and over is just boring. Plus, they waited until nearly 11 EST to show the W gymnastics final, even though it had been decided hours earlier.

Fail.

[raven mad]

26. Go online. It really beats any network. n/t

[rurallib]

27. Quit watching 20+ years ago for so many reasons

- constant commercials
- stupid bios and insider shit
- so fucking America centric

Plus this is little more than a huge business "sports industry." Money has pretty much taken all the inspiration and romance out of these performances. It is business. It is the entertainment business.

And then the constant showing of women's beach volleyball to titillate the male viewers ......... it's just business.....

[cilla4progress]

28. I've enjoyed the coverage

They set up the ability to record the exact sports one wants to watch. So if I want to watch 20 hours of dresage in the equestrian - the equivalent of watching paint dry to non-devotees, but art and beauty to me - I can have at it to my heart's content!

[Basic LA]

29. I wish there was a " neutral observer " way to watch.

Imagine if the World Cup was shown this way, as if the US was the only participant. I can only imagine how other countries see this myopic coverage.

[Johonny]

30. I can't even watch their streaming ap. They're complete crap and out of touch with

the digital age. Worst Olympic coverage ever.

[gratuitous]

32. NBC paid a LOT of money for the broadcast rights

That doesn't mean they wanted to show the audience the competition at the Olympics. It means they need to make back their outlay, and that means lots and lots of commercials selling stuff people don't need or can't buy (Prescription medicines sold by teevee commercial? Really?). You want to see actual events live as they happen, you need to pay in a different way by subscribing to some live streaming outlet.

Or, you can just ignore the whole thing and play Candy Crush Saga or something.

[RobinA]

35. I Don't Find It

that different than it has been for the last couple decades. I work, so I'm stuck with nighttime coverage, but I love the Olympics so I watch. When I'm retired I'll watch the other stuff during the day.

[treestar]

36. I liked watching them in 1972 and 1976

They showed the whole competition regardless of whether Americans were even in it. Showed the medal ceremony for the winner, no matter from what country.

I've seen some of this, and they have shown a few competitions not involving Americans, but once there is an American, not much about the other. Never heard a national anthem other than the SSB so far.

[Iggo]

46. Exactly.

[oswaldactedalone]

37. Men's and Women's Basketball

has been on NBC Sports Channel and the coverage has been excellent. There are way fewer timeouts in international play so the game usually flows along quite well. Kellogg's is sponsoring hoops and is doing so on a "limited commercial basis." Prior to this year, they would go to commercial after a foul or turnover, and when you came back, as much as three minutes of play would be missed. Plus, I really like Doug Collins doing the color on these broadcasts. He's excellent.

[cyberswede]

38. The app works great on my iPad

But I've only watched volleyball.

All the games (indoor and beach) that I've watched have had great coverage. I can choose from many live events throughout the day - and none of the puff pieces they show on tv. And I get alerts when one of my tagged events is about to start.

Few ads (only during time outs), good commentary (or none, which is also fine).

In fact, I've seen an occasional ad get cut off to return to live action if play resumed before the ad was over.

That said, I don't doubt the regular tv coverage is awful in all the usual ways.

[Javaman]

42. which app is that? is it the official app? or a different one? nt

[cyberswede]

43. It's the NBC Sports app

But launches a Rio page as default.

Icon:


Page:

[Javaman]

48. Thanks! nt

[TrogL]

44. If you can, watch CBC

Yes, it will be focused on Canadian athletes but they still cover the big US events.

[LynneSin]

45. I've learned to love the Olympics again and here is how

First, realize that NBC prime-time Olympics coverage is nothing more than a 2 week long reality TV show meant to appeal to couch potatoes who seem to break out their American Pride only a few times a year. It sucks because you only get snippets of sports and only if there are athletes of note participating. I did watch about an hour of prime-time last night and geez, Ryan Seacrest is hosting? Will the athletes be required to break out in song and dance after their competition. And they made such a big fricking about how Michael Phelps had 30 minutes between his IM Medley gold-winning swim and the semi-finals for his next race. This is Phelps' 4th Olympics and who knows how many other countless swim meets - I'm sure he's done that plenty of time.

Secret to enjoy the Olympics? One device that streams for TV - I have been using my new Amazon Firestick. Download NBC Sports app. Then pick the events you want to watch and enjoy. I got to watch the finals for the Women's Gymnastics competition uninterrupted (and with minimum commercials) for 2.5 hours yesterday. The only downside was the horrible camera angle for the Uneven Bars - you couldn't see just how Simone Biles was flying on those things. But from what I gather there is a general camera feed for all sports that countries can use to do their broadcasts. The lower level events sometimes do not even have announcers (I watched balance beam for women's gymnastics a few days ago and it was a round that did not include any Americans so there was no announcer. Also the swimming feeds have Aussie announcers). But I truly did enjoy watching gymnastics and plan to use it to watch a few of the Basketball games too.

[Retrograde]

49. The daytime coverage is a bit better

I'm a sucker for equestrian events, and the coverage of those has been tolerable - almost up to mediocre. The commentators actually explained a few things as well.

If you can get it, there are on-line apps for I think all the events, but they haven't been getting along well with my PC.