Defensive, Denial, Patrician Posture Hurts NBC More Than Anything Else

Though ratings and viewer numbers are reportedly up, it’s probably safe to say that this Olympics isn’t going the way NBC wanted it to, from a perception standpoint. When you add up all the numbers afterward, the Peacock network will undoubtedly set all kinds of records for minutes of coverage viewed, streamed and talked about. But it’ll be hard to call it a win if NBC keeps acting the way it has so far.

Right now the buzz on the broadcast of the games is almost all bad, and every day NBC seems to step into it a little bit deeper. And I don’t think it’s all about the tape-delay decisions and the inevitable slipups of trying to keep information secret for five hours, nor is it about the numerous reported technical glitches with the network’s ambitious online efforts.

Instead, it’s about NBC’s attitude, from execs surfacing on Twitter telling people where to stuff their criticisms, to today’s inexplicable move to get partner Twitter to pull a critic’s account. Instead of trying to help people understand the awesomeness of their production, NBC is acting like a mad dictator, trying to stomp out critics by belittling or trying to expel those who don’t see things NBC’s way. While the Games may make money for NBC, I wonder how long the negative fallout will last if the network keeps up its defensive, patrician posture of denial and aloofness.

It’s too bad because it could have been so simple for NBC to get the innerwebs on its side. Instead of trumpeting out loud how great the online part of its broadcasts would be, NBC should have taken a “beta release” approach and asked for immediate feedback from users to help improve the experience. When you step back and look at what NBC is trying to do, it’s an incredible undertaking to not only capture but organize and stream every single Olympic event. That’s never happened before, with any sporting event, ever. It should be something the tech-savvy sports viewing world is rallying around, saying, “whoa, this is way cool!”

Instead, NBC’s lack of decent support, explanations or help for the numerous glitches in its online offering — when coupled with the requirement of a cable contract for online viewing — turned what is obviously still a version 1.0 experiment into something that customers expected a lot more out of because, well, they’re PAYING for it. And NBC said it was going to be great! Compared to the online/app productions for other big sporting events, like the Masters golf tourney, the NBC Olympics online effort is one being humbled by its own ambition. Though it is stunning in its breadth and depth it will be remembered more for its failings, not for the least because NBC has become so defensive about any criticisms so far.

The danger in promoting something as “the first social Olympics” is that if you don’t understand how social really works, the potential is there for it to bite you in your own digital ass. I remember the first time I saw a live Twitter feed during a conference — even at some obscure tech gathering, normally normal people went all Hope Solo on the proceedings, bitching and complaining about the way panelists looked, talked and thought. And they did this while the panelists were still on stage! People who are now going online chiding Twitterers for their banal complaints don’t quite understand that out-loud snark and whining are a big part of what Twitter and other social media is. It’s not a well thought out treatise on anything, it’s a knee-jerk reaction. What many in social-media land haven’t yet learned is that because Tweets can be saved, embedded and studied over time, their funny thought might live on a lot longer in infamy. NBC execs, clearly, don’t get that Twitter is off the cuff commentary that should be instantly forgotten (following Brandi Chastain’s example) and that telling critics to shut up on Twitter is kindling fueling the #NBCfail fire.

The tape-delay thing is just more patrician denial in action — “you will watch what we want you to watch, when we decide.” Never mind that many in London are tweeting results (remember, it’s the “social Olympics”! Hooray!) hours before NBC’s prime time broadcasts. Instead of doing it the old, busted way and telling everyone to go scratch, why couldn’t NBC do something really innovative and fun on one of those informercial channels it owns — say, show big events live in real time for those who want to watch them then? And then have more fun with the prime time program later?

Even a sideline viewer like me knows enough about the digital business to know that giving people more ways to watch content doesn’t drive down the main, produced product — in fact I would bet that viewership of the prime time programs would increase, especially when people saw events in real time — they would tune in later for expanded interviews, analysis, etc. And medal ceremonies. Again, NBC could have taken a “beta” approach here — tried it out early, saying, “send us your feedback! Did you watch it live and then again later?” But instead of involving or partnering with its worldwide audience, NBC took another route. For our sake and theirs, I hope it changes quickly. There’s still time to do this right, NBC, and get everyone on your side. But you better start with losing the attitude. That’s the biggest #fail of all.

Football (The US Version) Applying for Olympic Recognition?

I caught an interesting piece in ProFootballTalk that said that the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) was applying for Olympic recognition and looking to promote the game on the international stage at some point.

According to a piece at NFL.Com the application will be looked at next year and the article compared how the US once dominated basketball and now others have caught up. Really it often seems that the loss 2004 had other issues that cause the defeat and ultimate disappointing bronze.

I had never really considered football as a sport that fit well in the Olympics format, or one that would do well if selected, and that is not because of the possibility that it is not accepted by other nations. Rather the problem is that it seems to me that with all of the qualifying rounds and matches (assuming they do it like soccer), the sport would continue on from the end of the NFL season until the start of the Olympics.

Then once the Olympics started they would have to play a number of games within a two week period, unless they had already weeded out all of the teams but the final four. That just seems like it would not do for the players with the much higher risk that would entail.

Yet there is a much larger body of people playing football around the world that I had imagined as well. In perusing the IFAF web site I was astounded to see how many national federations there was in the organization. With 62 on six continents it is spread from Kuwait to Uruguay to New Zealand with Europe having by far the most nations represented.

They have an 19 and under league, a women’s league and a seniors league, and have played for at least four championships, one played every four years and the next one scheduled for play in Sweden in 2015.

Apparently football was played once as a spectator sport in the Olympics, back in 1932 at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles seniors from three schools, California, Stanford and USC played a set against seniors from three schools from the East Coast, Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The West won 7-6.

While I have seen many people complain that one reason that the Olympics would never accept football is because of US domination and point to the dropping of baseball as an example, I think that reasoning is at least in part misguided.

Major League Baseball is never going to stop playing for several weeks in the middle of the season to allow its players to go to the games. The lost revenue, the impact on playoff games and a host of other issues would make that move a terrible idea.

If you look at the last 5 Olympics that allowed baseball, the US won the gold once, in 2000, along with two bronze medals while Cuba has won three gold medals and South Korea one. Without the top athletes, which it does not look like they will get, the US probably would not be considered the favorite if other nations managed to get their top people in.

Much the same logic can be applied to the NFL’s reaction. Lose players for a number of weeks at the start of training camp? Well they actually did that last year, and I am pretty sure that no one is happy with that or wants to repeat it.

The only way I could see the US participate is if they took one of the other leagues, the reborn USFL or the UFL and used the championship team from that league. While an all star team might make more sense to some it seems to me that a team that has already played a season together has a better chance of shining in an event such as this.

NBC Doesn’t Show Lochte-Phelps, Makes Internet Wonder What Olympics They are Watching

If you were watching the Innerwebs this morning (Calif. time) there was a perceptible buzz of stunned wonder on Twitter, with nobody believing that NBC wasn’t going to show the first showdown between American swimmers Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps live on TV.

The race was available, but only through NBC’s online and app streams — a decision widely and quickly criticized.

Jason McIntyre from the Big Lead summed it up nicely:

And ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt had a three-tweet take:

Here at MSR headquarters we were ready to watch online but then had to run a quick errand so it was to the NBC Olympics Live Extra app we headed… where the Lochte/Phelps race didn’t even show up until, well, just about before the gun. We didn’t have any problems listening in (I was NOT watching while driving) to hear about Lochte’s gold and Phelps’ fizzle, but according to SB Nation, lots of other folks did.

It’s easy to understand NBC delaying the opening ceremony — even twice — to suck up ad dollars for all those people who aren’t really into sports. But — to skip a race in the middle of a Saturday just seems stupid. We are excited about sports being available online, but to have big matchups online only seems like NBC isn’t paying attention.

Friday Grab Bag: Pete Rose Reality TV, Olympic Tidbits

NHL Lockout in September?
It is new contract time for the players and the league and according to a piece in Sports Business Daily things might be looking very bad for fans of hockey. Apparently the league has sent its first proposal to the players and it reads like it wants to get baseball’s reserve clause back for hockey.

Players could be tied to a team for ten years before free agency according to this piece in Sports Business Daily. The league also wants to cut down the amount of both hockey revenue and non-hockey revenue that the players will receive. It looks like this could be an ugly fight.

Samsung buys CSR’s mobile chip technology
Samsung Electronics has spent $310 million to purchase chipmaker CSR’s mobile phone connectivity and location technology. Included in that deal will be its Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and location based technology. CSR said that it was at a disadvantage in these spaces because while it believed its technology was leading edge, it did not provide an integrated solution like some of its rivals like Intel, according to a piece in The Business Recorder.

Samsung said that the technology, and CSR’s research and development in these areas, will help it to enhance its applications processors that are the heart of its smartphone and tablet business and so be able to better compete against rivals such as Apple.

The connected viewer now a reality?
We have log talked about the growth of second screen sports viewing here at MSR, where fans watch a game on a primary device and yet watch or communicate using a second such as a smartphone or a tablet. I expect the upcoming Olympics to set new records in this area with all sports action being available on-line.

Anyway the good people at Pew Internet & American Life Project have done a survey that shows just how much this occurring. This synopsis shows how this trend is now and the full report makes very interesting reading.
• 38% of cell owners used their phone to keep themselves occupied during commercials or breaks in something they were watching
• 23% used their phone to exchange text messages with someone else who was watching the same program in a different location
• 22% used their phone to check whether something they heard on television was true
• 20% used their phone to visit a website that was mentioned on television
• 11% used their phone to see what other people were saying online about a program they were watching, and 11% posted their own comments online about a program they were watching using their mobile phone
• 6% used their phone to vote for a reality show contestant

Olympic tidbits

Some Olympiads get bad first impression of London
Several buses carrying Olympic athletes headed to the Summer Games apparently got lost on the way to the Olympic Village earlier this week, taking as long as four hours to reach the destination that was a mere 24 miles away.

Kerron Clement, an American participating in the 400 meter hurdle possibly sent the first athlete-based Tweet from the Olympics but it is probably one that the IOC wants to forget, according to Newser.Com He said “Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please,” “We’ve been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London.”

Speaking of the Olympics- Ancient Greek roots to modern games
Pretty much everybody knows that the root of the modern Olympics comes from Ancient Greece, where from 776 B.C to 393 A.D a series of competitions were held between athletes from a variety f the city states that populated the area at that time.

What is not as widely known is the roots of some of the sports that are played today go all the way back, I mean the Sports Pickle would not lie! How a single Korean managed to arrive in Greece is still unclear.


Border security strike in England next week?

In a move that could have very bad consequences for travelers to the London Olympics next week, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) voted yesterday in favor of strike action in a row over jobs and pay.

If you are wonder who or what the PCS is, it is the union that represents approximately half of the UK Border Force and staff such positions as passport control and customs at the airport.

All Athletes are not equal
A sad item from Japan, where it appears that the Men’s soccer team will be traveling business class to London while the Women’s team, fresh off its Gold Medal in the Woman’s World Cup, will get stuck back in economy.

Kickstarter Results might not be what you expect
Mashable has published a nice infographic developed by Jeanne Pi and Ethan Mollick at Appsblogger that shows how Kickstarter projects perform on a number of measurable data points including delivery on time and successful reaching funding goals.

The piece delves into the numbers and gives what looks like a very accurate and interesting view of who wins, who loses across a number of categories. One interesting finding was that the more a project is overfunded the more likely that it will be late.

A sign the apocalypse is upon us?
TLC is planning a new reality series and Pete Rose, baseball’s all time hit leader is scheduled to be the star. According to a piece in Entertainment Weekly the working title of the show will be “Pete Rose and the Kiana Kim Family Project”

It will follow 71 year old Rose and has 30 something fiancé Kim as they go on about their daily lives and the interaction between his four grown children and her two young ones and their take on the relationship. Doubt this will be on my active roster of TV shows.

Adobe, NBC Team Up for Real-Time Olympic Action Apps

When NBC announced plans to stream every single bit of Olympic action from London this summer, you knew eventually there would be an app for that. Today, NBC and Adobe announced they’ve been working together to create apps for iPhones, iPads, and Android phones and tablets. Here’s a short video blurb to explain:

What is confusing (and will no doubt frustrate many folks) is that there is not one, but TWO apps — one is called NBC Olympics, and one is called NBC Olympics Live Extra. The latter one is the one that’s most interesting. Read here to see what NBC says it does:

The NBC Olympics Live Extra app will live stream every athletic competition for the first time ever. In all, the app will live stream more than 3,500 total programming hours, including every athletic competition, all 32 sports, the awarding of all 302 medals as well as event rewinds. NBC Olympics Live Extra will also live stream the Olympic content that airs on the four NBCU cable channels – NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo.

In another first, NBC Olympics Live Extra will provide multiple concurrent streams for select sports, such as gymnastics (each apparatus), track and field (each event), and tennis (up to five courts). For example, during a session of track and field, instead of viewing only a single feed that moves from event to event, a user can choose to watch a stream dedicated to a specific event, such as the long jump or javelin.

Compared to that, the second app sounds like a forgotten orphan:

The second app, simply titled NBC Olympics, will provide short-form highlights, TV and online schedules, live results, columns and the new Primetime Companion feature – the ultimate complementary, second-screen experience for NBC’s nightly primetime Olympic broadcasts.

Well, OK. Maybe it was too hard to put two apps together? But we’re just glad to have the opportunity to watch online, so no more kvetching.

Of course, nothing this good could possibly be free but if you are already a paying customer for a cable contract that includes CNBC and MSNBC, you’re covered. How do you verify mobile devices so that you can watch? Here is a quick list from NBC:

— Download the NBC Olympics Live Extra app
— Open the app
— Tap the “Touch Here & Get Ready” callout
— Select your cable, satellite or telco provider
— Enter the username and password that corresponds with your account
You are signed in throughout the Games on that device!

Plus, NBC has also created an entire Live Extra Help Site page, complete with a video featuring Carson Daly. Why Carson Daly, we are not sure. But he does a very professional teleprompter-reading job of explaining how to set it up.

US Archery Aims for the Olympic Gold that has been Eluding the Team

I was walking down the street the other day and one of my neighbors was loading his kids into their car, which was not unusual, but what caught my eye was that he was also loading in a couple of bows along with arrows.

I know that the sport has seen a renewed interest of late, apparently fueled by the popularity of the movie “The Hunger Games.” I have not seen the movie but I have seen all of the promotions featuring the bow carrying heroine.

Even without the assist from Hollywood it looks like the US is fielding a very strong team, from all reports. The most a nation is allowed is three men and three woman participants, and each has to earn their way to the games. The US has not won a medal in more than a decade.

The men’s team features Brady Ellison, currently the top ranked archer in the world and a participant in the 2008 Olympics, where he finished 27th. He has also won gold at the 2011 Pan American games and for three years running, starting in 2010 has been an Archery World Cup gold medalist. Also on the men’s team are two other highly regarded shooters in Jake Kaminiski and Jacob Wukie.

The women’s team is lead by Miranda Leek, who is also the top ranked US women’s archer but the most interesting might be Khatuna Loring, who will be participating in her 5th Olympics, and for her third country, having been on the Unified Team in 1992, Georgia in 1996 and 200 and the US in 2008. She was also the trainer for Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games.” Jennifer Nichols fills out the team as she also heads back to the Olympics, having participated four years ago and finishing 24th.

Archery has been part of the Olympics since 1900 but has not been an event every four years, with it dropping in and out until 1972, and the format that is used today, head-to-head, was established in 1992. The first paraplegic, Neroli Fairhair competed for New Zealand in 1984.

The sport is governed by the International Archery Federation and recurve archery is the only discipline allowed. The current version of the game consists of four medal events: men’s individual, women’s individual, men’s team, and women’s team. In all four events, the distance from the archer to the target is 70 metres.

It is interesting to note the steady increase in its popularity over time (pre- Hunger Games). In 1908 only the US entered athletes, pretty much ensuring success but there are now 83 nations that have competed. It is tough getting a spot as only a limited number of slots are available for continents along with a number of other positions based on ranking, host nation privilege etc… All time South Korea has the most Gold Medals with 16 followed by the US with 14, but the US has an edge in total medals, 31-30 over Korea.

P.S. If you are wondering of the movie has had an actual impact on the sport the answer seems to be a solid yes. According to this piece. US Archery’s website unique visitors have nearly doubled the past three months, Facebook fans have more than tripled and Twitter followers have more than quadrupled since the movie.

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