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:
Wait, so the Phelps race won’t be on NBC live??
— Jason McIntyre (@TheBigLead) July 28, 2012
And ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt had a three-tweet take:
People will watch ceremonies on tape without complaint (mostly) but showdowns like Phelps/Lochte not airing live is a different deal.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) July 28, 2012
Thankfully Twitter doesn’t buffer. More than any time in our history we demand things NOW. Sometimes irrationally, but tape delay ain’t 2012
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) July 28, 2012
Any network would face decisions & questions about how to handle time difference. Ratings will matter far more than reax on Twitter
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) July 28, 2012
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.
