NBC - VIEWERS ANGERED OVER SCARCE LIVE OLYMPIC PROGRAMMING

VIEWERS ANGERED OVER SCARCE LIVE OLYMPIC PROGRAMMING

NBC's decision to show the most-anticipated Olympics events during primetime resulted in an avalanche of complaints, particularly from West Coast viewers, who saw virtually nothing live, including Michael Phelps's first swimming victory on Saturday, which would have aired at 7 00 p.m. if it had been presented live but was instead delayed until 10 00 p.m. Writer Henry Blodget wrote on the Silicon Alley website Sunday "Sponsors don't benefit when fans are tuning in to see HOW Michael Phelps won rather than IF HE WINS. They don't benefit when viewers are cursing the network and throwing imaginary fruit at the TV. They don't benefit when the country develops a collective loathing for the network that lasts far longer than the two-week games." Today's (Monday) New York Times reported that some viewers were able to find live coverage on the Internet posted from foreign websites. But NBC, it said, engaged in what the newspaper called "a game of digital whack-a-mole" to shut down the unauthorized video.

11/08/2008