-
NBC has been taking some huge hits for its shoddy coverage of the 2012 Olympics in London. And now there’s a parody account to make it all official.
@NBCDelayed presents the hot topics of yesterday (or yester-century) as today’s breaking news, mocking the slow pace at which NBC is relaying Olympics-related content.
BREAKING: American colonists announce independence, King to respond.
— NBC Delayed (@NBCDelayed) July 29, 2012
Â
BREAKING: Muhammad Ali lights flame at opening ceremonies in Atlanta #NBCFail
— NBC Delayed (@NBCDelayed) July 29, 2012
Â
Â
NBC purchased the rights to air the Olympics stateside, but execs made the decision to delay the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony and other important events — including the first medal win for the U.S by swimmer Ryan Lochte. Livestream coverage wasn’t even offered for the Opening Ceremony, sending online consumers into a dither.
The #nbcfail hashtag has also been heating up with critiques and comments about the network’s inability to provide Americans with up-to-date and accurate Olympics coverage, bashing everything from uninformative commentators to the poor quality of livestream on the NBC Olympics website.
“Up next, we’ll be taking a short break from our lineup of TV commercials to show some Olympic events.” #NBCFail
— Jessica (@vdaze) July 29, 2012
Â
Imagine if Google owned the rights to air the Olympics. Just imagine. #nbcfail
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) July 29, 2012
Â
Unreal. #nbcfail RT @leslie Here’s The Opening Ceremony Tribute To Terrorism Victims NBC Didn’t Air deadsp.in/O4ePfU
— Joe Shartzer (@joeshartzer) July 28, 2012
Â
Sad that NBC didn’t realize it’s 2012 outside, Twitter exists & primetime rating is not the long term success measure to cling to. #nbcfail
— James Welsh (@james_welsh) July 27, 2012
Â
This is not a good look for a network that partnered with Twitter to provide its audience with thorough coverage of the international event. But, of course, it’s all about the money that goes into funding such a mammoth network project.
Jeff Jarvis recently published a piece about the economics behind NBC’s decisions, writing:
NBC has to maximize commercial revenue, which means maximizing prime time viewership, to recoup the billions paid for the rights to broadcast, billions that pay for the stadiums and security and ceremony. The argument is also made that NBC’s strategy is working because it is getting record ratings.
Still, this is the digital age, where audiences thrive on instant gratification, online interaction, and making sure that their voices heard. If consumers aren’t happy, it is inevitable that the content provider will receive that message clearly and be called to the challenge of improving its service.
How do you think NBC could refine its Olympics coverage?