A Tale of Two Olympics (Or: NBC, You Suck!)

I was in the States for the first week of the Winter Olympics, but have been watching the final days here in Phuket, Thailand. The contrast in television coverage is remarkable. I watched in agape horror as NBC hit a truly historic low with a lengthy time-out to introduce Jerome Bettis as their newest NFL commentator. "Commentator" is likely too strong a word, as Bettis' on-air style borders incoherence. Shame on you, Bob Costas, and on everyone who pulls your strings.

Thailand is watching the Olympics on SuperSport, which has featured close to 24-hour coverage of the games -- live when possible, lightly edited otherwise, with no teases, no baiting and switching, just action. Commercial breaks are minimal, so the sad irony is that NBC and its sponsors are effectively subsidizing what the rest of the world is watchng, while Americans are force-fed soapy/syrupy fluff pieces with scraps of event footage thrown in. Of course, Gree might be paying as much as Coke or Visa but somehow I doubt it.