Fans criticize tape delay, features
Despite record numbers during the first few days of the London Olympics, many viewers are not happy with NBC's coverage of the events.
Many fans, even some Olympic athletes are upset with the network's decision to live stream or even tape delay key events until primetime. NBC even ran a "Today Show" promo about interviewing U.S. swimmer Missy Franklin on gold medal - minutes before televising the race.
So they're voicing their complaints via Twitter and other social media ,even hash tagging "#NBCfail" and "#NBCsucks."
SportsTalk 790's Dylan Gwinn says yes the basketball team should be aired live on network television, but overall, he thinks fans are being too harsh.
"There are a lot of different ways to blame NBC for what they're doing here," says Gwinn. "But I think what they're doing is incredibly difficult, and I give them a lot of credit for doing it pretty well for the last 20 some odd years."
Media critic Jeff McCall of DePauw University agrees. He says fans have to take into account the time difference, adding that NBC is doing it's best to broadcast as many live events as possible on it's sister networks.
And he says, primetime is the money maker for NBC.
"One thing to keep in mind is Lake Placid in 1980 when the U.S. hockey team beat the Russians," says McCall. "That game was aired on primetime but was played earlier in the day. So, most people knew the result of that game before they watched it on ABC."
McCall does have one complaint though -- the soft features on U.S. gymnasts, swimmers and other lesser known athletes.
"I don't think that's necessarily a good idea because I think there's plenty of drama in the sports on their own and I think they should let that play out rather than try to demote the whole Olympics, especially for women viewers," he says.
But that's the crutch of it all according to Gwinn.
"Women are locked into the Olympics," he says. "The ratings among women for the Olympics are very good and they always have been."
Meantime, fans' tweets became so critical on Sunday, NBC's executive producer of the games started tweeting back to the complainers.
