NBC: Left out in the cold (about TV ratings)

[slutskayafan21]

It won't happen this Olympics even if Sasha wins the Gold. The USFSA hasn't promoted Sasha & neither has NBC so what do they expect. She is our National champion and the 2 time World silver medalist and Mary (whats her name) on Olympic Ice just called her one of the puppies representing the USA, since Michelle left. If I was Sasha I'd find that very insulting and I can't figure out why Dick didn't set Mary straight. Sasha is on her own and she knows it, even if she has the skate of her life, it will be a miracle if she is judged fairly. When your own country doesn't recognize you, how can you expect the international judges to recognize you.

Figure skating will die in the USA if they don't start giving some credit to other skaters. Why spend all that time working hard to get to a championship level if your own figure skating association is not going to stand behind you. This is the worst coverage I've ever seen at a Olympics and I've seen alot of them.

I agree. Michelle is great but she wont be around forever, and there are other elite skaters the U.S needs to promote to keep skatings popularity in the U.S up.
Sasha certainly has deserved to be promoted more than she has, heck Meissner has been more promoted than Sasha.

Also if the U.S federation does not give Sasha the backing that the Russian federation gives Irina she has almost no shot. In the mens event the U.S federation obviously gave the backing to Lysacek that the Russian men gave to Plushenko, and they were both similarly overscored, of course Plushenko being the best just meant a more blowout win, while Lysacek being far from it just meant embarassingly high scores. Sasha can stand toe to toe with Irina on the ice if her federation matches the backing of the Russian federation, but if they dont match that support it will be a blowout.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

I would not be surprised if a sizeable number of Americans just "turned off" the Olympics over the news of Michelle Kwan's withdrawal from competition. This is sad, because there are so many other wonderful athletes to watch, and not just figure skaters, too. Kwan has been such an icon of the sport that her departure took the winds out of the sails, so to speak.

Perhaps one reason for the decline in viewership is the six-hour time difference from Italy to the US East Coast - and of course a larger time difference as we head West. All of us with access to the Internet can get instant news, with photos, stories, final results, etc., so by the time we leave work for the day we know the story - who won, who lost, etc. There just isn't much of an element of surprise. Four years ago, a great deal of the competition was telecast live, including all of the figure skating finals. Talk about drama!! As good as NBC is, it is pretty hard to package excitement in a taped telecast.

Another difference is that the US team isn't doing quite as well as some expected them to do. Anton Apollo Ono fell in his short track race, Bodie Miller has so far failed to medal in his skiing events, the US speed skater pursuit team did not qualify for the finals, the US women's hockey team lost today and will not play for the gold medal, and Lindsay Jacobellis blew her snowboarding gold medal winning run today. Add to that the disappointing finish by Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek. Weir, especially, was in a good position to medal going into the long program. Unfortunately, he had some transportation issues, missed his bus, arrived late at the rink, and did not have time to get mentally prepared for his performance. Lysacek skated a wonderful long program (as did Matt Savoie), and had Evan skated that well in the short, he may have been on the podium. These are all wonderful athletes, and we are proud of them, and we also want them to win medals. We don't necessarily want to watch them competing and finishing sixth, tenth, etc.

Hopefully, the women's figure skating event will bring high ratings with a lot of great performances, especially by Sasha, Kimmie, and Emily.

And one other comment -- I sure wish NBC would telecast some of the events early in the evening so that those of us who have to get up early in the morning to get to work, school, or other activities can get to bed at a decent hour. I'm not complaining, but I stayed up until nearly midnight last night to watch and tape the men's long program, and, well, lack of sleep isn't a good thing!

 

[slutskayafan21]

Anton Apollo Ono fell in his short track race,

He still has 2 other chances to win medals though.

Bodie Miller has so far failed to medal in his skiing events

He still has a good chance to medal in 2 of his next 3 events.

the US speed skater pursuit team did not qualify for the finals

They were never expected to, the winner of Italy and the U.S in the quarters was expected to lose to the Netherlands in the semis anyway. The Netherlands fell in the semis though so it would have been an unexpected opportunity missed had they been able to get by Italy.

the US women's hockey team lost today and will not play for the gold medal,

Yeah that was a huge surprise.

and Lindsay Jacobellis blew her snowboarding gold medal winning run today.

She tried a hot dogging move that cost her the gold medal.

Add to that the disappointing finish by Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek. Weir, especially, was in a good position to medal going into the long program. Unfortunately, he had some transportation issues, missed his bus, arrived late at the rink, and did not have time to get mentally prepared for his performance.

He doesnt seem to understand the code of points and how TES scores are compiled, which is why his longs are not as successful as his shorts.

Lysacek skated a wonderful long program (as did Matt Savoie), and had Evan skated that well in the short, he may have been on the podium.

Maybe, it would have been close for the bronze, but only because of extreme overscoring and bad skates by Buttle and Lambiel.

These are all wonderful athletes, and we are proud of them, and we also want them to win medals. We don't necessarily want to watch them competing and finishing sixth, tenth, etc.

There is nothing wrong with coming 6th or 4th in the Olympics. :agree:

Hopefully, the women's figure skating event will bring high ratings with a lot of great performances, especially by Sasha, Kimmie, and Emily.

I am sure they will, and Sasha was their best medal hope in the first place anyway and the U.S should have known this but didnt seem to.

 

[Jennifer Lyon]

I don't think the high ratings of "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" have anything to do with figure skating, since NBC doesn't air the top flights of skaters until after 10 PM. So skating is not competing head-to-head with these reality shows. Instead, it's going up against the 11 o'clock news.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don't think the high ratings of "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" have anything to do with figure skating, since NBC doesn't air the top flights of skaters until after 10 PM. So skating is not competing head-to-head with these reality shows. Instead, it's going up against the 11 o'clock news.

Probably not directly with figure skating but definitely with the Olys in general. If Americans are watching the 11 o'clock news it might be because it follows the singing contest. Differen time slots thoughout the country.

Joe

 

[R.D.]

I don't think so. All the primetime shows, including the Olympics, are delayed for each time zone.

 

[SkateFan4Life]

NBC needs to promote other events, last night I watched the snowboarding cross downhill now that was fun. They were calling it Nascar on ice.
And during one of the boring parts I did catch the last of Surivor and a qucik nap.

I agree with you! I watched the men's snowboarding cross, and it really was like Nascar on ice. One slip and you crash and burn! Great event.

And Slutskaya fan, thanks for your responses to my post; however, I respectfully stick with my opinions.

 

[millie]

I wonder can Canada convince Sasha to become a Canadian citizen to represent us. She would make us proud. Joannie is our best and we are proud of her. Like I said in a previous thread, the ladies competition might turn out like mens. I think that would make everyone happy.

 

[R.D.]

I could definitely see Canadians appreciating Cohen more than Americans.

 

[LBC]

It used to be that the other programs would show reruns because they knew everybody would be watching the olympics. The reality shows don't repeat and thus people want to see them especially if they know the olympic results ahead of time.

It is NBC's fault. The way that NBC does things isn't very good. They keep skipping from one sport to another trying to keep viewers tuned in so they'll see the end later. It is doing the opposite. I want to see the whole event all at once. If you are going to show skating then show it from 9-11. Don't do this show skating in the beginning then don't show it again till 10. It isn't live. People who might want to watch skating are going to watch something else rather than wait and see when they are going to put it back on. Same with other events. You get excited about a sport when they show the qualifying and early races and you want to see the finals and then they go to something else and comeback an hour or two later. With the internet people do know the results. They aren't going to wait around 2 hrs. to see what they know already.

 

[Ladskater]

CBC is smarter they wait until after shows like American Idol have been viewed to air the figure skating. Thanks CBC!!!!

 

[blueskies]

Maybe the ISU should get Simon, Paula, and Randy to judge the Olympic figure skating competitions. It would solve the problem of secret judging, and it would be fun to give the skaters a chance to talk back to the judges like the singers do on Idol.

 

[R.D.]

Maybe the ISU should get Simon, Paula, and Randy to judge the Olympic figure skating competitions. It would solve the problem of secret judging, and it would be fun to give the skaters a chance to talk back to the judges like the singers do on Idol.

now THAT would get big ratings...

 

[Mathman]

Maybe the ISU should get Simon, Paula, and Randy to judge the Olympic figure skating competitions. It would solve the problem of secret judging, and it would be fun to give the skaters a chance to talk back to the judges like the singers do on Idol.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I wonder can Canada convince Sasha to become a Canadian citizen to represent us. She would make us proud. Joannie is our best and we are proud of her. Like I said in a previous thread, the ladies competition might turn out like mens. I think that would make everyone happy.

I believe the Americans are more diverse than the Canadians. Americans rely too much on their ancestral backgrounds as favorites so the fans are spread out moreso than the Canadians.

Joe

 

[synchromom]

I usually TIVO the Olympics and watch AI.
This doesn't help NBC's rating, only AI gets the credit.

 

[show 42]

I have to agree with Mathman. I think the Olympics is on the decline. There's just better stuff on television and to be honest the coverage and the competitions have been quite blah the past two Olympics, especially this year. JMHO.

Wanted to add: Also, the decline in ratings could also be due to the rise of the internet. Why watch NBC's broadcast if you can get the results hours earlier. Or better yet watch CBC (?) and see the competitions live.

Exactly, Enero.........Back in the fifties, the tellys only had three stations, four at the most and no cable. The Oly's were just about the only sporting game in town (along with the Wednesday night fights and televised baseball). With cable and the internet, you can get numerous sporting events from around the world any time of the day, so I guess, who needs the Olympics? I must admit that I too check the internet to see who has won what, and then decide if I want to tape it and watch it later........yup, in my house, American Idol rules on Tuesdays and Wednesdays............. 42

 

[show 42]

Maybe the ISU should get Simon, Paula, and Randy to judge the Olympic figure skating competitions. It would solve the problem of secret judging, and it would be fun to give the skaters a chance to talk back to the judges like the singers do on Idol.

blueskies.........I love your first post, and welcome to GS....:agree: 42

 

[R.D.]

Well, you could always blame NBC for delaying the broadcast, but didn't most people say they'd want to watch in primetime? If NBC did indeed show the events live, people would complain that they show the events while hardly anyone is watching and people are at work and why don't they show it later. You can't have it both ways.

 

[show 42]

Sasha is a great skater, and Americans like her, but there is only a small percentage of skating or general sports fans who become extremely attached to her the way they do to Michelle.

Off topic here, but I think Sasha (and other skaters) have had the misfortune of skating during the "Kwan Dynasty" and she is over-shadowed. This is her time to shine and to put her mark on figure skating. She is a wonderful athlete and competitor, and I hope she does shine during the ladie's event.........42