Article on NBC/Olympic gymnastics

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skschlag

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Ran across this on FB the other day so several of you have probably seen it as well. I agree with it completely. I remember during the men's trials, the camera showed Sam Mikulak cheering for another gymnast. We didn't get to see the routine, just Sam Cheering for it. Looking forward to watching Simone et al cheer for the others...

http://deadspin.com/5931440/fake-ji...s-coverage-is-the-worst-part-of-nbcs-olympics
 
Kyle Shewfelt was FANTASTIC doing commentary for Pan Ams last summer. And Jon Horton and Evan Heiter were superb doing webcast commentary for men's nationals. It's waaaaay past time for Trautwig et al. to go. Dump them, dump the stupid triangles and squares, dump the fluff, and show us the gymnasts and their routines. People are not too stupid to understand difficulty plus execution, and can enjoy the actual gymnastics without all the crap and fake drama.
 
Kyle Shewfelt was FANTASTIC doing commentary for Pan Ams last summer. And Jon Horton and Evan Heiter were superb doing webcast commentary for men's nationals. It's waaaaay past time for Trautwig et al. to go. Dump them, dump the stupid triangles and squares, dump the fluff, and show us the gymnasts and their routines. People are not too stupid to understand difficulty plus execution, and can enjoy the actual gymnastics without all the crap and fake drama.

The continual dumbing down of America. Numbers are hard.....but look at the pretty colors!

As for the article, I agree and actually said the same thing out loud last night. There were several gymnasts who I didn't get to see do a single routine. But thank god that I got to see Gabby stretching and wiggling out the kinks before HER floor routine. :rolleyes:
 
I was getting so upset! Why doesn't NBC get it? We want to watch gymnastics, not gymnasts getting dressed, wrapping their wrists, walking around, bouncing up and down while waiting..... You can hear floor music playing and see/hear the crowd cheering while the camera is following one of the 4 Chosen Ones around before and after their routines. Can you imagine MLB doing that? The guy takes his at bat, then they follow him and only him around the bases, not showing how he's advancing or the other teammates as they bat; then he scores so they follow him into the dugout, make us watch him put his helmet away, scratch his groin, put on his hat, wipe off the sweat, drink some Gatorade, check his phone..... Meanwhile, other guys are batting/fielding, but we're still watching the same guy. How long would that last? So why do gymnasts and fans of gymnastics get treated like that? Who at NBC can we shake and tie to a chair and force them to allow the people to watch as many routines as possible instead of just the Chosen Ones? After all these years why can't they get that we want to see the sport and not treat us viewers like a bunch of teenage girls watching a soap opera?

I was watching with my sis in law and my niece who loves gymnastics. This is my SIL's first time really being interested and wanting to watch with her daughter (9 years old). The coverage was so boring, sporadic, and interspersed with so many commercials that my sil was yawning and decided to go to bed because IT WAS SO SLOW AND BORING! Meanwhile, my niece fell asleep! Why is NBC so bad at covering this sport? It could be exciting and fun, but instead is a snooze fest! I am so disappointed with them. They could have kept it so interesting by showing the routines of everyone but instead we only saw the same 4-5 girls until the last rotation on beam when they included 2 new gymnasts.

I think most of us on this board could do 100% better at covering these trials than all the people employed by NBC. They obviously have NO IDEA what gymnastics fans want to see.
 
And again with the stupid chart showing the events and which gymnast goes in which spot. And they finally gave Laurie Hernandez a little tiny mention off in the corner.

Wasn't it the Balance Beam Siuation that wrote her name in green all across that chart on one of their blogs after the P&G? Spot on!
 
We had it on DVR to watch it later. So we could skip the garbage. FF through the list of 3 gymnast that make team, speculation about everyone else and 10 min of Gabby's back. Did you hear I'm
not sure which announcer I think T.D call Simone,Gabby Douglas my DD laughed out loud. Honest mistake I guess but maybe if he didn't say Gabby Douglas every minute it wouldn't happen.
 
I was getting so upset! Why doesn't NBC get it? We want to watch gymnastics, not gymnasts getting dressed, wrapping their wrists, walking around, bouncing up and down while waiting..... You can hear floor music playing and see/hear the crowd cheering while the camera is following one of the 4 Chosen Ones around before and after their routines. Can you imagine MLB doing that? The guy takes his at bat, then they follow him and only him around the bases, not showing how he's advancing or the other teammates as they bat; then he scores so they follow him into the dugout, make us watch him put his helmet away, scratch his groin, put on his hat, wipe off the sweat, drink some Gatorade, check his phone..... Meanwhile, other guys are batting/fielding, but we're still watching the same guy. How long would that last? So why do gymnasts and fans of gymnastics get treated like that? Who at NBC can we shake and tie to a chair and force them to allow the people to watch as many routines as possible instead of just the Chosen Ones? After all these years why can't they get that we want to see the sport and not treat us viewers like a bunch of teenage girls watching a soap opera?

I was watching with my sis in law and my niece who loves gymnastics. This is my SIL's first time really being interested and wanting to watch with her daughter (9 years old). The coverage was so boring, sporadic, and interspersed with so many commercials that my sil was yawning and decided to go to bed because IT WAS SO SLOW AND BORING! Meanwhile, my niece fell asleep! Why is NBC so bad at covering this sport? It could be exciting and fun, but instead is a snooze fest! I am so disappointed with them. They could have kept it so interesting by showing the routines of everyone but instead we only saw the same 4-5 girls until the last rotation on beam when they included 2 new gymnasts.

I think most of us on this board could do 100% better at covering these trials than all the people employed by NBC. They obviously have NO IDEA what gymnastics fans want to see.
If water cooler were the fifth event Gabby Douglas would be spot on. Did they show Aly's Beam score I rewound it twice and couldn't find it or the start value. She tumbles on beam like it is a floor, so rock solid.
 
Thank goodness I was able to find on the start list link where they were showing D and E scores. I find NBC's refusal to provide this information baffling and irritating.
I found myself watching for the scoreboards in the arena. The people who were there had the D&E scores displayed. I don't get why NBC thinks that we're too stupid to understand it.
 
I found myself watching for the scoreboards in the arena. The people who were there had the D&E scores displayed. I don't get why NBC thinks that we're too stupid to understand it.

Well, i really wanted to see how much of the broadcast was spent on Gabby. Watching her drink, watching her tape up, watching her sit and stare with her coach. Really. I could hear the cheering and excitement of the crowd......sigh
 
Well, i really wanted to see how much of the broadcast was spent on Gabby. Watching her drink, watching her tape up, watching her sit and stare with her coach. Really. I could hear the cheering and excitement of the crowd......sigh
The coverage NBC provided was horrifically bad. I am embarrassed for them; I wish they were embarrassed for themselves, but I don't think they are. :confused:

Not only did it question the intelligence of the viewing public (they clearly think we're all of low-intellect), but it was biased, often incorrect and extremely incomplete. They only showed who they wanted us to see, didn't provide all the scores and their "analysis" was laughable. I don't understand how a professional network with the Olympic contract for umpteen years can be so bad at their jobs. I don't know nearly as much about swimming and track, but the coverage there seemed so much better.
 
I had the myusagym app open the whole time so I could see all the scores as they were posted. It helped click on the scores so I could see what the recent scores were for each girl. It would have driven me nuts if I was to rely on NBC for scores.
 
I absolutely hate almost every aspect of gymnastics coverage. Not just NBC.

Instead of showing more gymnastics, they follow someone around, or talk about some stupid personal aspect. I wish they'd show more gymnastics, and also give them some space when they're fixing uniforms, venting/crying, or otherwise being human beings.

The don't say the most significant thing about what they're showing. They often focus on some stupid small error (How can the only thing you say about Aly Raisman's first two passes on floor, be "going out of bounds was a three tenth deduction??")

Instead of just focusing mistakes, or a great performances, they don't recognize how it fits into the bigger picture. It has to be both. Yes, that was a beautiful routine, and they did exactly what they were supposed to do to the best of their ability... however, it doesn't make a bit of difference in the competition... or the opposite.

They all seem to love to make up some story they want to tell, instead of just telling the story that's actually unfolding.
 
Primetime network sports coverage will always leave the more educated or invested fan feeling unsatisfied and not just gymnastics. Short programming windows, too many commercials, scripted storylines, too little interest in elevating the sport to a better understanding. The sadder part is you have a huge multi-platform media company Comcast with complete exclusivity, paying all that money for said exclusivity, with all those platforms, and absolutely no plan to make the most of all that content. What a waste.
 
Primetime network sports coverage will always leave the more educated or invested fan feeling unsatisfied and not just gymnastics. Short programming windows, too many commercials, scripted storylines, too little interest in elevating the sport to a better understanding. The sadder part is you have a huge multi-platform media company Comcast with complete exclusivity, paying all that money for said exclusivity, with all those platforms, and absolutely no plan to make the most of all that content. What a waste.
That's generally true...but even casual viewers can more than likely do simple math. Their coverage and commentary is insulting to the viewer, the sport in general and the athletes.
 
NBC is horrible!! Their 2012 Olympic coverage was so painfully inadequate. They showed only the US gymnasts and a few Chinese gymnasts and another top routine here and there. I found it just stupid (and so typically American) - on the biggest world stage why wouldn't we be interested in the competition?? It would be like in track if they only filmed the lanes that the US was running in! I was so mad. There was hours and hours of swimming and diving, but god forbid if someone was interested in seeing another sport. My daughter rides horses and NBC had zero coverage, even at 3 a.m. We gave up and used Tunnelbear to reroute through the UK - don't judge me! You folks sure know how to cover sports on that side of the Pond!
 
While we are complaining here, we should also contact NBC... I have done so, but the more people that do, the more they will see that we want more.
I WAS "impressed" that they managed to mention the names of the gymnasts they didn't plan to show... Saying they were also competing at Trials, lol.
 

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