There’s been a lot of guff thrown around about NBC’s lack of online Olympic content, primarily its insufficiency of live coverage. The argument is valid. A fan living on the West Coast, Vancouver’s time zone, should be able to watch an event as it’s happening, at that moment, on TV. NBC kind of dropped the ball with that one. And If NBC can’t juggle live content on television then there’s not much hope for live coverage online. But as the Olympics come to an end, I’ve noticed something: viewers like me still got our (free) money’s worth… via the internet.
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the world’s finest athletes compete under the world’s most intense pressure, but I hardly have time to dedicate the necessary few hours to my television set as it is, much less if NBC covered everything all the time. So I’m going to take this opportunity to stop focusing on the half-empty glass and start thinking about what’s really inside it. The moments most of us look for when watching the Olympics are those heart-stopping big-ticket wins or losses. And this is where the grass gets green: almost all of those moments are posted online. If you missed an amazing trick, or an outstanding feat, or an all time world record breaker, you can catch it all online.
If the exciting bits are what you’re looking for, you really don’t have much to complain about. The shortage of full-on Olympic coverage is made up for with video news briefs, second-hand discussions, and NBC’s own collection of interviews and highlights. It even looks like NBC is getting the hint, as it posted The US-Switzerland Hockey Game Live online yesterday afternoon (more from NewTeeVee). This is awesome, because even if I know the outcome of an event, I’m going to want to watch it, just for the sake of witnessing greatness. So quit whining! You can watch Bode Miller take Gold without having to sit through the daunting stress of his pre-race jitters (talk about efficiency!). Everything you could possibly need to keep yourself up to date with the biggest Olympic events are available online. And that’s really all that this Olympic fan could ask for.
See? It feels good to focus on the positive. (You’re still allowed to writhe in hopes that NBC steps up its Olympic game in 2012)
