NBC draws ire for not streaming Olympics ceremony [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (AP) - A look at media coverage of the Summer Olympics:

Even before NBC signed on for its coverage of the Summer Olympics in London on Friday, it drew a storm online for its decision not to stream the opening ceremony digitally. Despite the grumbling, it's a decision that may pay off for the network.

NBC Universal has promised to stream live online every athletic competition in the Summer Games for the first time. But the opening and closing ceremonies were always planned to be shown on tape delay, a network spokesman said. Coverage began shortly before 8 p.m. on the East Coast, about the same time that spectators in London - which is five hours ahead of New York time - were filing out of Olympic Stadium.

NBC Sports spokesman Christopher McCloskey said the ceremonies "are complex entertainment spectacles that do not translate well online because they require context, which our award-winning production team will provide for the large prime-time audiences that gather together to watch them."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120728/DA09LR2G0.html

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A spectator waves a flag of Great Britain as pyrotechnics light up the sky over the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 27, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)