MPR News Share your insight

Would you rather watch the Olympics live during the day, or in the evening on tape?

Eric Ringham February 22, 2010, 5:00 AM Feb 22, 2010

In an effort to boost its prime time ratings, NBC is limiting web and cable coverage of live events at the Olympics. As a result, fans have to watch some of their favorite events on tape delay, hours after they conclude. Today’s Question: Would you rather watch the Olympics live during the day, or in the evening on tape?

About the blogger

Eric Ringham

eringham@mpr.org

I’d rather not watch them at all given that they have become little more than a giant marketing event with manufactured drama. And given the doping with substances that have no test available yet, why should you believe it’s fair anyway?

Dianne

Since I work during the day, I would rather watch in the evening on tape. However, I am more interested in viewing online live and archived streams of events that interest me but do not get much taped coverage.

Tristia

I prefer watching them at night. I get to watch even more events in a shorter amount of time.

Shane

I would much rather watch them live during the day. There is something special about seeing the event of a lifetime in real time that you don’t necessarily get when watching a taped recording. You’re able to say ‘I saw that happen live!’ You, as much as one can, i suppose, become a part of that history.

Deb

I can understand why NBC would show the events on tape during the work week but during the weekend, I want to watch events live. NBC needs to join the 21st Century. I received more than one news alert about one of the ski events yesterday. NBC acted like we didn’t know the results, which is ridiculous.

You can watch some events live online, but only if you have the right cable provider and cable package.

Tim O’Neill

I record the Olympics because my brain can’t handle that many hours of television in a single week. I fast forward through less interesting events, commentary and commercials and then watch curling, hockey and sledding events at my leisure. Alas! I was unable to watch the USA vs. Canada hockey game live and missed the spoiler alert on your report. I’d have loved to have seen that one live, eh.

kennedy

I’m not a cable subscriber, so I didn’t have either option for the USA vs. Canada hockey game last night.

Good news for NBC, their blackout was successful and I couldn’t find any way to watch the game on the internet. Bad news for NBC, they paid millions for the rights to the olympics and their big achievment is blocking access to coverage.

Rip Stauffer

Always better to watch a taped version, even if you just wait half an hour and start, so you can FF through the commercial breaks. NBC is playing beaucoup commercials this Olympics, and they don’t care if you miss something (like a score, or the beginning of a run, or a run…you name it, we’ve missed it because of ads). I guess if I were able to watch TV all day, I’d like to be able to see it during the day as it happens.

David Kaplan

I just wish they would have provided web access to watch live during the day. In this day and age, there is no way for results to stay quiet until the taped version is played, ruining it for many of us.

If they let us watch online live, it would fix the issue for those of us interested.

twitter.com/DEKMinn
Jayne

It’s not “either / or”, the answer is BOTH!

Show them live, then replay them in a highlights package in the evening 7-11pm.

Done!
Dan Anderson

If I ever win the lottery, NPR won’t get another chance to spoil an important Olympic Hockey game for me! I’ll either be in the stands or taking time off to watch it live on TV. Until then, since I have a job and a TiVo, I’ll just have to be faster with my radio volume.
Steve

I watch live on weekends but use the online access weekday nights. There’s only so much commercial torture I can bear, (car commercials are the absolute worst), heck I’m still recovering from football season. It’s amazing how much effort and money NBC put into getting the Games only to find that between the nauseating commercials and all the “fluff” how little actual athletic competition is broadcast. At least with the Internet I need only put up with one ad and then watch an event and even sometimes without the commentator’s incessant blabber.