NBC, ESPN and the Olympics

After watching the Youtube ESPN with Phelps I was wondering about ESPN and the Olympic sports. Like it or not, ESPN drives sports interest in this country. They can make or break a sport - and if they don't have enough sports to show, they go and create one - like the X-Games. But they will never promote the big Olympic sports like track, swimming and gymnastics - because NBC has the biggest prize in those sports - the Olympics. ESPN is not going to promote swimming for 3 years and then let NBC get extra ratings. On the flipside, NBC does not have a real sports network to show these sports - they can only afford to show the Olympics and maybe the trials. What if ABC / ESPN would have had the Olympics for the last 20 years ? Would we see the major meets in non-olympic years on ESPN 2 ? Would they not have sports center highlights of the US Nationals in track ? They could have their own women's channel and just show gymnastics and figure skating. Not sure how much longer NBC has the Olympics locked up, but I think the IOC and USOC would be well served to give ABC and ESPN a run at this. This is a great discussion and I couldn't agree more with your analysis. NBC sports is a joke. ABC/ESPN/ESPN 2/ESPN Desportes/ESPN Classic/ESPU U and even The Ocho (for those of you who saw Dodgeball) could all do a much better job of promoting olympic sports in non olympic years. As far as the X Games go, yes ESPN created the TV coverage for it and capitalized, but many of those "activities" were happening on Moto Cross tracks, half pipes, and ski slopes all over before. I think about ABC and the old program "Wide World of Sports". Now that was a program that was good TV and promoted all kinds of non mainstream events every weekend. Now all we get from the 3 networks is a golf tournament, baseball football basketball game, and if we are really lucky on NBC we will get the superstar challenge or some goofy propgram like that were we can watch guys like Michael Strahan swim a 25 yard freestyle. Boy that makes our sport look compelling doesn't it?!

ABC did a much better job with the Olympics than NBC does.NBC consistently does a terrible job(remember when they had John Tesh as a commentator?):dedhorse:

If I'm not mistaken, NBC just created a channel with WCSN called Universal Sports to start taking care of this between the Olympic years. While Universal Sports will have stuff online, I believe they already are on cable in LA and NYC. That will only grow, just like all of NBC's other channels. The channel will probably be where the FINA World Champs are aired on TV in the States, along with the World Cup.

That's all fine and good and we will find some of this stuff as swim fans - but how about leading off sports center with the new 100 m dash record + an interview. Like her or not - but ESPN would have an Amanda Beard story every chance they get. Universal Sports is just starting. Hopefully, if it continues, it may give ESPN some competition. But I don't see ESPN ever being interested in swimming or Olympic sports in general.

How could NBC be anything but horrible. They have that absolute idiot with the perfect hair who can't figure out if he is from St. Louis or New York, worries about his hair, and started that meaningless statement, "Could arguably be." How could it not be retched.

If I'm not mistaken, NBC just created a channel with WCSN called Universal Sports to start taking care of this between the Olympic years. While Universal Sports will have stuff online, I believe they already are on cable in LA and NYC. That will only grow, just like all of NBC's other channels. The channel will probably be where the FINA World Champs are aired on TV in the States, along with the World Cup. WNBC, the local NBC station in New York, has been carrying Universal Sports on one of it's digital broadcast subchannels for about two months -- in other words it's a free over the air channel for people with a digital TV (soon to be all of us), as well as a cable channel. (Digital TV allows each station to transmit several channels simultaneously.) They've been carrying lots of swimming and they had a whole night of water polo last night. :groovy: I haven't heard any announcement from WNBC about whether this is permanent or just part of the build up to the Olympics.

That's all fine and good and we will find some of this stuff as swim fans - but how about leading off sports center with the new 100 m dash record + an interview. Like her or not - but ESPN would have an Amanda Beard story every chance they get.

Just discovered Universal Sports channel on my TV and have been watching it like 8 hours a day.....yesterday was water polo and they had some nice underwater footage. Just wish the commentators would explain more of what is going on. Was a bit lost in the Judo and Fencing competitions..... Watched syncho swimming and beach volleyball, too. I think about the only thing I DO watch on TV is sports. I can hardly wait for the olympics!!