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"Olympic Primetime" just a fancy highlight show?
Posted on 2/14/26 at 1:33 pm
Posted on 2/14/26 at 1:33 pm
I know they still air the final competitors in marquee events in full but when did NBC drop the pretense of it being prepackaged highlights? I was watching their half hour "pregame" last night and they told viewers about Illia's choke job. It made watching an hour of the broadcast completely useless (unless you wanted to see him humbled).
As the big rights holder NBC/USOC pressured the sports' IOC governing bodies to hold those events in the morning local time so they'd be in US prime time in '21 and '22. Paris primetime coverage was just like this. Even back in 1996 they shifted airing the team gymnastics final from live in late morning to tape delay in primetime (iirc the 1980 Miracle on Ice was also aired on a delay).
I hope NBC follows ABC's template from LA '84. They can fill their morning broadcasts with the events in OKC and soccer on the east coast. The afternoon in '84 was swimming heavy. Track was done under the lights at the Coliseum. (I suspect the NFL will lean on NBC to push flag football heavily too.)
As the big rights holder NBC/USOC pressured the sports' IOC governing bodies to hold those events in the morning local time so they'd be in US prime time in '21 and '22. Paris primetime coverage was just like this. Even back in 1996 they shifted airing the team gymnastics final from live in late morning to tape delay in primetime (iirc the 1980 Miracle on Ice was also aired on a delay).
I hope NBC follows ABC's template from LA '84. They can fill their morning broadcasts with the events in OKC and soccer on the east coast. The afternoon in '84 was swimming heavy. Track was done under the lights at the Coliseum. (I suspect the NFL will lean on NBC to push flag football heavily too.)
5
Posted on 2/14/26 at 2:26 pm to MSUDawg98
I'm not even sure what you are complaining about. NBC airs almost all important events live on their family of channels. And basically every event is available live and on replay online.
The packaged prime time window has been the norm for any Olympics for a while now that's got a huge time difference
The packaged prime time window has been the norm for any Olympics for a while now that's got a huge time difference
This post was edited on 2/14/26 at 2:28 pm
Posted on 2/14/26 at 4:27 pm to MSUDawg98
I’d rather they do it like this than when they used to pretend like they were showing events from earlier as live and there were no options to actually watch it live.
Posted on 2/14/26 at 5:18 pm to TheWalrus
Yeah, I think once streaming became available for every single event they woke up and realized they can’t do it anymore.
I still greatly enjoy the 3 hour nightly show in prime time, no way for me to watch everything during the day (especially during the work week) and some of the non headline events are easy to avoid the spoilers and enjoyable to watch.
I still greatly enjoy the 3 hour nightly show in prime time, no way for me to watch everything during the day (especially during the work week) and some of the non headline events are easy to avoid the spoilers and enjoyable to watch.
Posted on 2/14/26 at 5:19 pm to MSUDawg98
Is it not obvious that it isn’t live if the logo in the corner doesn’t say “Live” like it does during the day when it is?
Posted on 2/14/26 at 6:17 pm to UltimaParadox
quote:
The packaged prime time window has been the norm for any Olympics for a while now
Before cable TV, the primetime highlights were all we got. There was no 24 hr coverage unless it was on the radio maybe. Women weren't missing their soaps in the 60s and 70s for luge qualifying runs. That's how I remember it anyway.
Posted on 2/14/26 at 6:30 pm to MSUDawg98
Prime Time Olympic coverage is dead these days when out of time zone. When I was growing up in the 90s and 2000s, the taped shite was all you got. You couldn’t VPN. You didn’t really have access to live coverage in the states.
And you couldn’t easily get spoiled before prime time highlights coverage.
Now you can watch it all unfold live. PT shite is kinda useless in this day and age unless they’re taking place in your time zone.
And you couldn’t easily get spoiled before prime time highlights coverage.
Now you can watch it all unfold live. PT shite is kinda useless in this day and age unless they’re taking place in your time zone.
Posted on 2/14/26 at 6:33 pm to Adajax
I guess I was just lucky to grow up with the 84/88/92 games. NBC has failed to live up to the coverage ABC provided. They ran skiing live on weekend afternoons and skating live in primetime from Calgary. CBS had that run of Winter Olympics and ran whole events in primetime. Anyways, it looks like it won't be changing anytime soon. (Thankfully I'll very likely be in LA in 2 years so them mangling the coverage won't affect me.)
quote:
After years of backsliding in viewership and importance, the Olympics have been gaining ground once again in recent years. Thus far, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are sustaining momentum.
The turnaround story began at the 2024 Paris Olympics. NBC finally found a way to hit its stride in balancing live daytime coverage with a successful primetime formula. The network had struggled in the modern era with how to simultaneously serve hardcore fans who wanted to see events live with primetime fans who came for the stories and the narratives. Ratings were up 82% on NBC for the 2024 Summer Olympics over 2020, and Peacock set streaming records. From Snoop Dogg to Gold Zone to live streaming everywhere, the Olympics felt like they were truly back.
Although it’s been less than a week, the 2026 Olympics are following a similar pattern.
According to NBC, the winter games in Italy are averaging 26.5 million viewers through Tuesday for coverage in the late afternoon and primetime. The late-afternoon window features major events like live figure skating, while primetime offers a recap of the day’s action, with the storytelling that has always been its tentpole.
That viewership figure makes Milan Cortina the most-watched Winter Olympics since Sochi all the way back in 2014. And it’s nearly double Beijing 2022’s average over the same period, which averaged just 13.7 million viewers.
On streaming, Peacock is once again setting a record-blazing path and already breaking records from the entire Winter Olympics with more minutes streamed (5.3 billion) versus the entirety of the Beijing or PyeongChang games. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve watched an Olympic curling quadbox.
Posted on 2/14/26 at 6:39 pm to GalacticaCannon
quote:Yep. My first experience with an Olympics spoiler was in 1996. ESPN didn't even get to warn people when they first went to their site. Opened it up after lunch and they had the Magnificent Seven win at the top of the page...even the Strung injury. I went to watch that night in the dorm common area and the social aspect of it was ruined. The Strung injury was the only thing that made it "must see" since streaming video was a few years away.
And you couldn’t easily get spoiled before prime time highlights coverage.
I haven't looked but I am curious if the MOI was covered on that night's CBS/NBC evening news or if they were respectful to not ruining it for the country.
Posted on 2/14/26 at 8:03 pm to MSUDawg98
quote:
They ran skiing live on weekend afternoons and skating live in primetime from Calgary. CBS had that run of Winter Olympics and ran whole events in primetime. Anyways, it looks like it won't be changing anytime soon
Surely you understand why that can’t happen for these Olympics
You can watch more events live than ever before
Posted on 2/14/26 at 8:26 pm to Adajax
It was that way 15-20 years ago even
Posted on 2/14/26 at 9:47 pm to MSUDawg98
Peacock is dirt cheap too. Gold Zone alone makes it worth it.
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