What do you think of the Olympics TV coverage for the winter games?
84866
In my opinion the coverage for the olympics this year is a lot better than four years ago.\n\nFour years ago it was 95% figure skating and ice dancing\nFour years ago when they weren't showing figure skating they were showing weepy fluff pieces on the athletes' lives.\nFour years ago you wouldn't see an event unless an American was a medal contender.\n\nThis year they seem to be balancing out the coverage a lot better.  They're showing a wider variety of sports, and hardly any of the fluff pieces.  They're even showing sports where America isn't in contention.\n\nWhy are the ratings down?\n\nProbably because they're showing a wider variety of sports, and hardly any of the fluff pieces, and because they're showing sports where America isn't in contention.
1132620
I thought it was alright. You've got to consider that you don't want an opening ceremony that will detract from the main event, the football, and that a game was to be played immediately after so nothing could be done that would compromise the pitch.\n\nIt's a lot better than the Olympics, where the opening ceremony is just about the only interesting thing.
154388
I used to watch the Olympics when I was a little kid, but now I find them quite boring.  \n\nIt just doesn't interest me at all.  I suppose I would rather see the nations of the world get together to try to figure out our problems, then seeing a bunch of people ice skating.  \n\nHowever, for some people it is entertaining and it makes their lives better, and that is great.  It just doesn't do that for me.
118573
They are because a majority of AMericans couldn't care less about the sports in the Winter Olympics.  Some will watch the figure skating and hockey fans will watch hockey, but that's about it.\n\nI personally find nothing interesting about the Winter Olympics at all.  Summer Olympics I love, but not winter.
102733
I remember back in 1984 being enthralled by the Olympics in Los Angeles. Every night for two weeks, my family was glued to the set to get the updates from the day's events.  We didn't have to watch 8- to 10-hours of coverage to see who won. All we had to do was wait until prime-time and we could see in one hour who the big winners were, and then spend another one or two hours watching a live event.\n\nNow, 20 years later, around-the-clock coverage is given on no fewer than 10 stations, not counting the foreign language presentations.  The updates my family got when I was a kid are only given briefly on the fly from one event to another.\n\nI feel overwhelmed with all of the coverage. It feels like the covering network has placed that much coverage to fit in all the big-name sponsors and to sell their shows.  Granted, if it weren't for this type of coverage, we wouldn't see some of the more unusual events, like curling, which in the past were treated as more of a side-bar of the games.  But the complete onslaught of the games is a bit much.
96774
I dont know what was happening to NBC, but it was really annoying , not being able to watch the olympics from [i believe its "TORINO"....fine time to start having "technical difficulties", should have happened to program like THE BACHELOR ,instead of the olympics.:-[
149005
No, but if you think about it, Basketball should be in the winter games.  It was invented as a sport for the winter, its season beings in November, peeks in Feb-March and ends before the summer.  And the Hockey All-star game belongs where it is, it provides a needed break, and a chance to retool for a playoff push.  The NFL wishes it could do its allstar game before the end of the season
96829
That's a good question. These Winter Olympics in Turin are the first I've seen of the new scoring system and it seems to be working fine. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't this new system designed more to prevent the ugly cheating scandal involving the French and Russian judges at the pairs competition during the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City? If it's made that sort of rubbish impossible to be repeated, then I think it's a big step forward.
194599
Winter Olympics, last month.  Summer Olympics, 2004
117765
I think Gretzky was an over-rated player and is one of the reasons the NHL is in the state that it is in.  And I would LOVE to see him fall flat on his face.\n\nThat said, I don't think he did do anything wrong, as long as he didn't bet on hockey or provide inside information to people who did bet on hockey.  I'm not even that sure Tocchet has done a lot wrong - with the gambling part, not the money laundering, he'll go down for that one.\n\nOh, and no, it has NOTHING to do with the Olympics.  But, the media won't and shouldn't drop it - the public does have the right to know.  I just hope they report the facts, not snippits that are ambiguous and out of context.
132470
I AGREE 100% ... NBC's coverage was pathetic to say the least.  I am boycotting any Olympic coverage that NBC does until they get their act together.  I used Yahoo News to keep up on all the events.
697573
I dont think you'll get many answers for that question in the Winter Sports section ;)
135754
I apoligize for writing without having an answer to your question directly. Just wanted to say that it's an ingenious one, though, and my suspicion is that there's no site that offers it because of contracts between the International Olympic Committee and broadcasters around the world.\n\nIt's really disappointing that we're stuck here in the U.S. with the very, very limited coverage provided by the NBC networks, who must have bid a fortune on the rights, & now have to recoup their investment with commercials punctuated by completely ridiculous, highly produced "human interest" stories, and banal commentary by people like Bob Costas. He's up in a booth somewhere - could be Torino, could be Hoboken. Jim McKay, at least, used to put on a down jacket and go out to the ski slopes now and then.\n\nIn countries with nationalized broadcasting, the feeds are often much, much better. There's hardly any interference by producers and graphics people. You get more raw scores and less music & commentary. For a lot less money, people in France, Britain, and Germany, for example, get to see dozens of hours of pure sport that we don't.\n\nIt's terrifically unfair that I have to watch Impala commercials, when I'd rather see the Finns or the Swiss or the Ukrainians doing what they do best. And I'm mortified when I think about how much gratuitous, garbage-filled airtime NBC devoted to Bode Miller or Apolo Anton Ohno when there were so many beautiful races to be run and scenery to be seen. (I don't blame Miller & Ohno for this at all. It was completely beyond their control. Win or lose, the athletes seem to be vexed by the whole media circus & just get on with it.) \n\nThanks for letting me rant a little.\n\nI'll be checking back to see if there IS a way to see what we've missed.
556934
Yeah. I would love to have a channel only for baseball. I am a huge baseball fan and many times I can't see the games I want to see. But if we had a channel like that I could see MLB games and other games like college and games in other countries too. And by the way; bseball isn't an olympic sport anymore and neither is softball. They just took it out after last olympics.
337096
I love snowboarding, but I disagree with you on this. \nSnowboarding has only been in the winter olympics since 98!
89525
I love watching Ice skating..now doing it, thats a different story..they make it look so easy sometimes..I Just like everything about it...always have since I was a child...it's definetly my favorite event in the olympics..too bad USA didn't get gold..oh well..silver is good!!
161774
I was watching Fox News this morning and the American snowboarder who got a gold in the halfpipe was talking about the music he was listening to.\n\nHe said most of the olympians were listening to hip/hop and rap. He said that he was listening to Led Zepplin and AC/DC.\n\nGood quality classic rock, apparently the best way to get psyched up for an olympic event-prior to winning a gold medal.