On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 4:14 PM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > What really bugs me about NBC is their vigilance about making sure > nobody can use their video. Olympic hockey has been big news in > Pittsburgh with 5 of the Penguins (and many more ex-Penguins) playing > for various teams in the tournament. Local TV news covers it but they > can't show highlights of the day's games. The NHL encourages fans to > put videos of their games on YouTube; NBC pulls Olympic footage off > ASAP. I don't know how much more open ESPN would be about highlights > and other footage, but it would have to be better than NBC.
I am ambivalent about ESPN getting the olympics, but I think the problem you identify would improve. ESPN allows local news to use vidoe of MLB and NBA games, and I guess they would do the same with Olympic footage - because they have figured out what NBC can't seem to get through their heads, which is that when local news plays video of an event you carry, it is free advertising for your program. I also believe that ESPN will go live (with plenty of repeats in primetime and late night) - all to the good. I don't understand how showing an event live changes in any way the situation for people who want to watch it on delay when they get back from work. The internet will make results available to anyone who wants (and many who do not want) them during the day, whether it is on live or not. It will be easier for ESPN to put replay coverage in primetime than it is for NBC - though I don't see how ESPN can come anywhere close to the rights fees NBC has been paying. The downside of the Olympics on ESPN is that, once they get the rights to the sport, they turn into a 24 hour, multi-platform commercial for it. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
