Beijing Olympic Games 2008

Many broadcasters have on-site studios within the IBC (where most broadcasters - including the BBC and NBC have their production facilities) which don't have views (unless they use virtual techniques - as the Beeb did in Sydney - or "windows" that are really projectors or plasmas)

Only a few broadcaster have space in the glass-walled Ling Long pagoda building (the stack of pyramids with funky lighting you see near the Birds Nest)- where the Beeb studios are (you can see the funky lighting in the wideshots just leaking through the BBC "ceiling").

NBC have built their own ground level studio AIUI - though I think they also have studios in the IBC - as they have 6 HD networks to sustain.

6 HD networks, yet they still miss all the important stuff live.


Any caps at all from NBC coverage - I've seen nothing online at all.

NBC are being really quick with taking down Youtube vids, apparently. Here's the logo they're using:

http://www.genesbmx.com/nbc-olympics08beijingpromo.jpg

Interesting that NBC have made two decisions.

1. They show SOME - but not that much - stuff live on the East Coast. They arranged for the swimming finals to be in the morning, not the evening in Beijing to hit East Coast (where 80% of the audience is) prime time. However they are delaying and editing a LOT of stuff even for East Coast viewers.

It isn't a case that they are missing stuff - they are intentionally not showing stuff live so that they can show it later, in peak time, to a wider audience. (Don't forget that NBC pay their local affiliates that aren't O&Os to carry their programming - and some local stations will not pre-empt)

2. They are showing NOTHING live on their main network on the West Coast. Even Phelps final swim was delayed...

The reason? They've paid more than US$900million just for the TV rights (not including the amount it costs to actually make the broadcasts and send 2900 people out there) They therefore delay things until they can hit the maximum - and most desirable demographic - audience. It is a business decision - NBC are not a public service broadcaster after all...

The BBC showed some of the NBC Today set on The Games Today (though AIUI NBC are fibre-ing all 8 cameras on this set back separately to NBC News at the Rockefeller Center to let them cut it in New York rather than out there - meaning they only need one gallery not two)

I'm just back from the US where NBC really only showed the swimming and the gymnastics live at primetime. However, the ads are very frequent (between each heat) and the coverage itself is sponsored by a host of different companies.

What is also interesting is that NBC appear not to use the international feed but send their own cameras to a lot of the events where the camera spends all the time on the US participant and very little on any other nation.

Which is a problem for some on the West Coast because unless they don't look at the internet, any other TV channels or any news alerts they've subscribed to.... they're finding out the results before NBC show them:

http://www.lostremote.com/2008/08/16/breaking-news-alert-as-phelps-spoiler/

At the Beijing Olympics they nearly share everything: Studios, equipment, footage and so on. Never seen it like this. It's normal that they share coverage but not that they share nearly everything^^

the long opening titles are nice =)

Yep - NBC are showing LOTS of events delayed so that they can get them into a prime time slot (and thus on all their affiliates) and maximise their advertising revenue. They have to make money on this after spending that much for the rights...



It isn't quite that simple.

NBC have a LOT of unilateral cameras (i.e. NBC only) cameras that they've deployed at the venues. They also have the host broadcaster feed, and ISO feeds of a lot of the individual host broadcaster cameras (though no control over these - though often it is obvious and agreed what each camera will do).

They are therefore able to mix their own feed - using this combination of sources.

The BBC are able to do the same at some venues - but to a much lesser extent.

I was able to compare the 7th Phelps swimming final between NBC and the BBC. NBC didn't take any underwater cameras during the race, didn't take any of the close-ups on the turn, and basically just cut between the poolside wides and tights. Much duller - though probably clearer - coverage - and it meant you saw Phelps at all times.

Don't know who you mean are sharing?

It is normal at major events like the Olympics, World Cups etc. for a host broadcast operation to be set-up and an IBC to be built. This provides all rights holders with both a host broadcast feed (i.e. an international feed of each event) AND space they can buy in a central location with access to these feeds, and infrastructure that allows them to also get their own feeds from the various venues.

Historically a lot of broadcasters have had studios at the IBC - and I believe some do in Beijing.

What they've done in Beijing, which hasn't happened before in quite the same way AIUI, is that the Chinese have also constructed a separate, studio building (The Ling Long pagoda) with great views of two major venues (the Birds Nest and the Water Cube). Broadcasters - like the BBC - have been able to buy space in this to build their studios - and some have.

NBC - as ever - plough their own furrow and have built a large temporary studio structure of their own - and I believe also have studio facilities in studios at the IBC (with no natural view?)

For info - AIUI NBC have almost as much space (if not more!) than the rest of the world added together at the Beijing IBC.

Ratings from the weekend:

FRIDAY
6.00 Olympic Breakfast 1.5m 38%
9.00-12.00 2.3m 35%
12.45-5.15 2.8m 35% (Peak 4.15-4.30 3.3m)
7.00 Games Today 4.47m 24.4%

SATURDAY
6.00 Olympic Breakfast 1.5m 54%

8.20-12.00 4.1m 52%
Men's Coxless Four Rowing:10:30 - 4.6m 53%

12.00-4.30 4.8m 44%
Cycling - Chris Hoy Gold: 1.00 - 5.2m 50%
Men's 100m Final: 3.30 - 6m 49%

5.30 Games Today 4.13m 26%
1.00am Women's Marathon Peak 2m 43%

SUNDAY
6.00 Olympic Breakfast 1.33m (53%)

8.20-12.00 4.6m 52%
Rowing - lightweight double sculls: 8.55 3.8m 55%
Peak 10.30-10.45am 5.5m

12.00-4.45 5m 43%

7.00 Games Today 4m 19%

I think 'anschub' was responding to a post I made, mentioning that ZDF and ARD share a lot of facilities between them ?

Interesting ratings - people seem to find the medal events then.


How do the ratings for Olympic Breakfast compare to the usual non-Olympic offering?