It isn't very often that Caught Looking gets to cover a new kind of sporting event, but the 2012 Summer Olympics is the first Olympic competition since this blog's inception in April 2010. Given that this blog was started in order to take stock of my fan experiences at another international sporting event - the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa - I'm proud that Caught Looking has survived long enough to weigh in on its first Olympics. Moreover, the Summer Olympics is one of my favorite sporting traditions and the 2012 games from London have been especially entertaining so far - in spite of the fact that I never have any idea when any specific events are going to be televised (or on what channel).
Most sporting events classify as "appointment television" - fans tune in to a specific channel at a specific time to watch specific teams compete. In fact, this is the crux of the argument that sports networks like ESPN use to explain why they will still be so valuable while other channels have had their advertising revenues completely eroded by ad-skipping DVRs. For me, the Olympics is completely different. Part of the reason that I enjoy the summer games so much is precisely because I don't plan ahead to watch specific events. Instead, I flip on NBC, NBC Sports or one of the other channels airing Olympic competition and watch whatever the NBC programmers tell me to watch.
People complained a lot during 2008 in Beijing, and continue to complain through the start of the London games, about hearing Olympic results on the news or online before they have the chance to watch the tape-delayed events at night during prime time. I ask: Don't these people work? Sure, during March Madness my productivity drops dramatically as I replace spreadsheets and powerpoints with video players and Game Trackers, but even I can stop myself from checking Olympics results and wait until I get home to watch the action in person. And in those instances when I do hear about results in advance, that doesn't really take away from my ability to enjoy it on TV later in the evening. I don't really watch the Olympics to see who won as much as I watch it to see amazing feats of athleticism in obscure sports that I don't get to watch on a regular (or even annual) basis.
Take today's mens 4 x 200M freestyle relay in swimming. I already know, as does most of the world probably, that the USA took the gold and that Michael Phelps won his record-setting 19th medal. Does that mean I don't want to watch it on NBC tonight? Of course not! If this were just another baseball game or round of golf, seeing the score would have been enough - after all, there's always another baseball game to catch tomorrow or another round of golf to follow next weekend. I won't get the chance to see the USA go for 4 x 200M gold for another four years, however, and by then the greatest male swimmer of all time will have already retired. I'm excited to go home after work tonight, flip on the TV and watch whatever's on NBC in prime time. When it comes to the Olympics, I trust the NBC programmers to make my viewing decisions for me, whether or not I've already learned of the final result.
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