Olympics...Capitalism at it's best!!

[Clint Johnson]

The I.O.C. is just another multinational corporation that has managed to get politicians to pay for the opportunity to build support infrastructure for the production of what is basically a reality TV show.

The business side of it is the cleaner and more honest. The politics are as ugly as any other manifestation of that beast. If it was run like it should be run... just another "World's Best Athlete" reality show where the producers finance it and taxpayers aren't forced to pay for it, I'd have no problem with it.

 

[Anthony Gratl]

well vancouverites and bc'ers about to get their kick at that can eh Clint? Let the boondoggle begin.....

 

[Craig W. Bickerstaff]

i personally believe that all that games should be held in Athens.
that all the miiilllllliiioooonnssssss of $$$$ that are spent on the countries trying to
a) get the games
b) host the games

could be spent on a shite' load of stuff farmore worthy......but that is just me

I think it is better to have it at a new country every time there are just far more benefits gained that it outweighs the millions of dollars spend.
Not to mention that since the olympics is an international competition now making it athens only would almost fly in the face of the spirit of the event.

 

[Jason Francois]

I'm not watching the Olympics at 2am, so it didn't bother me. Capitalism or not.

I'm not really the biggest fan of some of the issues created by capitalism, but at the same time, it's here to stay. On the flip-side, I've never seen socialism done well either, so in my opinion it's a wash.

 

[David Birdy]

With all due respect David..........

The name of the game in broadcast TV is veiwership + ratings= Budget dollars to
travel hundreds of people and millions of dollars in equipment to cover the Olympic games. The NBC Olympic team is one of the finest !

The Olympics in Australia were on a tape delay to the U.S. due to the time difference.
I will add the Olympics in Australia were the best ever!!! Good people, great venue to work in and great housing..... Great Red wine!

Dave

 

[Clint Johnson]

well vancouverites and bc'ers about to get their kick at that can eh Clint? Let the boondoggle begin.....

I know. The upside is that about two billion of the tab is going to be picked up by the capitalists buying rights and sponsoring. The downside is that the taxpayer is going to be paying off the politicians spending for several decades. It will never get close to breaking even but hey, I.O.C. Inc. rakes in billions, the politicians get their photo ops, the networks get to rack up some serious ad revenue and the athletes get to keep playing games rather than work the 60 hour week like the shlubs who are forced to pay for it.

And I'm supposed to get all excited that someone who was issued a passport by the same bureaucrats as me... can run an arbitrary distance 0.08 seconds faster than someone will a different little booklet?

I don't get it?

 

[david farland]

David,
The name of the game is money....ummm.

Old people sometimes talk of two countries who are currently competing in a particular sport. they'll talk about in their day, the countries were fighting & killing each other. Now days, the countries might even help each other in times of need. All these things are basic human instincts and as much as I see my tax dollar going into warring with another country or providing humanitarian aid, I don't mind seeing some of those prime tax dollars being used on sport with my brothers either.
So when a little world peace and celebration comes to town, and I get dicked around by some tv corporation, probably because the government butted out...I get a little pissed particularly when it comes to killing people, the corporation shows me that every hour!

It's about priorities! You guys got Desert Storm live right!
Go figure!

It's more basic than money...it's about what you really want to see!
...NBC just puts a price (& time slot) on it!

Dave

 

[jpp]

Does no other Yank here (but me) find it infuriating and disgusting that the only way to see this spectacle on TV is through the NBC corporate filter? Meaning endless commercials, inane commentary, idiotic "human interest" features, jingoistic focus on everything American (was Michael Phelps' scream of triumph really news-worthy enough to play 10 or 20 times, in slow motion?), and whatever meager portion of the competition Management decides we're entitled to?

NBC gets its broadcast spectrum for nothing, and has a charter to serve the public interest. Is it socialism to suggest that maybe NBC doesn't have an absolute right to repackage the games however it wants?

In the home of the free and the brave, we're mighty eager to defend the rights of big money. What about the rights of the taxpayer to see the world without a corporate logo?

 

[Steve Sanacore]

.....US network NBC, which owns exclusive rights to Olympics coverage in the United States, refrained from showing the opening ceremony live, preferring instead to delay coverage by 12 hours for a prime-time evening slot.
A spokesman for NBC, which paid nearly 900 million dollars for Olympic broadcast rights, said the decision was taken to maximize viewing figures...

Sorry to hear that guys. I see they even shut down internet viewing...like wasn't that what everyone was screaming at China for doing!. It's a world event, but NBC make it theirs' and suckered you straight out. Land of the free and all that. I'd of been so pissed!

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/entertainment/4871282

I guess it's typical for NBC to still try and shove an old model down our throat. Too bad. Why not just show it live and then repeat it again prime time too. Or at least have it live on the internet.

Personally I didn't watch it, I wonder if anyone did.

BTW: DEADWOOD was in my opinion, the best HBO TV series ever. My understanding was it's only fault was that is was too expensive to make. It was a major disappointment when HBO cancelled it.

 

[Wayne D]

Personally I didn't watch it, I wonder if anyone did.

i'm with you on that one - did not watch it.
the olympic movement has a lot of issues....none of which i am going to touch here.

the best thing to do is vote with your remote.

oh - i personally liked CARNIVALE as a series.

 

[Clint Johnson]

David,
The name of the game is money....ummm.

Old people sometimes talk of two countries who are currently competing in a particular sport. they'll talk about in their day, the countries were fighting & killing each other. Now days, the countries might even help each other in times of need. All these things are basic human instincts and as much as I see my tax dollar going into warring with another country or providing humanitarian aid, I don't mind seeing some of those prime tax dollars being used on sport with my brothers either.
So when a little world peace and celebration comes to town, and I get dicked around by some tv corporation, probably because the government butted out...I get a little pissed particularly when it comes to killing people, the corporation shows me that every hour!

It's about priorities! You guys got Desert Storm live right!
Go figure!

It's more basic than money...it's about what you really want to see!
...NBC just puts a price (& time slot) on it!

Dave

Yes, because the 1936 Olympics heralded in an era of peace and brotherly love in the host country.

The non-commercial use of the Olympics is to drum up nationalism. This is useful to build fervor and support for militaristic endeavors as well as endorsements of internal political power struggles.

Multinational corporations have probably been one of the greatest incentives to peace the world has ever seen. Outside of the weapons makers themselves, war is bad for business. If you want two countries to remain at peace, make sure that several massive corporations have extensive manufacturing and sales in both of them. Do not trust altruism, nationalism or politicians... make sure that rich people will suffer if there is a war and they will put a leash on their political lapdogs.

As for how to treat the Olympics, it is just more entertainment programming to NBC and that is how it should be treated. That is what they bought and to them it is just a matter of what time slot would maximize Neilsen Ratings. It is no more deserving of special treatment than "America's Got Talent".

 

[jpp]

As for how to treat the Olympics, it is just more entertainment programming to NBC and that is how it should be treated. That is what they bought and to them it is just a matter of what time slot would maximize Neilsen Ratings. It is no more deserving of special treatment than "America's Got Talent".

This is running in a circle. NBC's coverage, and the marketing and the financing of the venture may have reduced the Olympics to little more then "America's Got Talent", but that says nothing about the quality of the games themselves, assuming you've got any interest in them. NBC and the other commercial networks reduce *everything*, including war, to ratings. But there's nothing inevitable about the American model. Other capitalist countries take different approaches to broadcast media, and see the rights of citizens to information and news somewhat differently.

Multinational corporations have probably been one of the greatest incentives to peace the world has ever seen.

That's isn't the place for it, you can win the debate by default, but multinational penetration isn't likely to diminish competition for shrinking quantities of food, energy and water. And conflicts today tend to occur in the same territory or contiguous countries with identical interests, shared languages and interdependent economic systems. That doesn't stop them fighting, as we're witnessing right now.