--- title: Rio 2016 Olympics: NBC Took Advantage Viewers description: The hours at NBC's disposal were apparently used to convert a global sporting event into a narrative about American dominance. canonical: https://time.com/4459016/rio-2016-olympics-nbc/ author: Daniel D'Addario article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-19T19:29:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:15.353Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How NBC Took Advantage of Olympic Fans og:description: The lack of focus on non-American athletes made for an uneven broadcast og:url: https://time.com/4459016/rio-2016-olympics-nbc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb8e9b011edd6587/6988a3065f570f2f73b22400/rio-team-usa-medal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Swimming - Women's 200m Freestyle Victory Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How NBC Took Advantage of Olympic Fans twitter:description: The lack of focus on non-American athletes made for an uneven broadcast twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb8e9b011edd6587/6988a3065f570f2f73b22400/rio-team-usa-medal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How NBC Took Advantage of Olympic Fans > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Simone Biles and a Legacy of Success in U.S. Gymnastics [Watch (HLS stream): Simone Biles and a Legacy of Success in U.S. Gymnastics](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hecmZm4m.m3u8) (3:37)  _Published 2016-07-26. 20 years their record-breaking gold medal win, the members of the 1996 gymnastics team dubbed "The Magnificent Seven" offer advice to the sport's new star, Simone Biles, and look at how U.S. gymnastics has changed over the years._  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Aug 19, 2016 7:29 PM UTC  Katie Ledecky of USA stands to attention during the national anthem after winning the gold medal in the Women's 200m Freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 9, 2016. Katie Ledecky of USA stands to attention during the national anthem after winning the gold medal in the Women's 200m Freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 9, 2016. Laszlo Balogh—Reuters  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Aug 19, 2016 7:29 PM UTC There’s no TV event quite so massaged as the [Olympics](http://time.com/4457932/best-rio-olympics-photos/) on NBC. Sure, televised NFL football (and particularly the Super Bowl) comes with plenty of bells and whistles, but games generally come over the air live and with a focus, while the game is on, on the actual gameplay. NBC’s contract for the Olympics is a longstanding one and currently runs through 2032, so anyone who’s not used to the way they broadcast by now should get accustomed to weird delays, chopped-together footage in primetime, and a fundamental lack of context throughout. Most cycles, the network has a fairly good case for tape-delaying the opening ceremony and various key events, as they’re airing at times deeply inconvenient to U.S. viewers. But with Rio only one hour ahead of the U.S. eastern seaboard, there was no real reason this time that Americans with internet access could find out about various gymnastics triumphs many hours before footage was available. Of course, many people don’t follow the news online. To them, Simone Biles’s high-flying success was unspoiled when it aired hours after the fact. But it’s not “spoilers” that make the less-than-live Olympics dispiriting. It’s the way the footage is cut together, with the hours at NBC’s disposal apparently used to convert a global sporting event into a narrative about American dominance. Yes, the U.S. is currently leading the medal count to a degree that focus on our squad would be merited regardless. And a little national pride (or more than a little!) is understandable and great. But the obsessive focus on America is a state of mind that refuses to allow meaningful information to penetrate. For instance, on Thursday’s primetime broadcast, we learned about American runner Kate Grace’s mother’s line of workout videos and got a lengthy cutaway to said videos. An American who wasn’t even in the race got vastly more promotion than any of the non-American athletes. What does it mean to be the best—as in the case of champion swimmer [Michael Phelps](http://time.com/4457205/michael-phelps-retirement-pool/), whose life story has been plumbed far past the point of meaning—when your competitors are, in the main, faceless obstacles to overcome? The [opening ceremony hosts’](http://time.com/4441866/rio-2016-olympics-opening-ceremony-nbc/) apropos-of-nothing rambling about _Hamilton_ and ignoring massive geopolitical themes in the broadcast set the tone: NBC seems largely disinterested in other countries. This is nothing particularly new, but it’s frustrating all the same. To go all over the world every two years only to learn that Americans are distinctive and, give or take an Usain Bolt, no one else really leaves an impact, is a wasted opportunity. The Olympics we’re constantly hearing about is one in which the greatest from all over the world come together in a celebration of all the world’s talent. For American viewers, that event can only be a hypothetical. NBC’s point-of-view on their coverage seems to be that everything is fine! After all, their tape-delaying footage into prime-time forces viewers to play through each ad. But while it’s unlikely that any network concerned with making money would ever overhaul the fundamental structure of the day (in the end, we’re stuck with marquee sports in prime-time, I suspect), it’s hard to imagine any other network growing quite so addicted to ginning up narrative. The network’s Olympic marketing chief calling the games “the ultimate reality show and mini-series wrapped into one” (and noting they appeal to women viewers, who care more about “the journey”) indicates that the Olympics are, to their broadcaster, neither news nor sports. They’re an entertainment product. Which wastes another great potential upside of the Olympics—that they’re a fortnight’s worth of events during which anything could happen. Were NBC not so obsessed with crafting the Olympiad into a story of American greatness, they might not have been caught so flat-footed by the compelling story of Ryan Lochte; Matt Lauer recently raised hackles outside the U.S. by conveying to Bob Costas Lochte’s representation of Brazilian cops as less [“thorough”](http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2016/08/17/transcript-bob-costas-interview-with-matt-lauer-on-ryan-lochte/) than American ones. Newsgathering on the fly is obviously incredibly tough, but it’s easier when some segment of the massive unit of journalists you’ve brought to Rio are tasked with something other than feel-good packages. There’s no room for spontaneity—real joy or real surprise—in NBC’s broadcast. It evaluates two weeks’ worth of the world’s most elite competition from the point-of-view of someone just looking to get it over with. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] You can tell in a gymnast when they've got something. [ MUSIC ] When I was coaching I knew her as a younger gymnast She always had this incredible talent, that everybody looked at her and said, that kid's gonna do something big someday. [ MUSIC ] A member of the 1996 Olympic gold medal Team, Dominique Moceanu. Every four years, there's always that emotional tug because I know what it feels like, what these girls are going through. And of course, it all kinda comes back. No American gymnastics team [ UNKNOWN ] Men or women has won a team gold medal in a fully attended olympics. Take a look at history. Magnificent seven is the first US Women's gymnastics team to win gold and change history in the landscapes of gymnastics forever. [ MUSIC ] The sport's changed tremendously actually in 20 years. The equipment has changed. There's so much more springs and padding. It's safer than ever. But then the tricks are More difficult than ever. You just wonder, how many more twists? How many more flips can they do before they hit the ground. You actually see more tricks done within a routine versus back in our generation it was a little more artistry, little more dance, and showmanship. 20 years ago that every little form mattered, every stick mattered. The sport has gone more towards tricks. Extreme gymnastics. But I think some of that art form has been taken away. Now if you can do both which Simon [ UNKNOWN ] has a lot of both, that's a great combination. That's like the dream. [ MUSIC ] She has whatever that perfect mix of incredible difficulty but also incredible consistency, and artistry, and the technique. It's just kind of all bawled up into one. And she just Kind of can't lose. Simone is one in a billion. She is in a league of her own when it comes to the level of difficulty her legs can handle. She stands out because of her power. When she was younger she would do big skills that you're like a kid that small and That young shouldn't be able to do those things right now. I think Simon [ UNKNOWN ] is pretty special. She's just won three back to back world championship titles and now is definitely the front runner for the Olympic games. And that will be the first time that's ever happened. When you can have consistency and you can rely On a girl to hit under pressure you want that person on your team. And that's why she's been undefeated for three years. There has never been anyone more heavily favored for the Olympic Games All Around title than Simone Biles. [ MUSIC ] My advice to any of these girls is really enjoy the experience. You've worked so hard all of these years. Just enjoy every moment because before you know it it's 20 years later and you'd love to do it all over again. Relax, you're ready, you're prepared, believe in yourself, and just do what you do. 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