From: vlad@erg.sri.com (vlad)
Subject: Re: USA Today on Triplecast
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 07:30:58 GMT

In article <bfmmjna@lynx.unm.edu> blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.) writes:
>
>I don't feel bad for NBC. I've given it much thought. I just don't feel
>bad for them. They had the potential to make an absolute >mint< on this.
>Re-coup all thier expenses from these games, and turn a profit type mint.
>
>And lets face it...it would have been >so< >easy< too. Agreed upon points:
>
>Problem: Not Enough Events.
>Solution: One of two possible solution: 
>1) Take 1 of the three channels and devote it exclusivley to minor sports.
>Live and pre-taped events in a variety of sports. Don't have to show all
>the heats in all the events, but even just the finals in all the minor events.

Amen. The stupidity and ignorance of the NBC TripleCast bosses is amazing.
You will not see any of the exciting track cycling races, including many
favoured US cyclists going for the gold. No badminton, table tennis,
fencing, martial arts, rowing, kayaking, team hadball, field hockey, etc.,
etc. Why? Becuase "there is no room on the 3 channels for these events."

So, what do they have room for? Let's take a look at the schedule. My
favorite highlights (REAL ONES):

Volleyball Cuba vs. Algeria. Watch the greatest team in the world play
against one of the worst. Who will win? The excitement is kiling me. 

Five basketball games per day. Yes, for all of you working stiffs who don't
know how to waste 10 hours per day.

Nine (count them!)  hours per day of tennis prelims. Yes, indeed, this is
for me. I will gladly cancel my own tennis games, plop myself on the sofa
and spend the next 9 hours staring at some strangers getting a workout on
the court.

Diving prelims. Where else can you see people jump into the water ten
thousand times in a row. There will be a quiz later: you will have to name
every dive you saw and explain the differences between them.

Prelims in wrestling for 6 hours per day. Watch fat men from obscure places
hug each other for 6 minutes, at the end of which both men get disqualified
either for inaction or for indecent show of mutual affection.

Prelims in bosing for 6 hours per day. For all of those who enjoyed
torturing frogs in their childhood. Six hours per day of non-stop brain
damaging and brain damage!

Look, I am not against any of these sports. I like them. Especially
volleyball and tennis. But one has to have a sense of proportions. Ten
hours per day of any sport is ridiculous. Especially when we are talking
about preliminaries. No fan will want to watch that much. Thus, NBC did not
win any more subscribers by, say, showing 9 hours of tennis per day as
opposed to, say, 3 hours.

However, by not showing any of the "minor" sports, they have lost millions
of $$$$ in revenue. Because the number of cycling fans may be smaller than
th enumber of boxing fans but by subtracting a total of 5 hours from the 80
or so hours of boxing coverage and giving it to cycling, they would have
lost none of the boxing fans and would have won thousands of new cycling
fans.

But they did not. Why? Are htese people REALLY idiots with respect to
business decisions? Or are they so out of touch with their fans that they
have no idea of what people like and don't like?

Of course, we can call NBC and complain. but do not expect them to pick up
the phone: all of them are too busy watching the Cuba vs. Algiers
"cliffhanger" or the USA_Angola "nailbiter".

Vlad

Employer disagrees




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