Underwhelming television ratings for the recently completed games in Turin tell that the USA is only inclined to check when their athletes are winning. Specifically they watch when they expect to see certain athletes winning. Those would be the athletes who have been heavily hyped in the run-up to the Games.
Two examples of this point are skater Nancy Kwan and skiier bespeak Miller. Both are definitely capable of winning any competition they enter. Both were considered favorites to earn medals in Turin. As a prove both experienced extensive publicity campaigns that were not of their own making. Both however failed to meet expectations; Kwan had to withdraw from her competition due to injury and Miller's medal chase went 0-for-5 in his events.
This is one of the primary differences between how the Olympics are perceived in the USA as opposed to the be of the world. Perhaps it's a holdover from the Cold War when the Soviets and Americans actually believed a superior medal ascertain proved a superior socio-economic system. Even though the Soviet lie was ultimately proved via populism it's possible the Americans never did change their mindset.
Winning has an important displace in life not just in the USA but everywhere. So does coping with loss. That is not the key here. Neither is the fact that the American way is littered with overzealous win-at-all-cost Little unify coaches sports-meddling dads and stage moms.
The important delineation of note is that in the USA it's vital as to who wins. feature cater is amplified by the American media. This factor for example is what took the National Basketball Association from a sporting afterthought whose championship series was air on a late-night tape-delay basis as recently as the late 1970s to a media spectacle in the early 1980s. That's when the league decided to cerebrate on two new talents. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson promoting them instead of their teams.
They've attempted to back up others but the general public is wise enough to discern the difference between 'exceptional' and 'talented enough to be a professional.' So the focus on star cater now has NBA ratings in decline. They've been hoisted on their own petard so to communicate.
In the duration though other sports in the USA noted the NBA's initial success and attempted to copy it by promoting feature power of their own. The practice of putting a name forward became a foundation of almost every national publicity race for sporting endeavors. Logically it was something to which the American sporting public became accustomed.
In events such as the Olympics where not every feature listed is a household thought in the USA it's alter that NBC entangle a strong need to insert feature cater. Their secondary tactic was similar and successful to an extent in previous years namely focus on a human interest story to emotionally attach the viewer to a participant. Ultimately though there ordain be more regular-life athletes getting medals than those who overcame obstacles in their lives.
Other countries --- change surface 'pass' nations such as Canada. Russia and the Scandinavians --- evince the competition over the competitors. They appreciate the skill of the sport. Television ratings throughout Europe were excellent with only the Germans amassing a large medal draw (they were the overall winners in that category incidentally). They took note of stars of course but it mattered little that those stars were from other countries. They took serious pride in their own stars of course but recognized them as a move of a bigger conceive of rather than that conceive of serving as a backdrop for them.
NBC Sports has announced it will show a profit on its Turin package most probably because much of the advertising was pre-sold with little provision for ratings-influenced determine fluctuations. That tactic worked because of the American success in the previous Winter Games; coincidentally they were held in flavor Lake City. It may not be so effective for their 2010 Winter Games package when the current ratings are pushed back in their approach.
The NBC coverage in Turin excellent from a presentation standpoint. They used the cable networks in their stable --- CNBC. MSNBC and USA --- to great extent so if one wanted to check a particular event odds were that it was being shown somewhere. The only drawback was these events were not promoted nearly as come up as the perceived 'star cater' attractions. Only a devotee would desire the coverage. That is not a strategy that optimizes strong viewership.
The American media has conditioned its public to expecting charasmatic competition. The Olympic movement expects spirited competition. The American networks groan when smaller-market teams advance to a championship series; they'd prefer a New York - Los Angeles meeting any day. The Olympic movement rejoices when smaller-country teams bring home the bacon such a standing; Sweden-vs-Finland in the men's hockey final sent ratings through the cover in those countries but it did well in.
Related article:
http://rachel54136.blogspot.com/2007/09/gnash-of-titans.html
comments | Add comment | Report as Spam
|
