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A Good Show Spoiled

Memo to NBC Sports: The difference between a major sports event shown on tape delay and live TV is the difference between watched porn and actual sexual intercourse.

NBC Sports is the king of tape delay. Since it holds the rights to the Ryder Cup, today's matches (on USA) and tomorrow's at the K-Club in Ireland are not being shown in real time to the American audience. Irish time is five hours ahead of Eastern time, so the event is being shown with a delay of approximately that time.

As this is being written, it's 9:30 a.m. Eastern, and USA is showing the front nine of the morning fourball matches. This devout golf fan isn't watching, he's writing this screed instead. It's somehow reassuring to see newspapers aren't the only media unable to cope with the Internet.

A few clicks of the mouse, and I know how all the morning matches came out. I've read detailed summaries of each one. As far as information goes, there's no need for me to watch the broadcast whatsoever. If I need pretty pictures of Ireland, I have my scrapbooks in my house.

All true sports fans hate tape delay. The attempt to hide from real time news spoilers is both stupid and futile, and in the personal computer age, nobody's doing it. Golf fans would rather spend the time seeking a streaming webcast from a European TV network. We like Bob Murphy and all, but his comments aren't worth that wait.

NBC Sports is king of the tape delayed format, one big reason the network has taken a considerable ratings plunge in several Olympic broadcasts. The rationale for its devotion is as simple as it is greedy. The proper time to show sports is whenever its advertisers are able to see it, and the people who buy TV spots mostly live on the East Coast.

The idea that tape delay builds ratings is a fib told to said advertisers. Ratings are likely not too high right now in California, our nation's most populous state. Anyhow, it's Friday, and wherever they live, most adult males (the overwhelming majority of golf fans) are at work or getting ready to get there.

The other rationale NBC will give is the delay will allow fans to see all the matchea, whereas a live show would end at around 1 or 2 p.m. This is true as far as it goes. What the network really means is that an entire day of tape delay equals more commercial spots than five hours of real time.

Tape delay does actual harm to our nation's standing abroad. It's done nowhere but here. The rest of the world's sports fans are proud of tuning in to big games and events at ungodly hours of their time zones. To them, delay is evidence the US is a country full of wusses.

Being a light the candle, not curse the darkness guy, I have a suggestion for NBC-USA. The afternoon matches will likely all go off before 10 a.m. Eastern. Why not reverse the order and show them live, THEN fill the second half of trhe broadcast with the tape delay of the morning matches. Don't worry about spoiling continuity or suspense. The Net has already done that for you.

This would serve both the audience and NBC's revenue needs. Since it's sensible and this is TV, it'll never happen. Meanwhile, this potential Ryder Cup viewer is back to the web.

posted by Michael Gee @ 8:34 AM