NBC is under fire for a decision involving its Olympics coverage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network is being criticized for cutting out an anti-discrimination comment from IOC President Thomas Bach during the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony.
The omission was noted by Deadspin, which compared NBC’s televised version against what was seen in Britain.
Russia’s anti-gay laws created concern during the runup to the Games, which are being held in Sochi, Russia. Bach made a statement against “any form of discrimination” and in favor of tolerance, Deadspin notes.
“Viewers worldwide heard the statement; NBC viewers in the U.S. did not, because the network edited it out,” the publication notes.
NBC told The Hollywood Reporter that the edits were made for time purposes.
“The IOC President’s comments were edited for time, as were other speeches, but his message got across very clearly to viewers," an NBC representative said.
Viewers were critical of the omission, with some condemning the decision via Twitter. One viewer wrote, “How can the US criticize Russia for being anti-gay when @NBC refused to air the anti-discrimination statement,” THR notes.
What NBC should have “cut out” were all the unwanted commentaries and “explanations” of what we were seeing during the Opening Ceremonies.
If you are at the event you experience it and get what you get. What we got on NBC were explanations of the obvious.
That they cut the IOC Presidents speech comes as no surprise…”cut for time”…that’s just PR-BS.
Remember the old adage: “Less is more”…so give us less “explanations” and more words of what real people, like the IOC President, have to say.
Peter Bright
Nice thought, but as soon as the IOC President started talking, viewers switched away, only flipping back to see if he was done yet.
Brilliant! LOL! Another self-important nobody gets air time because of “political” reasons.
Bill: Not every moment in mass media needs to be dictated by “tune in-tune out” mentality
There are moments that stand historically. It’s protocol, and it is important to honor these somber moments in their entirety.
Peter Bright