The Tape-Delayed Olympics

The snow-free Winter Games in Vancouver start today and a lot of people are unhappy that many key events will be tape-delayed to U.S. audiences:

In the age of Twitter feeds and instant updates, the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver is facing down an old foe: the tape delay.

NBC says it will have fewer delayed events than in previous Olympics because Vancouver is in North America. But some major skiing events, like downhill and slalom, will be recorded earlier in the day and shown on the network in the evening.

The network plans to carry figure skating, speed skating, short-track skating, snowboarding and freestyle skiing events live, during prime time—except for West Coast viewers. West Coast audiences will have to wait and get every major prime-time and daytime event that airs on NBC with a time delay.

Tape delay is a product of a dilemma facing NBC Universal, whose parent General Electric Co. says it expects to lose about $250 million on the Winter Olympics. It must maximize its audience in the evenings on NBC, without alienating it.

Time differences have always presented problems for Olympics broadcasters since many viewers tune out if they already know the results. But the proliferation of social-networking Web sites like Twitter and real-time updates from a constant stream of Web sites means more viewers will know who landed the gold medal before they'll get the chance to watch a sport.

I'm in the same time zone as Vancouver and it's silly that people in the West won't be able to watch some key events as they happen.