Let the Games Begin
On BBC’s website, under a catchy caption, “Beijing Games open with a bang”, is this stern warning: “Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory.”
The territory in question is, of course, the US, where the 29th Olympiad is in the firm grip of NBC. Despite the pre-Games ad blitz, you won’t catch a glimpse of the opening ceremonies until almost 12 hours later, unlike the rest of the world.
And holding viewers hostage is not the only offense. According to FT’s Matthew Engel, should athletes, especially those in endurance races such as cycling and marathon, find Beijing’s heat, humidity and haze intolerable, they’ll take NBC to task. Money quote,
The Chinese wanted to hold the Olympics in September, when the Beijing air was clearer, cooler and drier. They lost the argument to what in Olympic terms is a far more powerful force: the American TV network NBC.
NBC, having paid top dollar to get the exclusive US broadcast rights, “insists on avoiding a clash with the Democratic and Republican conventions which roll around at the same point of the four-year cycle, the new autumn ratings period,” and the NFL season.
For all the PR stunts (US cycling team arriving with ’smog’ masks, albeit with belated apologies) and de rigueur criticism towards the environs in Beijing, it all boils down to the “grey, coal-fueled murk”, otherwise known as “misty” air covering the city.
As Engel aptly puts it, “[l]ocals just call it normal for August.” This is high summer in Beijing, for the uninitiated.
