On the other hand I have this vivid memory of some crazy gal crawling across the finish line back in ancient memory. ;> To this day it drives my interest in the sport.

I think the ratings for NBCs Olympic coverage have not been all that great either. Could have something to do with the fact they show so little live events - even when the Olympics were in our own country.

My wife was watching the telecast yesterday and mentioned she would have thought all the people competing were professionals on some level because they really never mention much about most of the people being amateurs. They also never mention anything about the age group races within the race or even that most of the people are age groupers. What they really need is to have an additional announcer to tell people about the workings of the sport. There were several references to people being penalized, but no real explanation of the foul.

Someone else called this a drama-mentury. That's it in a nutshell. It isn't really coverage of a sporting event at all. The telecast leaves far too much out to be labeled as sporting event coverage.

Don

My understanding is that WTC determines the content of the broadcast, not NBC. I believe WTC produces the show themselves using NBC resources, NBC just broadcasts it. In which case, we can't go blaming NBC.

This issue comes up every year. Very few triathletes think that the Kona coverage is very good, myself included. And yet, as others have pointed out, ya gotta acknowledge (a) the tremendous challenge covering an event of this magnitude presents, and (b) that triathlon really is more a sport of participation than "spectation" (if that's a word!). An awful lot of the action takes place internally, in both the physical and mental sense. They really have to be creative in coming up with ways to make the action interesting.

Having said that, if I could share my own ideas for improving the broadcast with WTC/NBC, I would suggest:

1) Yes, by all means, EXPLAIN how all those people got to Hawaii! I've been saying this for years. As someone else pointed out, for all the average viewer knows the folks in the race simply signed up, showed up, and raced. Ha!

2) Point out the speeds at which the pros race. Show some relative examples that fully illustrate the concept and make the effort "real" to the average couch potato. Watching on TV, it often looks as though the athletes are just jogging out there, when the men are actually running close to 6 minute miles and the fastest women are doing 7 minute miles. That just blows me away! Somehow they need to come up with a camera angle that really shows the speed. Then if they could do some sort of "feature" segment in there that illustrates on a track, so that the couch potatoes begin to get the sense of just how fast these paces are. I dunno, I just think it would open a few eyes.

3) Something about nutrition and what a key factor it is, including the importance of maintaining electrolyte balances, etc. Was it Tinley or was it Dan (slowman) who made the incredibly astute observation that Ironman "is not a race, it's an eating contest!"?

4) Yes, please, emphasize the brutal conditions a little more. They really failed to convey just how frickin' HOT and HUMID it was this year! But they also failed to point out the incredible windless conditions for the first half of the bike and how unusual they were. They sort of got the swim conditions right at least!

5) A little info on equipment might be pretty interesting for the average couch potato (not to mention us!).

Anyway, just a few ideas.

[reply]When was the last time you watched an NFL playoff game, and while the action was going on you were subjected to stories about the third string kicker, the offensive lineman with the thyroid problem, or the wide receiver who just lost hs father? If they showed that crap instead of the game, the ratings would be crap.[/reply]

That is a totally invalid comparison. The NFL playoff game is LIVE and the results are still to be determined (unless you are the 49ers.) The Kona coverage is months old. I've known who won the thing for quite a while.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Most people do not know the results, such as the people who do not frequent the tri websites, which is who you said the coverage is for. If it is not for "us" and not for "them" who is it for?

The comparison is thus valid against your arguments.

QED

; )

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"Remember: a bicycle is an elegant and efficient tool designed for seeking out and defeating people who aren't as good as you."

--BikeSnobNYC

It all makes you wonder if there isn't a better way to cover IMH. What if they had live or same-day race coverage in October, followed in November or December by a follow-up show that builds on some of the key stories that only emerged given a little time for the dust to settle?

With the Olympic and Ironman coverage, NBC has been following a tried method of broadcasting. If there seems to be no advertiser interest in supporting Ironman coverage, you have to look at all of the potential reasons. It may be that the average American finds triathlon boring--or it may also be that it just hasn't been packaged right and the average American finds NBC's artsy coverage of the Ironman boring. There are, of course, other possibilities, but I hope I make the point that it's time for Ironman to try something new.

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Ben H

Christian, Husband, Father, Ranger, Triathlete

I'm not sure how triathlons got to be associated with all these tear-jerker stories. It certainly wasn't that way in the beginning - it was just hard-ass racing. Do you ever hear about how some football player had to go through all kinds of personal problems to get to a certain game? No. Sure, people got into it to "prove" something to themselves, but many of us were in it to race. So, although I appreciate the fact that some participants have "human interest" stories, the race is what I'm really interested in, and I can do without the other, especially if all they are going to do is a 90 minute show. Tri is not a big-time sport yet, in the eyes of the networks, so I guess these networks think they have to find something besides the race to get the public interested.

I get the feeling the networks just understand and don't know what to do with these kinds of sports - ie, no ball, no quick plays, no endless reruns of some play. They did the same thing the the RAAM: trivialized the race and focused on personalities so that in the end the winner was almost ignored.

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"My strategy is to start out slow and then peter-out altogether" Walt Stack

   We have yet to see the day when IMH live coverage will be anywhere near the ratings of whatever football games are on that day, or golf, or skating, or, or..... Face it. Triathletes still make up a miniscule part of the poplation. Getting into the Olympics has helped (no matter what you think of the format), but we're still a fringe sport, on the order of, say, curling. WHAT?????? Curling?????? Yeah, curling. And we're too closely related to that other fringe sport: professional cycling. WHAT????? Roadie Cycling?????? Our best hope for live coverage of IMH from a meaningful competition standpoint is to get OLN on board. Prime time USA would rather see a regional market, bottom of the barrel football game, or even some talking head spelunking for our $$$, than a real sport that they could actually compete in.

Tricia - Good points

I should add the following:

To a certain degree NBC/WTC gave up on showing much of the real race years ago( You may recall when Julieanne White finished 2nd in 1992 and recieved zero coverage on the NBC show) The NBC Ironman Show needs to be appreciated for what it is: A very well produced and choregraphed show of the each years Ironman Hawaii event that appeals to the general public. The results speak for themselves: It gets very high ratings each year. It has one a number of Emmy awards and it regularly inspires non-triathletes to have a go at the sport. It does have some serious impact. However, in terms of really covering the race, the strategies, the logistics etc . . it pulls up way short. True fans and enthusiasts of the sport are consistantly disapointed, but that's not who the show is made for. For these folks, I would suggest same day or all week coverage on ironmanlive.com( with Greg Welch and other tri-personalities), right here on slowtwitch.com( With Dan Empfield), xtri.com( great post race photos/stories) or for a more farcical and humerous view of Ironman week check out super-star coaches Roch Frey and Paul Huddles comments/photos on multisports.com

For years I never even bothered watching the NBC show. However, now I watch it and enjoy it for what it is.

To the more general topic of the thread - I believe that NBC does have a bit of a disconnect with it's viewers on what sports it does cover and how they cover them. This is no more apparent than at the Olympic Games. Perhaps, NBC has access to very sophisticated viewer behaviour information ( One would think/hope so ) But, I don't understand why the NBC coverage is a such a radical departure from other major/minor networks in the world CBC, BBC etc . . Are American viewers that much different than those viewers, in, say, right next door in Canada! Up here, the CBC tends to show more sports and for many events/races has a start-to-finish coverage strategy. We got that for the World Triathlon Championships in Cancun. We got that last weekend when we saw a recent FIS World Cup Cross-Country Race from Italy and we get it during the Olympic Games. If you watched the NBC Winter Olympic Games coverage last year( That actually took place in the US!!) You would think that it was a figure skating contest with some other minor events going on on the sidelines! Strange.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

To add flesh to my initial hypothesis, I believe that despite NBC's Emmy's and "high ratings" (which really aren't), somebody can do much better with the raw material that is Ironman Hawaii.

Let's look at another example. 10-20 years ago, the American networks provided weekend TdF coverage. It consisted of tape-delayed race action from throughout the preceeding week, presented in what was to us then a thrilling format. Because that was all we had, we thought it was great. It won awards and got ratings that everyone thought were high for cycling.

Now, OLN shows us what was possible with TdF coverage. You can argue that Lance "makes" the OLN coverage, but I don't really think that's it. OLN saw where the coverage could go and took their product there. We--long-time cycling fans and those LA brought into the sport--are all better off for it.

Somebody can do the same with IMH--if Ironman Corp allows and seeks it. You've got incredible athletes and real people racing side-by-side. You've got a breathtakingly beautiful setting savaged by heat, wind, and humidity. Finally, you've really got breathtaking action--things like Steve Larsen ripping everybody's doors off and going for broke, with the eventual winner forced to chase him down on the run through melt-down conditions, after a drafting penalty. There's great stuff there for viewers and advertisers alike; package it right and you'll win more awards, get higher ratings, and--ultimately--make more bucks for the advertisers, the network, the racers, and the race promoters.

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Ben H

Christian, Husband, Father, Ranger, Triathlete

"Live" IMH or any Ironman for that matter, would be a tough watch for anyone out-side of the hardcore participant. Hey, I am a participant. I am a huge fan of the sport. I even have experience in Triathlon TV production and broadcasting and I can tell you this - watching an Ironman( for 9 plus hours) can be as exciting as watching the grass grow!

Sample: "Reid has a three minute lead on DeBoom" ( 2 hours later) "Reid still has a three minute lead on DeBoom"!!

Careful with what sports ARE big - the main American net works tend to give a somewhat distorted view of what sports are big on a world-wide basis. From what I have read, no surprise, soccer is #1 world-wide. Soccer gets scant coverage in the US. World-wide cycling is huge and so is athletics( track & field), but again these two sports get little if any coverage on the main networks.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Your right... Live would bea stretch. Even checking in periodically on the net is less than riviting. It takes a lot of passion to go watch an IM in person. You pretty much have to be a triathlete or family of a participant.

How many soprts on TV are a combination of the Pros and Amateurs... not any that I can think of. So comparisons to footbal or the tour are not really applicable. Suer, we all want to see the pros. They get the headlines and are revered asfamous indurance athletes.

But I would contend that the fact that this sport is open to me or you, every day Joes and Janes who choose to fit this into their family, work and social schedules is remarkable. That is compelling to both journalist and TV watchers. Thus the tear jerker stories. Everytime I see an Ironman broadcast I have teary moment because I know what an amazing accomplishment it is. And how important my family and friends were.

I do not think the current broadcasts do a dis-service to the sport. I think they put it in a pretty accurate perspective. And the real and primary purpose of that broadcast is to promote the sport and the brand.

Haven't we beat this topic to the ground yet? My thoughts are that the re-broadcast was a little better....thanks in part to the Reid segment which was ommited in the first brodadcast. But overall, I had no problems in the first place with Ironman Coverage. I wasn't expecting NBC's coverage to be a big deal and those who were expecting a big production deserve the disapointment. Haven't we learned from the past? Each year it's the same thign. blah,blah,blah......

But let's get over this NBC - Ironman thing already. This is obsurd.

Am I the only one who likes NBC's coverage? Yes, it could be longer. Hell, I'd like to see them cover it live for 17 straight hours. But I have to say, I like the human interest stories just as much as I like the race. I watch and rewatch old IM's when I'm on the trainer and get choked up every time I see Dick and Ricky Hoyt or Bob Jordan talk about the gift from Emily. Forget about Phil Ligget, whoever does the VO for IM is perfect. Although I will say, sometimes they obviously force the athletes to say certain things that sound a bit scripted. This year it was 'the white line'. Peter Reid must have used that phrase every other sentence. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with NBC.