By any standards, yesterday's Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing was spectacular. An awesome display of imagination, excellent choreography and attention to detail. My son and I were up early to watch it live from Beijing... only to find it wasn't to be broadcast on NBC (the only network available to us it seems) until 7.30 in the evening! Even weirder, this was listed as a 'live' broadcast. Huh? Disgusted, I tried to find other viewing options on the web, but those we tried were blocked. Other fans apparently faired slightly better, due to their greater tenacity and ingenuity (see the New York Times article linked from the post title above). But for most US viewers, a wait for the 'live' ceremony was required.
When it came, it certainly had some trappings of a live broadcast. An attempt at a suspenseful build-up... and much more annoyingly the constant peppering of advertisements causing viewers to miss bits of the ceremony! Each time the commentators brought us back with 'while you were away...'. Was this really necessary? Since they'd dedicated such effort to ensuring we waited to see what most other viewers across the world saw 14 hours or so earlier, could we not have had some benefit from it being pre-recorded?
Even with these annoyances, it was an attention grabbing opener to these games. London 2012 sure has an act to follow! (Yikes!) My favourite bit of the evening? Had to be when the camera trained on President Bush, who was looking bored and then checking his watch - when Laura Bush also checked hers, the camera gave up. It seems even truly live action can't please everyone.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Campaign for the Democratisation of Sport
sport helping people
Petitions to sign
start your own petition!
other great links
It was the 2007 Rugby World Cup that finally did it for me.
Not only was it impossible for us or our kids to watch any rugby games on television without 'paying to view' or - worse - going to a sports bar or pub (at $20 per person), we couldn't even get video highlights over the internet after the match!
This feels like the culmination of a process that has been underway for some time - the gradual lifting of popular competitive sports away from the people. At the same time, we see burgeoning levels of lethargy and obesity, including in children. How can we expect kids to participate in playing sport if they are unable to participate in watching it - at least, not without their parents shelling out, yet again...? Something is very wrong here!
Hence the Campaign for the Democratisation of Sport.
We don't want much, just the chance to enjoy our favourite sports again - to be awed by excellence, to share the highs and lows with our friends and families, to inspire our kids to 'try it for themselves'.
To this end, we are campaigning for:
1) greater consideration to be given to ACCESS issues by sports associations, broadcasters, sporting franchises and their regulators, when they agree commercial rights;
2) much greater investment in community sports, including the significant investment of time, money and ideas by the big sporting brands and their boards;
3) greater consideration of and input from the fans in club board decision-making.
This feels like the culmination of a process that has been underway for some time - the gradual lifting of popular competitive sports away from the people. At the same time, we see burgeoning levels of lethargy and obesity, including in children. How can we expect kids to participate in playing sport if they are unable to participate in watching it - at least, not without their parents shelling out, yet again...? Something is very wrong here!
Hence the Campaign for the Democratisation of Sport.
We don't want much, just the chance to enjoy our favourite sports again - to be awed by excellence, to share the highs and lows with our friends and families, to inspire our kids to 'try it for themselves'.
To this end, we are campaigning for:
1) greater consideration to be given to ACCESS issues by sports associations, broadcasters, sporting franchises and their regulators, when they agree commercial rights;
2) much greater investment in community sports, including the significant investment of time, money and ideas by the big sporting brands and their boards;
3) greater consideration of and input from the fans in club board decision-making.
About Me
- eazibee
- I am an optimist and look for the best in everyone I meet. I believe we can make the world a better place with good ideas and passionate application!