USA vs Nigeria - Full Game Highlights | August 1, 2016 | Exhibition | 2016 USA Basketball Showcase
NBC takes contracts seriously and the reasons why are obvious. Two years ago they inked a deal to broadcast the Olympics through 2032 with the whopping price tag of $7.75 billion.
What the network takes less seriously is the social contract that broadcasters make with their audience. When it comes to the global games, NBC has abdicated their responsibilities as broadcasters by regularly employing tape-delay at the expense of the live coverage of history.
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Every four years we hear the same complaints, and Rio is cause for more of the same. Social media is aflame with second-screen viewers frustrated by NBCs approach, and Rios initial broadcasts earned anemic ratings compared to Londons 2012 Games. Hating on tape-delay has been around long enough to be considered as an Olympic sport.
Prioritizing packaged shows over live broadcasting reveals the truth about who, precisely, the commercial network primarily serves. Its not you and me. Advertisers earn higher ratings and obtain a better return on investment when Olympic programming time-shifts. Moving events around helps NBC capture the casual, channel-surfing viewer clicking between reality TV, cable news, and cooking shows.
NBCs chief marketing officer, John Miller, candidly admitted the debt the network owes to shows like Survivor, Real World, and Big Brother. Olympic programming, he said, is sort of like the ultimate reality show and miniseries wrapped into one. Hes received considerable criticism for the retrograde gender implications of this strategy as well.
Whatever the motivating strategies, Olympic broadcasts are now filled with stylized emotional storylines centered upon heroic resilience and overcoming adversity. The Olympic Games, in this sense, has evolved into simply another audience-tested standardized television product.
History may be marketable but it isnt a product.
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The essence of broadcasting, since its inception, is its live characteristics. Scholars call the connection catalyzed by broadcastings electric ephemerality liveness and its a feeling weve all experienced. We all intuitively understand the thrill of live broadcasting because we experience it all the time. Its why we sometimes sit in our cars in our driveways to catch the end of a live radio program, even though we know a recording will soon be available on our phones and computers.
The best live broadcasting makes our pulses quicken and our bodies sweat. The suspenseful climax of a sports contest often provokes a triumphant yell or an anguished cry responses impossible to recreate with recordings. This is engaged participation, where ourselves and our media momentarily cohere psychically and even physically. We actually become, in effect, part of the program.
The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin were the first example of this global media phenomenon. An estimated 300 million listeners around the globe caught live broadcasts of their national heroes, and those programs would long be remembered as historic. Ted Husings electrifying call of Jesse Owenss gold medal victory in the 100-meter race was a foundational moment in American sports broadcasting, but other countries had their own memorable moments. Harold Abrahams, calling the 1,500-meter race over BBC radio, for example, offered British sports fans an unforgettable experience. Come on, Jack! he yelled. Lovelock leads! Lovelock! Lovelock! Cmon Jack, my G*d hes done it! Five yards, six yards, hes done it! Hurray!
Millions of Japanese listeners tuned in to the NHK in the middle of the night to catch the duel between Japans Hideko Maehata and Germanys Martha Genenger in the 200-meter breaststroke final. NHK announcer Sansei Kasai screamed to be heard above the roaring crowd in the swimming stadium, repeatedly yelling, Maehata ganbare! Maehata ganbare! [Go, Maehata!] as the Japanese victor took the first gold medal won by a female in Japanese history. These sports broadcasts transcended sports and became legendarily thrilling moments in global broadcasting history.
This is not to say that time-shifting is an entirely new phenomenon in sports broadcasting. In the 1970s, for example, important championship boxing matches would first be viewed via closed-circuit in theaters, and then appear in condensed replays in such venues as ABCs Wide World of Sports. Indeed, it was that program the brainchild of broadcast genius Roone Arledge that first truly demonstrated the triumph of narrative over suspense. ABCs Wide World of Sports might broadcast an obscure (and cheap) event like the world lumberjack championships and viewers would tune in not because they understood the nuance of axe-throwing and log-rolling but because the lumberjack from Norway hoped to earn enough money to pay for his honeymoon.
It was Arledge that took the Olympics from CBS, where Walter Cronkite and the news division often called the action, and gave it the kind of Hollywood production that advertisers loved. Arledge regularly time-shifted events, even historic ones, to maximize audiences. Perhaps the greatest American Olympic sports call Al Michaelss legendary Do you believe in miracles?! was actually heard by most Americans during a replay of the Soviet-US hockey match in primetime.
I was alive in 1980, and I remember that everyone knew the USA won that game before it was aired in prime time. But without the web, and the culture of spoilers we live with today, the game still retained suspense. In a world where everythings available all the time and spoiler alerts are commonplace, the engagement and participation of live programming have increased attraction.
It is the duty of the broadcaster to put the viewer into the swimming pool, the rowing shell, and on the running track in real time. In watching live we become participants rather than audiences. CBS used to open its NFL Today broadcasts with Brent Musberger intoning, You are looking live at a sold-out stadium, and instantly we were in the crowd awaiting the kickoff rather than on our couches in the living room.
But packaged narrative is the safest bet for the advertisers, and old-fashioned nationalistic storytelling has become more difficult. Once upon a time first versus the Nazis in 1936, then the Soviets throughout the Cold War competition at the Olympic Games was filled with ideological, and almost spiritual, meaning.
But ISIS has no track team, and the Russians cheat so openly that much of their team is banned from Rio. Coca-Cola and UPS invest too much money to risk losing your full attention on such trivialities as live sporting contests with outcomes they cant control.
Michael J. Socolow teaches at the University of Maine. His book Six Minutes in Berlin: Broadcast Spectacle and Rowing Gold at the n**i Olympics will be published this fall.
No Man"s Sky Walkthrough Gameplay Part 1 - Planets (PS4)
Update:
Open Critic is now saying that review copies are planned to go out later this week, but no copies have been received yet:
PSA 2: We can confirm that there are advanced review copies planned for No Mans Sky later this wk. Well post the embargo once they go out.
Key word: planned. As in plans change. No copies in the hands of reviewers yet.
Original Story:
According to review aggregator Open Critic, No Mans Sky review copies may not be going out until launch next week.
In their first in a series of tweets, Open Critic said several publications have told them that they arent receiving review copies ahead of No Mans Skys August 9 release date:
PSA: Several publications, incl some large ones, have reported to us that they wont be receiving No Mans Sky review copies prior to launch
In some follow-up tweets, Open Critic clarified that this only applies to pre-release review copies, and its possible early copies could still go out, they just havent heard anything to the contrary yet:
Clarifying three points: 1) There will be review copies for No Mans Sky. Previous tweet specifically about advanced copies (pre-launch)
2) There is no statistical basis for this being a bad sign. DOOM and other titles also didnt issue advanced copies.
3) There COULD be advanced copies Just many of our sources reported they werent getting them. None have reported to us they have.
Lesson for us: dont try to use Twitter to convey nuanced info. Please read original tweet carefully before rushing to no review copies
If review copies of No Mans Sky truly arent being sent out early, its likely in an attempt to prevent spoilers. Last week, Hello Games Sean Murray said, Weve spent years filling No Mans Sky with surprises. Youve spent years waiting. Please dont spoil it for yourself :(. Take a break from reading about it, and picking vids apart. You can experience for yourself so soon.
You can see the full Trophy list for No Mans Sky over here.
Would a lack of reviews for No Mans Sky impact your decision to buy the game?
[Source: Open Critic (Twitter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), No Mans Sky (Twitter 1, 2) via NeoGAF]
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"Bachelor in Paradise" Contestant Sarah Herron on Chad Johnson"s Insults and Apology: "He"s Not Sorry"
Bachelor in Paradise returns Monday night, and that means the return of Bachelorette villain Chad Johnson. In the season premiere last week, a drunken meltdown got Johnson kicked off the show by host Chris Harrison after just one night in Paradise. The disastrous debut included Johnson insulting contestant Sarah Herron, who was born with a disability, calling her called her a "one-armed b**ch". ET"s Nancy O"Dell spoke with Herron and fellow contestant Nick Viall at ET"s studios on Monday.
"It was disrespectful," Herron said. "It was way below the belt. [Chad] keeps saying it was a joke, and he was being funny, but he actually said really horrible things."
WATCH: Chad Johnson on His "Bachelor in Paradise" Debut: "I Regret Everything"
In our interview with Johnson last week, he offered an apology to Herron, but only when prodded. She isn"t buying it.
"I think if he really wanted to apologize to me, which he still should, and can, it should be in person," Herron said. "Reach out to me -- don"t do it on Twitter, don"t do it with a camera in your face. I just feel like he"s not sorry."
Herron said she hasn"t seen any sincere remorse from Johnson -- neither in our ET interview, nor in the apology he posted to social media after the season premiere. "He"s not taking any of it seriously," she said. "You"re making fun of something I have no control over. I was born this way, and if you want to take stabs at people with disabilities, that"s gnarly."
In the premiere, Herron wound up breaking down in tears. Viall defended her Monday. "I thought she did a great job of calling [Chad] out but at the same time keeping it classy and composed," he said. "It"s OK to show emotion, and she was clearly upset."
Viall is familiar with the "villain" label in Bachelor Nation -- Bachelor in Paradise is his third stint in the franchise, and he went head-to-head with both Josh Murray on Andi Dorfman"s season of The Bachelorette, and Shawn Booth on Kaitlyn Bristowes season. But Viall says Johnson is in a class all his own. "I think most people in the Bachelor world who ever get labeled as the villain -- usually it"s for little things like being assertive with the relationships, and maybe there are some jealousy aspects to it," Viall said. "I think Chad was one of the few real villains that we"ve had in Bachelor history, where some of the things he did were really just, honestly kind of despicable."
Viall said Johnson "really is" the way he seems on TV -- and that there was even more bad behavior from him that viewers didn"t see. "If anything, the show is limited by time constraints," Viall said. "There"s so many hours of footage. If anything, there"s plenty more they could have shown."
Bachelor in Paradise airs Monday and Tuesday nights on ABC. For Harrisons take on Johnson"s big blowup, watch the video below!
Aps sofrer violentoacidente na noite de sbado, durante prova daBelleville Midget Nationals, no Kansas, o piloto Bryan Clauson foi levado de helicptero em estado crtico para o hospital Bryan Medical Center West. Segundo comunicado, sua condio na manh de hoje estvel, porm grave.
Dirigentes da confederao de automobilismo local dizem que iro informar o estado de sade do piloto assim que receberem alguma nova informao da famlia do piloto.
Vencedor por trs vezes em Belleville e atual campeo, Clauson iniciou a prova na nona colocao e estava na liderana quando capotou entre as curvas 3 e 4. Em seguida foi atingido pelo carro de Ryan Greth na mesma curva 4, enquanto capotava. A corrida foi interrompida por bandeira vermelha na volta 14. Chad Boat acabou vencendo a prova.
Foi o segundo acidente de Clauson no final de semana. Na primeira prova em Belleville, ele largou em stimo e bateu na curva 4 aps acertar Morgan Frewaldt, que tinha problemas na prova.
Aos 27 anos e natural de Indiana, Clauson correu algumas provas na Indy. Seu nico pdio aconteceu na Indy Light na etapa de Iowa, em 2011. Ele tambm participou de trs edies das 500 Milhas de Indianpolis (2012, 2015 e 2016). Seu melhor resultado foi a 23 colocao este ano.
Ele tambm foi piloto de testes da Chip Ganassi e disputou 26 provas nas temporadas 2007 e 2008. Na ARCA, Clauson venceu em Gateway Park, em 2007, e fez a pole no Talladega Superspeedway. Ele tambm ganhou a pole da prova de julho da Xfinity Series em Daytona, em 2008, e obteve um quinto lugar no Kentucky Speedway na mesma temporada.
Pilotos e personalidades do automobilismo expressaram sua preocupao e solidariedade a Clauson nas redes sociais.
We"re The Superhumans | Rio Paralympics 2016 Trailer
RIO DE JANEIRO Paralympics officials have done what Olympics officials chose not to do, barring all Russian athletes from their Games after an elaborate cheating scheme.
The head of the International Paralympic Committee, Philip Craven, on Sunday decried Russias thirst for glory and medals over morals mentality. He called the government-coordinated cover-up of doping among Russias top disabled athletes abominable.
The committee barred the country from global competition by a unanimous vote; Paralympics officials had announced their intention to do so last month. The decision, issued Sunday, was effective immediately, Mr. Craven said.
Russias Paralympic Committee said it planned to appeal the decision within 21 days to world sports arbitration court in Switzerland.
In choosing what the Olympic committee president called the nuclear option, Paralympic officials have broken from their Olympic counterparts, who recently expressed approval, 85 to 1, of not barring all Russian athletes from the Olympics.
The Paralympic Games begin here on Sept. 7. At the last Games, hosted by Russia in Sochi, Russia had the largest delegation. The country captured a majority of the medals, winning 80. Germany, the country with the next-highest medal count, won 15.
The chemist who ran drug-testing in Sochi said he swapped out the urine of Russias top Olympians and Paralympians who were doping at those competitions. He said he did so at the direction of government officials and with help from Russias internal intelligence service. A subsequent investigation confirmed that account, producing evidence that cover-ups of illegal drug use dated to 2012, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
In choosing what the Olympic committee president called the nuclear option, Paralympic officials have very unusually broken from their Olympic counterparts, who this week expressed approval, 85 to 1, of not barring all Russian athletes from the Olympics.
Many Olympic officials said doping problems went beyond Russia. They called for broad reform and not the punishment of a single country.
Mr. Craven, however, said Sunday that Russias doping violations were unique. This situation is not about athletes cheating a system, he said, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes.
Antidoping officials who had criticized the Olympic committee for a lack of leadership in allowing a sizable Russian delegation to compete here praised Paralympic officials Sunday.
Their unanimous decision goes a long way towards inspiring us all, said Travis Tygart, head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Most importantly clean athletes.
