Olympic Events: Held Mid-Day?

[skatingguy]

It's like the Olympics are not even happening next week.

Maybe it's because the Olympics aren't next week, they're the week after.

I don't know what the buzz around the Olympics is like in other countries but the part of Canada where I live, there is almost none among the general population.

There is almost no buzz in the U.S. for these Games right now either. The ratings are likely to be low even with the live coverage.

I remember similar things being said before the Beijing Olympics. The thinking was that the ratings would drop because of the time change, but the swimming looked promising because of Phelps. But the Opening Ceremonies were spectacular and Phelps story built the audiences with each passing day. Then after the first week the thinking was that the ratings would drop because there was nothing to grab the attention of the audience anymore, but then Usain Bolt came along. The ratings for these games may be down because of the lack of NHL players but it's possible that they'll be just fine because the Olympics always grabs attention and ultimately the athletes performances will determine the level of excitement. The Olympics are the ultimate reality television show, and the great part about it is that we don't have to wait a week for the next episode.

 

[Seerek]

All the events at the Pyeongchang Sliding Centre (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) will be held at night (this is often the case during the World Cup/World Championships, so no big change there).

 

[ilovesalchows]

Those of us who live in the Eastern time zone don't understand the problem and think the rest of you are big whiners.

And those of us on the west coast who are 40 years old appreciate getting to bed at a decent hour. #oldlady

 

[A.H.Black]

Money forcing Athletes to wake up too early for the pre-competition training. Go land your quads and lift your partner at 6 a.m. Whatever. If we get splatfests though ...
Thinking that NBC will have TV rights in 2022 too makes it worst, because same case scenario when games are in this part of Asia. Love the Games in Asia (as always), but dislike those money rights.

We get splatfests a lot anyway - often at the Olympics. I don't think we will be able to tell if the time has anything to do with it. I think the reasoning is that since the circumstances are the same for all the skaters, it is fair.

I remember there was a lot of angst about the swimming in Beijing but it didn't seem to affect the results or the records. I don't' remember if it affected Track and Field in London.

I'm pretty sure it was the same way in the 88 Summer Games in Seoul. I recall watching it all evening (in the US, Eastern time zone) with a colicky new baby!

I still have recordings of Seoul. It was tape delayed. We didn't have online coverage in those days or nearly the pressure to have things live. It was fine because we were willing to wait and didn't have the media telling us results all the time. We didn't really know we missed much.

I think Calgary was the start of people really wanting things live. It was in the Western Time Zone so we got to see the skating live and it was exciting to see it that way. By 1992, there was more coverage on cable the public started to realize they weren't getting things as they happened.

 

[starrynight]

With all the talk of how the Olympics are becoming unsustainably expensive for them to be hosted in a new country every 4 years ... sounds like there might be an argument to have them hosted regularly at a designated facility in the US? Particularly if everyone is right in saying the locals aren't particularly interested and the big money is coming from US television networks. I do wonder if by the end of my lifetime the Olympics will be continuing in their current format. It is very reliant on patriotic sports mad countries with money to spend.

At least 9.00am isn't as bad as some big pro boxing matches starting at midnight or even later to slot into prime time.

RE Olympic buzz - I think things have being going too smoothly. There's always so much news when there's something going wrong. The laws in Russia, the expensive road to Sochi, Putin etc made Sochi a buzz even in my country where there is barely any talk of winter sports. In Rio it was all about Zika and the rush to finish the Olympic Village at the last moment.

However, there has been no such thing for the media to jump on this time. (Really, thank goodness) but drama sells.

 

[chapis]

The skaters already know the schedule, they only need adjust their schedule too, as they do when they are competing in a different country, go to bed earlier, etc. Some skaters are used to getting up early, Maia and Alex usually wake up at 5am.

 

[MsZem]

At major competitions, events often happen in the afternoon. Times when all 4 disciplines take place in the same day, competing may start at 1-2pm. So there should be no issue with the time.

At 2014 Euros, the pairs free was at 11am on Sunday. IIRC some of the skaters were less than thrilled with this scheduling, though I don't remember if it was the early start, that it was on the final day and after the banquet, or some combination thereof.

It's easy to say that the athletes should just deal. I hope that they will be able to, because this is not a normal competition schedule and there's already more than enough stress for them to handle.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Canadian Ladies early groups started at 8am to accommodate TV and EST.

I hope what this means is that sports that are really important in Korea, like short track speed skating, which most East Coast Americans and US TV care nothing about, are live prime time in Korea. Some sports have to be, to fit them all into two weeks.

 

[Braulio]

The only sport that has put the schedule to NBC convenience was Figure Skating, the alpine skiing, snowboard, freestyle skiing always take place during the morning/noon hours

Biathlon, cross-country, nordic combined, ski jumping are slated for european market with finals taking place at evening and night to fit european time.

 

[Seerek]

I remember there was a lot of angst about the swimming in Beijing but it didn't seem to affect the results or the records. I don't' remember if it affected Track and Field in London.

I still have recordings of Seoul. It was tape delayed. We didn't have online coverage in those days or nearly the pressure to have things live. It was fine because we were willing to wait and didn't have the media telling us results all the time. We didn't really know we missed much.
.

Beijing 2008 Olympics had the Laser racer body suits, which helped in many new swimming records, even with the morning finals. Most of Track and Field finals in Beijing were at night.

Seoul had most of their Track and Field finals in the early afternoon (late at night in North America).

 

[Seerek]

I hope what this means is that sports that are really important in Korea, like short track speed skating, which most East Coast Americans and US TV care nothing about, are live prime time in Korea. Some sports have to be, to fit them all into two weeks.

There is an potential interest story in teenager Maame Biney, who represents the next generation of short track for Team USA, a country going through a transition period as the rest of the World has caught up as medal contenders in the 2 decades since the event's addition to the Olympic schedule.

As for the schedule, it's all for the best since Gangneung Ice Arena can then fit in the figure skating events in the afternoon, then the short track heats and finals in the evenings - all in the same day.

 

[Vagabond]

Money forcing Athletes to wake up too early for the pre-competition training. Go land your quads and lift your partner at 6 a.m. Whatever. If we get splatfests though ...

A lot of skaters train at 6:00 a.m. every single day.

The competitions themselves will start at 10:00 a.m. local time (8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time). I think skaters are less likely to splat at noon than at 10:30 p.m., but we shall see.

 

[tony]

Yeah, an early start is more along the lines of when they are training every single day. Most of the younger skaters are probably typically asleep at all other times of the year by the time the final groups of events like US Nationals take place.

 

[Bellanca]

Being a night owl myself, I still would not want to skate and/or compete @ 10:30pm, Midnight... Nope, no way.

 

[Lacey]

I apologize if I have missed any scheduling information for the Os, skating and other sports.

Do we have the schedule for how many minutes/hours of skating will be on each night at 8pm Eastern US? Will we have 3 (until 11pm?) to 4 (until midnight?) hours straight of skating each night? What other sports will be shown in prime time Eastern US?

Will skating be shown at other times during the daytime, and would they only be repeats?

Is there a printed schedule of all televised Olympics events at all times that I can download?

 

[debo]

Talking about schedules, wasn’t there a day between the short and long programs in the past? Now only the ladies ‘enjoy’ that day. I wonder if the skaters feel one way or the other about the change; I don’t remember the Sochi schedule.

 

[StasiyaGalustyanLove]

My wife and I are thrilled that we will be able to watch the skating after work here in the USA. I just hope that none of the skating events are held on a Sunday morning because the Christian skaters would not have the opportunity to visit a church, I have heard that there are more Christian churches per person in South Korea than anywhere else in the world!

My wife and I do not drink alcohol, but I know that people who are going to see the Olympics might want to have beers or wines during the skating and hopefully early morning events will be better so they can have water and not get de-hydrated and may be even pass out. I wonder if they will offer free cups of water with lids.

 

[debo]

Team event finals are scheduled for 10 am Seoul time on Sunday, February 11. No FS scheduled the other two Sundays.

 

[skatingguy]

I have heard that there are more Christian churches per person in South Korea than anywhere else in the world!.

That seems strange given that only about a third of the population identify as Christian. I would think that a country with greater history of Christianity would have far more churches. Like Ireland, I would think they would have a larger number of churches per capita than a country like Korea.

 

[tony]

I apologize if I have missed any scheduling information for the Os, skating and other sports.

Do we have the schedule for how many minutes/hours of skating will be on each night at 8pm Eastern US? Will we have 3 (until 11pm?) to 4 (until midnight?) hours straight of skating each night? What other sports will be shown in prime time Eastern US?

Will skating be shown at other times during the daytime, and would they only be repeats?

Is there a printed schedule of all televised Olympics events at all times that I can download?

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/viewing-options-tv-streaming.103042/#post-5260841

@Braulio pieced most of it together and has a really handy day-by-day here.

 

[allezfred]

I don't' remember if it affected Track and Field in London.

Athletics was held normally at local time in London. In Rio, they had a final or two during the morning session to attract a bit more of an audience (to little avail).

At 2014 Euros, the pairs free was at 11am on Sunday. IIRC some of the skaters were less than thrilled with this scheduling, though I don't remember if it was the early start, that it was on the final day and after the banquet, or some combination thereof.

It was a combination. Not only that they couldn't go to the banquet, but they did not get meal vouchers for that Saturday evening.

As for the schedule, it's all for the best since Gangneung Ice Arena can then fit in the figure skating events in the afternoon, then the short track heats and finals in the evenings - all in the same day.

The figure skating events do not start in the afternoon. They start at 10am local time.

 

[misskarne]

I think perhaps the part that's irritating me most is that NBC won't even bother to show the early group skaters (who are the most effected). It's all about their precious last groups.

And yes, I'm also annoyed because evening skating would be perfectly watchable for me, but this schedule means I miss nearly everything.

 

[StasiyaGalustyanLove]

I think perhaps the part that's irritating me most is that NBC won't even bother to show the early group skaters (who are the most effected). It's all about their precious last groups.

And yes, I'm also annoyed because evening skating would be perfectly watchable for me, but this schedule means I miss nearly everything.

Has NBC showed the whole groups at major event in the past? Every time Galustyan has been at events that have been broadcasted on USA television, I don't think I have had the chance to see her. And I think that is disappointing! I don't like it when television ratings effect skaters I like.

My wife is also very angry about the USA television schedule for the Olympics. I told her that it would maybe be better for her to relax and save her anger for things like when our dog destroys things in our house, but that made her throw a bible at me!

 

[tony]

I think perhaps the part that's irritating me most is that NBC won't even bother to show the early group skaters (who are the most effected). It's all about their precious last groups.

It's a lot to ask to see the entire competition on the main network when there are other sports that also have events running simultaneously.

The fact that it appears that we will see every skater/nearly every skater between NBCSN and NBC is fantastic, though.

 

[Red Hot Chili Keegan]

My wife is also very angry about the USA television schedule for the Olympics. I told her that it would maybe be better for her to relax and save her anger for things like when our dog destroys things in our house, but that made her throw a bible at me!

Honey, just a reminder that if you had bought me the wonder bible, there would be nothing for me to throw. My birthday is coming up!

 

[CassAgain]

One of the cable NBC stations showed every skater live in Sochi. The final groups were replayed in prime time.

 

[DreamSkates]

Money forcing Athletes to wake up too early for the pre-competition training. Go land your quads and lift your partner at 6 a.m. Whatever. If we get splatfests though ...
Thinking that NBC will have TV rights in 2022 too makes it worst, because same case scenario when games are in this part of Asia. Love the Games in Asia (as always), but dislike those money rights.

Don't many skaters practice very early in the morning? Not the same as a competition, but it wouldn't be a totally new thing to skate early.

 

[Erin]

Don't many skaters practice very early in the morning? Not the same as a competition, but it wouldn't be a totally new thing to skate early.

Right. I hardly think that skaters are unaccustomed to skating early in the morning even if they don't normally compete then.

 

[misskarne]

Don't many skaters practice very early in the morning? Not the same as a competition, but it wouldn't be a totally new thing to skate early.

Right. I hardly think that skaters are unaccustomed to skating early in the morning even if they don't normally compete then.

Practice =/= competition.

Also there's usually a morning warmup at the big comps.

 

[Braulio]

I took a look at the nbcolympics schedule and they will have (in theory) streaming of the practices for all the disciplines

It will start around 6:00 AM (Korean time) that will be 4:00 PM US Eastern/1:00 PM Pacific