ESPN Gets No Love From Olympic Organizers
For all of its bluster, ESPN will be but a blip on the media radar of this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing. Because the World Wide Leader is not a paid up broadcaster of the games, reporters and anchors that will be dispatched to Beijing will not be permitted to interview athletes inside the Games, or show highlights prior to the conclusion of NBC’s coverage.
From the USA Today report:
Like ESPN, which will deploy just eight staffers in Beijing — including Jeremy Schaap and George Smith as its only on-air types — trying to see what it can rustle up. It won’t be easy. Non-rights holders, even if they can get into official venues such as competition sites — where “mixed zones” allow athletes and media members to mingle — cannot bring in any recording devices — including cameras. The exception is the Games’ main press, but their footage or audio cannot be aired live. (And each day, ESPN can only air event highlights after NBC’s prime-time coverage ends — and then no more than six minutes on a news show.)
Talk about a slap in the face. The network that saturates our highlights, opinions and sports viewing habits can’t get into the world’s largest sports competition?
Oh well, guess there’s more time for the network to find ‘Titletown.‘
