According to Time magazine, there are various organizational problems occurring that could lead to the Olympics not being broadcast on television. A series of unworkable conditions are being created for networks including limits on live coverage in Tiananmen Square and allegations that freight shipments of TV broadcasting equipment are being held up in Chinese ports.The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are scheduled to begin on August 8th. According to the minutes of a May 29th meeting, procedures which have been used by broadcasters in other Olympics are conflicting with China's authoritarian government. Some plans are months behind schedule, which could force broadcasters to compromise coverage plans.
The Chinese are very concerned about something going wrong - and so they are in Olympic gridlock," said John Barton, director of sport for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, which represents broadcasters in 57 countries. "This is the greatest moment in their sporting history," Barton said. "They've built a stage on which they want to perform, but they are rather queasy about how it should be shown."
All I can say is when you try to make deals with a totalitarian government, you get what you pay for.[via Digg]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-11-2008 @ 10:14AM
dpratt said...
Countdown to the obligatory "The U.S. is just as bad" comment begins now
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6-11-2008 @ 10:23AM
Leo M. said...
na, don't think so...but I guess you never know
The U.S. is certainly not as bad or anywhere close when it comes to this kind of thing...
6-11-2008 @ 11:28AM
0megapart!cle said...
Sensitive much, asshole. No, the US is not nearly as bad as China. Doesn't change the fact that we have a hell of a lot of things we need to change about ourselves, starting at the top.
6-11-2008 @ 10:30AM
KMF said...
I'm sorry, but I hate it when the Olympics are on tv, so I'm not upset by the thought of this one bit.
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6-11-2008 @ 10:55AM
Dorv said...
Yeah, because it always preempts the quality network programming in the middle of August.
Oh wait, that's right, everyone loves repeats.
6-11-2008 @ 11:03AM
TVGenius said...
Yeah, my uncle works for one of the networks here and has been tasked with organizing some of the stuff for the network's news coverage from Beijing. They were demanding all the specs on all the equipment that would be brought over. Actually found someone more evil than the FCC.
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6-11-2008 @ 11:15AM
Josh said...
If it doesn't air, FX will have no other excuse not to air the final episodes of The Shield. Let's hope the Olympics don't air!
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6-11-2008 @ 11:35AM
Jason said...
Don't forget that only NBC-owned networks show the Olympics these days. Even if things turn out alright, FX can still run The Shield, maybe as alternative programming or something. Plus it's cable, so it'll reair a few times each week, and they can do a marathon or something after the Olympics are over for anyone who missed it. Don't worry, worst case is they delay the premiere until the week after the games are over or something.
6-11-2008 @ 11:24AM
C C said...
Beijing should NEVER have been chosen as an Olympic site. The IOC thought that a Chinese Olympics would loosen the government's grip, force them to be more democratic. So far, I think they were wrong. Very wrong.
China has been brought into capitalism and the "global" economy way, way too fast. Capitalism does not necessarily mean democracy.They have a tendency to do most everything cheaply in order to make a buck, and the government oversight is pathetic and corrupt. We've been seeing the devastating side effects from the lack of standards they have: the scandal involving the melamine in the pet food; the lead detected in the Chinese-produced toys; the poorly constructed schools which collasped during the earthquake.
The major problem they're facing with these Olympics is the pollution in Beijing. It's downright dangerous for the athletes to perform in an oxygen-deprived enviroment. The IOC warned China over two years ago to try to reduce the pollution. It's unclear whether they've been successful.
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6-11-2008 @ 11:29AM
0megapart!cle said...
I think it will go down in the history books as one of the worst decisions ever made, to let China host the Olympics at this point in history. I think the entire thing will be a huge clusterfuck, but hopefully it will shed some light for Western audiences on the dark corners of the regime.
6-11-2008 @ 11:59AM
Edward said...
So this blog is turning into Hate China?
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6-11-2008 @ 12:16PM
Scott said...
These olympic games will be the worst ever. China has way too many problems. I still can't understand why they picked this country. They were already protesting over the torch relay and the games haven't even started yet. These games will just be one big protest. This is what you get for picking a communist nation to host the games.
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6-11-2008 @ 1:52PM
Jimmy said...
I'm more of a Winter Olympics guy, so I guess I can't care too much about this. That being said, I think some of China bashing is a bit out of place. I certainly don't disagree with the assessment that China is a totalitarian regime, we already know that, but this isn't the first time the Olympics have been held in a country that doesn't share some our ideals. Personally, I always thought our boycott of the Russian Olympics and their boycott of the LA Olympics was silly posturing that hurt the athlete more than anything else. The real loser here will be the athletes who've worked hard to achieve this place in their careers if China can't deal with all those free-speaking foreigners in their country.
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6-11-2008 @ 1:52PM
Dave said...
Oh please, oh please, oh please let this be true. Or at the very least make it impossible to show gymnastics on television. Any sport that involves a judge is not a sport.
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6-11-2008 @ 8:20PM
Todd said...
YAWN! The last time I watched the Olympics intently was when McDonalds had a contest where the food you won was tied to how USA placed. 1984?