NBC drops the ball and only shows part of a gold medal final

[de3ik]

If you missed it the youngest member of the US team Katie Ledecky won the gold medal in the 800m freestyle swimming race in the 2012 London Olympics. She swam at world record pace nearly the entire time too and even though she didn't get the world record to get the gold medal and beat out the favorite Great Britain's Becky Adlington are very impressive.

I watched the race and what really bothered me is that NBC not only had a commercial break during this TAPE DELAYED race, but they cut out nearly 2 1/2 minutes of it, going from about 2:28 before the break to 4:57 or so after. This was a great race by Katie and the people who watched on NBC only got to see 2/3 of it which to me is inexcusable.

I really think NBC dropped the ball on this and should have shown the entire race. I know they have to show their commercials, but this was a gold medal final where former distance Janet Evans record was broken and surely something could have been done to bring the race to the American fans on NBC watching and recording it in it's entirety.

I tried to find an article about what NBC did online, but couldn't. However you can read about Katie's feat at these links:

Katie Ledecky, youngest United States Olympian, wins gold in 800
http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/katie-ledecky-youngest-united-states-olympian-wins-gold-191355672--oly.html

Katie Ledecky, 15, wins 800 free, breaks Janet Evans' record
By Christine Brennan, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/swimming/story/2012-08-03/London-Olympics-Becky-Ledecky-swimming/56752270/1

[sigmapi1501]

Because watching 800M of swimming is BORING

[rufus50]

The NBC coverrage has been terrible especially if you are here on the west coast. Of course, being a corporation it cares more for its advertisers so why be surprised?
In the UK, the Olympics (or World Cup) is always played live no matter what the local time is.

[laurindat]

I watched that event and couldn't believe they cut off bits too! But I guess they figured people wouldn't be interested in watching the event for 8 minutes straight And yeah, they do have to make money with the commercials.. Also, they kinda did the same thing during the opening ceremony by skipping a few minor countries during commercial breaks and not giving them as much screen time as the other ones.

The NBC coverrage has been terrible especially if you are here on the west coast. Of course, being a corporation it cares more for its advertisers so why be surprised?
In the UK, the Olympics (or World Cup) is always played live no matter what the local time is.

Very true regarding the west coast. We have to wait till the rest of the world already knows the results before we can even see it play out, and by that time the internet has already spoiled it for us They keep advertising you can stream the Olympics online for free, but you have to pay for one of the TV providers before you can log in and actually watch! ugh.
I wish the US fostered the same policy as in UK. I'd sure like to watch the events live along with the rest of the world.

[bowrunner]

With the time difference watching some of the events live would be really difficult for me. 
Katie Ledecky did a wonderful job (and only 15 years old.)  I kept thinking she was going to wear out but she just kept going.

[bigfoot951]

This is funny to me.  I was watching it and I realized that they went to a commercial in the middle of the race, but I didn't realize they cut out any of the race.

[bjohnson16]

At my house we have been complaining for the whole time.  They only show the things that they want and they are picking the parts that they want to show.  I think they could be doing a better job of it and they also need to make sure they show some of sports that are not the most popluar

[de3ik]

The NBC coverrage has been terrible especially if you are here on the west coast. Of course, being a corporation it cares more for its advertisers so why be surprised?
In the UK, the Olympics (or World Cup) is always played live no matter what the local time is.

Oh no I'm not surprised. I don't know why you thought I was surprised. I wasn't surprised at what NBC did, as much as I just didn't appreciate how they covered the event. I know they are more concerned with advertising revenues, but 2:30 wouldn't have broken the bank. This was a gold medal final. They showed plenty of the women's volleyball tournament earlier and that wasn't a final so I don't know why they couldn't have shown the full final for that event.

This is funny to me.  I was watching it and I realized that they went to a commercial in the middle of the race, but I didn't realize they cut out any of the race.

I think you missed it because you might not have been paying attention to the time when they went to commercial break and when they returned. If you would have noticed the time at the break was around 2:28 and when it returned flashed on the screen at around 4:57 or so. I can't remember how long it was on the screen or what, but I remember the times. I assure you they cut out about 2:30 of the race.