Second Radiohead lyric in the past three posts...oh well, OK Computer is very applicable to travelling.
Not being a native speaker and knowing all of 50 words in German, watching TV hasn't been that exciting. There is CNN International to watch, which is in English. Although I can only watch so much of the conflict in the Middle East. The other channel I've found interest in in Eurosport. Yes, everything is in German, but sports are pretty universal and I can figure out what is going on without knowing that the announcers are saying.
Without my knowledge I happen to be here during the European Swimming Championships. This is great as Eurosport is broadcasting them. It is not that they are just broadcasting the finals of each event...no, they are showing most of the preliminary heats, semifinals, and finals of all swimming and diving events. This is amazing! How often are we treated to swimming on TV in the states? I know they show the NCAA Division I National meet every year, but that is on tape delay a week or so after the competition takes place. Other then that, the only swimming on TV we get is every four years with the Olympic Trials and the Olympics. Not only is Eurosport showing everything, most of it is LIVE! None of this tape delay BS where, in the age of the internet, you know who has won. Its really great! I wake up in the morning and while we're eating breakfast, I get to watch prelims swims of events. Even with the distance events of the 800 and 1500, they show practically every length. I remember watching Olympics in years past where they would show the start and then the last 100 of the 1500. It was beautiful to watch the German women destroy the world record in the 800 Free Relay last night as the anchor brought it home in a blistering 1:55 and change.
Those of us that are involved in the sport of swimming often complain to the lack of attention our sport gets outside of the Olympics. This is because networks choose not to broadcast meets such as Nationals; if they do, it is on tape delay and takes away from the excitement of watching the event live. Part of the reason for this is ESPN's near monopoly on sports coverage. Yes there are other networks that cover sports, but ESPN is the only 24-hour sports network and is watched in more homes then any other network. How great would it be instead of watching a radio broadcast (yes, they actually film the inside of the radio booth...very exciting TV) of Mike & Mike in the morning, they broadcast live events such as swimming, track and field, or even the EPL. Instead of watching Skip Bayless and Woody Paige argue non-sensical points, we could actually be watching real sports events. What a concept! There are very few US events (well, those that ESPN covers) that take place during the day and based on the success of the 2006 World Cup, the EPL could do very well.
I've started to tire of ESPN and it only sucks because there really isn't a viable alternative. It reminds me of when MTV started broadcasting shows instead of videos. ESPN needs to broadcast sports, instead of another talking head. But keep PTI, that is one of the few shows that works.
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4 comments:
Cable companies do maintain a monopoly that hurts the viewers. Chances are, these things won't change soon.
However, I wonder if thats the real reason we don't see swimming on TV. One possible other reason could be that, you know, NO ONE BUT SWIMMERS REALLY CARE!?!~
Yes, initially the only people who care are swimmers...but in the Olympics, swimming gets some of the highest ratings. Maybe people will start to care and gain interest when it is on TV. Like soccer, the more it is on TV, the more fans (albeit slowly) are gained.
ESPN shows hours upon hours of events such as competitive eating, poker, darts, and dominos. I tell you, these guys train REAL HARD for this. You think they might actually find success by televising real non-mainstream sports.
Maybe if there wasnt such a high potential for a wardrobe malfunction, there would not have to be a tape delay.
Speaking of MTV of the 90s, Today I heard an NPR story that was reminicing for their reporting and news that they used to put on. Particularly, they were talking about Kurt Loder. Now, there's a name I haven' heard in a while.
dude, this "Word Verification" is killing me. My word is dajnxvjq
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