CBC vs NBC
Which is the better network? I think 99% of us would agree that NBC, overall, is the better channel. They *are* the network that brought us Friends, Frasier, Freaks & Geeks (which they also tore away from us), ER, etc. I'll admit it, I may be proud to be Canadian, but I sure watch an awful lot of NBC programming. The only things that I watch on CBC is The National, HNIC, Fifth Estate, Marketplace, some of their documentary/informational programming and some of their Made-for-TV movies. Oh… & of course there's It's a Life with Peter Jordan (that show is HILARIOUS). & to this day, I will take CBC Olympic coverage over NBC any day.
Sure the colour on NBC is much more vibrant, but I cannot stand the pro-American "rah rah rah" stance they take. I hate the fact that they either overexpose things, focus on them too much & glorify the tears and pain. UGH. Well, it turns out that I'm not the only one that feels that way. Over the duration of the Athens' games, there have been a number of articles out of the US raving about the fantabulous Olympic coverage by the CBC. Now, this isn't to say that the CBC is flawless… just that CBC is superior!
Detriot Free Press August 13, 2004
Not quite. A comparison of NBC's recorded coverage with a live broadcast seen on the CBC in Canada some 6 hours, 47 minutes earlier proved otherwise. For no logical reason, NBC tweaked reality. Only the minute or so before the race, the race itself, and the immediate moments thereafter were presented in real time…
LA Times August 19, 2004
The mild-mannered 48-year-old publicist is one of a stalwart group of U.S. sports fans who subscribe to a Canadian satellite TV service to get what Chang says is less jingoistic, more event-oriented coverage of the Athens games than is offered up by NBC…
Chang believes his only crime is wanting better TV. "You get a much more balanced perspective on the world, without all the flag-waving."
NY Newsday August 19, 2004
It's barely half an hour into NBC's coverage of the Athens Olympic Games, and I've already shouted "Shut up!" at babbling announcers three times. Minutes later, I'm seething over their ugly-American attitude to the diverse world around us. (In the opening parade of nations, Bob Costas calls native Tajikistan dress "a get-up like that," before noting that multilingual Olympic president Jacques Rogge has "switched over to English, much to our relief.")
Seattle Times August 22, 2004
Still, camera angles didn't zoom in on Pinsent's face, exploiting his genuine tears as NBC prime time has done with anyone who tears up, from athletes to parents. There was a balance of images, even though the Canadians took silver and could have been the sole focus…
It's not just the visual storytelling, bur the Canadians seem to be better at letting it unfold on its own. They're critical of their own team. For instance, prime-time host Brian Williams told the Ottawa Sun, "We'd look like idiots if we tried to suggest everything is fine and we were just being cheerleaders," in reference to all the flak circling the Canadians' poor showing in swimming…
CBC also is more informative about what's happening — not because it has fewer local athletes, but because it seems to understand the Games' world concept…
Plus, you're not constantly flip-flopped between events, pulled into swimming, then gymnastics, then back to swimming, finally catching the final at midnight. CBC stays with a sport until the medals are given out, also cutting out repetitive trips to the host's desk where nothing is really said.
Daily Southtown August 24, 2004
Bob Costas and Katie Couric host NBC's Opening Ceremonies coverage. Also: The usually superb, more internationally aware and less hyperbolic CBC Olympics coverage begins at 7 p.m
Seattle Times August 26, 2004
In contrast, on the Canadian network CBC, Canadian IOC member Dick Pound, who is the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), had a thorough discussion about these issues…
Once again, NBC Universal seemed more interested in hawking products and forcing its image of the Olympics on viewers.
Seattle Times August 28, 2004
With 202 nations and 37 sports, the announcers factor into the Olympic experience, shuffling you around to the various sites while hopefully keeping you informed about the news circling the Games as well as tidbits about the athletes…
No one did this better than CBC host Brian Williams. He had his goofy moments but was critical about his own country, Canada, while remaining knowledgeable and fair about the rest of the world…
Meanwhile, NBC's prime-time host, Bob Costas, should have his microphone stripped. Not only did he botch the names of almost everything Greek (and he's of Greek heritage), his grade-school quips incensed viewers from Port Townsend to Flushing, N.Y. At least that's the feedback I received via e-mail…
CBC gets the award for best use of technology — using someone's cellphone during the opening ceremony — to talk to Canadian athletes, including wrestler Christine Nordhagen, who had watched her husband make the march but never could herself because women's wrestling wasn't made an Olympic sport until this year.
