midnight madness for some Olympians

Michael Phelps does not even have to be compelled to get his swimming costume on till eight.30 p.m. on Friday. By the time he races in metropolis, it'll plan nine p.m. alternative nights, it has been on the brink of time of day. that is have to be compelled to mess with the schedules of Olympians, several of whom typically practise early within the morning. thus what gives?

While it's the International Olympic Committee that attracts up the schedule, there's no larger influence than NBC Sports. it's paid $7.75 billion North American country, in exchange for the yank broadcast rights to each Games through 2032. that is over each alternative broadcaster has paid the IOC combined. At that value, you get heaps of influence.

U.S. broadcaster NBC asked for Michael Phelps' blessing before suggesting the late-night schedule shift at the Rio Olympics.

The u.s. is that the largest tv market within the world — and encompasses a clear interest in seeing key sporting events broadcast once the foremost Americans will see them. The 5 key sports, those with generally the very best viewership, square measure largely control to accommodate yank clock time. Swimming, beach volleyball and track and field square measure latest, usually not till eleven p.m. metropolis time (10 p.m. on the U.S. East Coast). the 2 others, athletics and diving, happen slightly earlier.

Metropolis 2016: Full blood profile Olympic coverage

And it is not simply an issue of the time of day. NBC has the ability to have an effect on that month the athletic contest square measure control. maybe, once Beijing initial bid for the 2008 Games, they'd planned a mid-September begin. once NBC detected of the set up, they saw a challenge to seizing as several yank eyeballs as attainable.

August in national capital luckier for network

"There's NFL coverage on Sundays and Mondays, and school soccer is currently on four or 5 nights per week," the then-chairman of NBC Sports Dick Ebersol told the the big apple Times. "All of that goes away if you begin in period."

NBC explained that to the IOC and, lo and lay eyes on, once national capital control the Games, they began on Aug. 8. several assumed the paranormal importance of the quantity eight in Chinese tradition was an element — the Games started on 8/08/08.

"But that is not extremely why the Olympiad started then," Ebersol aforementioned.
Competition from live streaming

In previous Olympiad, NBC has used tape delay for variety of events — holding video from the yank audience till a a lot of advantageous time once a lot of folks square measure observance and therefore extra money will be extracted from advertisers. however the proliferation of live video streaming and social media makes tape delay a lot of tougher.

One solution: begin the events later. The results happen at the height viewership moment.

Of course, there square measure spectators observance within the arenas, and not simply those observance screens a continent away. It makes for terribly late events within the Olympic Park. however Brazilians are not fretful — and neither is their main tv network, Globo.
Brazilian soap operas keep time slots

A quarter of the complete population watches the evening telenovelas — Brazilian soap operas — that broadcast at half dozen, 7 and 9 p.m.

The network virtually ne'er pre-empts them. Not for elections and infrequently for any price else.

"They did this solely to point out the (Olympic) gap ceremony," Brazilian TV critic Mauricio Stycer told blood profile. "It was vast. it absolutely was extremely exceptional. Globo is extremely terrified of not showing the foremost fashionable telenovela."

And it's not interrupted those programs for any sport. Events square measure happening, however Brazilians cannot see them live — candidly, they like the telenovelas to the Olympiad anyway. that the late begin for key events, that edges NBC, does not hurt the Brazilian audience.

Archangel Phelps captures twentieth, twenty first Olympic gold medals

Neither will it appear to harm archangel Phelps, the winningest Olympian of all time. He will break records and win gold at any time apparently. however the swimmer's success is therefore tied to NBC's, the network asked for his blessing before suggesting the schedule shift. He agreed.

Phelps has talked in interviews concerning however he has been able to keep late nights for events so stand up early subsequent day.

But it's going to be back to mornings for subsequent Olympiad four years from currently in 2020. they are in Edo, wherever prime events can got to happen between seven and nine a.m. local time, if they go to hit time back within the U.S.