CBC vs NBC Olympic Coverage

Complaining about US (NBC) coverage of the Olympics is as Canadian as Maple Syrup. Here's my take so far.

Feed

• CBC: Real time and Prime Time recaps. More coverage, more live; just more.
• NBC: Delayed for Prime Time coverage and then repeats the prime time coverage. They should have bid a little lower on the licensing deal and saved some cash to cover the olympics.

Commentary

• CBC: Talks about skill and keeps chatter to minimum during artistic programs like figure skating.
• NBC: Loves to hear themselves talk leading to not letting you take in artistic programs without spurious comments. "She is about to do her signature move which is compulsory for all competitors." That's good to know, thanks.

Coverage

• CBC: Canadian athlete centric but covers other countries runs or routines giving you a greater appreciation of the level of competition. You are not shocked if Canadian athletes do not do well since you saw more athletes programs/runs. This wider view is helped by the real time feeds and wider coverage.
• NBC: Due to less real time coverage, they concentrate heavily on each American. Each event is a battle of America versus the world. Shock and dismay when the American loses and hard to know if they deserved to lose since you have little idea how well the other countries did. In general, if an American athlete is not an odds on favourite to win then you probably are not going to see that event.