American Network Tennis Idiocy in French Open Semis TV Coverage
Once again one of the greatest days annually in the sport of tennis is being carried in America on tape delay. If you are watching Soderling-Gonzalez on NBC right now (11:24 a.m. ET) the match is already over, but on TV you are led to believe it is near the end of the third set. NBC also had the gall to skip the second set, which Soderling won 7-5, due to time constraints.
The best match of the day, Federer versus Del Potro, has started, with Federer up 2-1 in the first set. It will not be on television until 4 p.m. ET on the Tennis Channel, well after it ends (and of course it is a channel that many people do not receive).
If John McEnroe were honest, he would speak directly to his bosses at NBC and say, “You suck.” But of course, he wants the paycheck and will never do so. But I will: American tennis fans are getting screwed. NBC should carry the matches live and their entirety. Tape delay was perhaps acceptable in 1985, before the Internet and ESPN, but in this age live coverage is a must, especially of the semifinals. Brilliant shows like ”Days of Our Lives,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” and ”The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that fill the 1-4 p.m. NBC slots this afternoon should take a day off. If not, NBC should cede coverage to ESPN2.
No wonder Texas Hold’em is more popular in this country than tennis.
Jun 5th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
After searching all three tennis channel last night, I finally found the match schedule for today: NBC from 10 to 12:30 and tennis channel at 4:00. That seemed pretty weird, but I tuned in at 10:00 to catch the first match and thought maybe the schedule was wrong. I was aghast when NBC announced after a close, hard first set, that they would omit the second set because of time constraints. If they can’t fulfull their commitment, they should get out of the tennis sportscasting business. To see matches all week broadcast live and then have the men’s semifinals partially carried after it’s over is #####.
Jun 5th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Johnny Mac talk to his NBC bosses? Johnny Mac display integrity? We are talking about the same guy who is outsourcing his now branded “You cannot be serious!” for All Bran and National car rental agency commercials?
That aside, didn’t these networks do a much better job of televising live coverage for the Australian Open? I remember getting up at 3:30AM for the Blake-Tsonga match. . .