In reviewing CBS's coverage of the Nagano Games, Howard
Manly in Boston wrote, "Without a main character to lead,
CBS's coverage wandered all over the mountains and valleys
of Nagano" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/22). In DC, Leonard Shapiro
wrote that CBS "was woefully not ready to react to the
vicissitudes of weather or the emerging stories." He called
the coverage a "major turn-off" and stated CBS "should have
done a better job promoting" the Games before they began
(WASHINGTON POST, 2/23). In Chicago, Michael Hirsley writes
the coverage "got lost in time-warp television, and by
extension sucked viewers into a sports equivalent of 'The
Rocky Horror Picture Show'" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/23). In
Seattle, Kay McFadden wrote events were "chopped beyond
coherency," and CBS's "integrity has been called into
question." McFadden added that CBS's Jim Nantz was
"unsuited for the anchor's job" (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/21). A
N.Y. POST editorial said CBS went too far to appeal to women
viewers adding, "Everybody loves the Olympics because of the
games, not because of the hype" (N.Y. POST, 2/22). In S.F.,
Joan Ryan called the coverage, "Olympics 90210, a TV show
prettied up and dumbed down," and "artificially packaged and
scripted" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/22). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
calls the Games "not an Olympics to remember for CBS" as
"questionable planning and programming decisions are
responsible for a chunk" of the ratings shortfall (USA
TODAY, 2/23). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir said CBS's Exec
Producer Rick Gentile "created an unusually disjointed
nightly news show, not a pulsating entertainment," and that
CBS's "news sense seemed absent." He added that Nantz
"never sparkled" and that CBS "erred in believing that he
would grow into [Bob] Costashood" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/22). CNN's
Terry Keenan reported "trashing CBS's coverage of the Games
has become the main event of these Olympics." Ladenberg,
Thalmann Media Analyst Porter Bibb called CBS's coverage
"underwhelming" and "not as innovative as the last several
Olympics." Sandomir, on CBS: "There just wasn't a lot of
vision there, there wasn't a lot of fun." John Tinker,
Media Analyst at Nationsbank Montgomery Securities said that
while the Olympic ratings are down, "the issue is the
overall network ratings are down. The irony is the actual
Olympic ratings aren't so bad" ("Moneyline," 2/20).
MORE CRITICISM: USA TODAY's Dottie Enrico writes that
Madison Avenue is "rankled over CBS' lackluster telecast."
John Hancock President David D'Alessandro said that his
company has "fielded more than 120 phone calls during the
Games from TV viewers who asked the Olympics sponsor to
complain to CBS about its coverage." D'Alessandro was upset
when he saw CBS running its own promos in primetime and said
that "he wants more input on when John Hancock's commercials
run during future Games" (USA TODAY, 2/23). One IOC
official: "The IBM commercials that featured athletes were
the best pictures of sports competition anyone got during
the U.S. telecasts" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/23). In Alabama,
WNHT-CBS affiliate led its Thursday night newscast with its
Managing Editor Bob Knowles criticizing CBS's coverage:
"[W]e had hoped the coverage would live up to the hyped
expectations" (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/22).
NOTES: CBS TV President Les Moonves said the network
will show a profit from the Games and cited the weather,
time difference and lack of American "heroes" as the "major
factors behind" the low ratings. He also "acknowledged the
network may have made some bad production decisions."
Moonves: "The good news is that it's going to hurt NBC next
time more than it's hurting us" (DOW JONES NEWS SERVICE,
2/21)....CBS's Rick Gentile: "Are we at the end of live
coverage? Is that where this is going? I think so. I
think, unless (the Olympics) are in North America, you're
not going to see anything live" (S.F. CHRONICLE,
2/21)....CBS Sports President Sean McManus: "[I]n light of
the dramatic changes in the television landscape with
instant access to information and results, I'm not sure the
Olympics will ever again be the overwhelmingly dominant TV
property in terms of absolute ratings" (USA TODAY,
2/23)....The IOC said that viewership of the Games was up
internationally, including 5% in Canada, 30% in Australia
and 25% on Eurosport (N.Y. TIMES, 2/23)....CBS's marketing
relationship with Nike was examined by Bill Carter in the
N.Y. TIMES: "While it is apparently common for network
sports divisions to wear clothes on the air with corporate
logos in exchange for commercial support, Nike may be, as
some critics suggest, a different animal. The connections
Nike had with athletes in Nagano seem to prove that when you
get in bed with Nike, it may get awfully crowded -- and that
increases the chances of getting kicked" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/22).
