ESPN Execs Question NBC's Tape-Delayed Olympics Coverage

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

ESPN this morning gathered N.Y.-area media reporters for a breakfast to talk about the network's upcoming NFL season. But it did not take long for the discussion to center on the Olympics, with ESPN executives questioning NBC's decision to tape-delay programming, from Michael Phelps' races on the West Coast to the Opening Ceremony. "When we put a live bug on 'SportsCenter,' it means live right now," said ESPN Exec VP/Content John Skipper. "At ESPN, it just would not be part of our DNA to tape delay the most important sporting event of the day." ESPN/ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer also took a thinly veiled shot at NBC's multi-platform push, saying, "I'm glad to see that NBC has adopted that approach with the Olympics because it validates the approach we've taken for years." Bodenheimer said ESPN is interested in bidding for the next round of Olympic games -- 2014 and 2016 -- which will take place before October '09. "It still has to make business sense," Bodenheimer said. "We enjoy our relationship with the IOC."