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Olympics

NBC Cuts Portion Of Thomas Bach's Speech During Opening Ceremony Broadcast

NBC televised the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Games Friday on tape delay, and "two notable omissions" from the event were "clear to viewers" during the telecast, according to Steven Zeitchik of the L.A. TIMES. The first was the "scene of members of the Russian Internal Affairs Departmental choir singing along to Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky.'" The second omission was when NBC "seemed to lose an important piece of IOC chief Thomas Bach's speech." Those watching on TV saw a "bit about diversity and not erecting walls, part of an apparent coded plea to leave the politics of Russia's anti-LGBT law out of the Games," but viewers "missed the meatier portion of the speech." An NBC spokesperson explained that the Daft Punk omission was a "function of the fact that it was part of the pre-show, not the opening ceremony itself." The spokesperson in regard to the Bach compression said, "The IOC president's comments were edited for time, as were other speeches, but his message got across very clearly to viewers." Zeitchik noted NBC execs before the Games were "keen to stress that the tape-delayed packages was key because it represented the best and most pertinent of what was available, and what many viewers were likely to see." However, when omissions like this happen, it "raises the question of whether a network is in a position to judge that" (LATIMES.com, 2/8). In Philadelphia, John Smallwood writes under the header, "NBC Mishandles Editing Of IOC President's Anti-Discriminatory Comments" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/10). Meanwhile, YAHOO SPORTS' Sam Cooper noted a malfunction occurred during the ceremony when four snowflakes "gracefully changed into the Olympic rings" while the fifth snowflake "remained the same." NBC producers "decided to leave the embarrassing mistake for a primetime American audience to see" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/7).

TOO MUCH TALKING? In DC, Hank Stuever wrote NBC's Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira were "talking all the way through" the Opening Ceremony broadcast and wondered "what it might look and sound like on TV" without the commentary. People "always complain and wish they’d shaddup," but questions remain about whether viewers would "like it without" the hosts' conversations. It did appear NBC had "scaled back a bit on the yakkity-yak" following the Opening Ceremony at the '12 London Games. Stuever: "Maybe the chatter sounded better thanks to the elevating expertise of New Yorker editor David Remnick, who made his career writing about Russian politics and culture" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/8). In L.A., Mary McNamara wrote the Opening Ceremony would have been enjoyable "if the NBC commentators ... had been able to keep their mouths shut for three minutes put together." When a little girl in a nightgown "goes flying into the sky, we do not need Vieira explaining that this story will be told in dreams because Russians think of themselves as dreamers." Nor do we "need Lauer nervously pointing out that although some of the images/actors/letters on our screens may seem odd to the American audience, they are quite familiar to the live audience who are, you know, Russian." We especially "do not need Remnick pontificating about what 'Putin is trying to project' as beautiful bits of floating landscape dart by." Remnick "will no doubt prove an invaluable source of insight throughout the Games, but during the opening ceremony, he was one big drag-fest" (L.A. TIMES, 2/8).

NOT RINGING TRUE? The AP's Nataliya Vasilyeva noted Russian state TV company Rossiya 1 on Friday aired footage of the five snowflakes "turning into the Olympic rings and bursting into pyrotechnics." As the fifth ring "got stuck, Rossiya cut away to rehearsal footage," so all five rings "came together, and the fireworks exploded on cue." Producers "confirmed the switch, saying it was important to preserve the imagery of the Olympic symbols" (AP, 2/8). IOC Dir of Communications Mark Adams on Saturday said, "Some people decided to take some other footage and some not. It's a very technical Olympic ceremony, very well organized. But the show itself was a fantastic one. I don't see what the problem is, to be honest" (AP, 2/8).

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