NBC "devoted only about 20 minutes to the men’s gymnastics team final during its four hours of Monday night primetime coverage," and not only did fans "complain about what they saw as inadequate coverage, but many were also put off by how long they had to wait to see the action," according to Marissa Payne of the WASHINGTON POST. NBC "didn’t air any gymnastics" until after 11:30pm ET. An NBC spokesperson in an email wrote, “With live swimming that included six medals, live beach volleyball featuring Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, and a Team USA medal in diving, it was difficult to find space in our primetime show for the men’s gymnastics." Payne notes the net "didn’t say it outright, but hinted things may have been different" had the U.S. "won a medal in men’s gymnastics, as Americans David Boudia and Steele Johnson did in men’s synchronized diving on Monday." The men’s gymnastics team "faltered early in its competition and wound up in fifth place." The net "didn’t air any of the gold-medal winning Japanese performances during the primetime segment, however it did make room for the top performers, including the team from Russia, which placed second, in its post-midnight coverage" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/10). USA TODAY's Erik Brady notes NBC "showed swimming and beach volleyball live but didn’t get to men’s gymnastics" until about 11:40pm, "many hours after it happened." NBC Olympics Exec Producer Jim Bell: “We understand there are going to be some things that not everyone is going to agree with. But we feel for the most part we’ve been making the right calls" (USA TODAY, 8/10).
FAMILY MATTERS: Bell said that NBC "did not order" announcer Al Trautwig to delete a Twitter post referring to U.S. gymnast Simone Biles' adoptive parents as her grandparents. Bell: “It was brought to his attention, and I think it was the right call. I think that’s behind us.” He said, "It’s probably going to be the case that at some point one of the announcers is going to say something that someone is not going to like. Or tweet something perhaps that someone is not going to like.” Meanwhile, Bell said the net has had a "healthy amount of coverage.” Bell said, “Overall, I think on balance. If we’ve gotten through what’s got to be at least 1,000 hours or so and we’ve got one bad tweet, I think we’re OK" (USA TODAY, 8/10). The AP’s David Bauder notes NBC's cameras yesterday “found gymnast Simone Biles' adoptive parents quickly.” Trautwig “identified them as her parents,” and so “did a caption on the screen.” To drive the point home, analyst Nastia Liukin said that "mom and dad (are) excited for their daughter” (AP, 8/10). In California, Jeff Miller writes Trautwig "is the only American who has had a worse Olympics so far than the Williams sisters," who were eliminated early in both the singles and doubles competitions. Trautwig reportedly "has been angering viewers" in the U.S. "with his gymnastics coverage." Some critics "suggests the only thing separating Trautwig from a Neanderthal is personal hygiene" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 8/10).
NOBODY'S PERFECT: USA TODAY's A.J. Perez notes NBC yesterday "came under scrutiny again" after announcer Chris Marlowe referred to the spouse of gay beach volleyball player Larissa Franca as her “husband.” Franca and Talita Antunes had just beaten the U.S.' Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat when NBC’s cameras "showed Franca embrace Liliane Maestrini." Marlowe in a statement said, "I’m sorry for the mistake today. Clearly, Liliane is Larissa’s wife" (USATODAY.com, 8/10). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Abid Rahman notes NBC's coverage of the Rio Games yesterday "came under more fire on Twitter" after commentators "failed to point out or even acknowledge the relationship between British diver Tom Daley and Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black during the men's diving competition on Monday." NBC was taken "to task for its failure to mention Black-Daley relationship linking it to other gaffes and missteps by the broadcaster" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/10).
