NBC has gotten a whole lot of attention this week, and unfortunately for them, most of it has been negative. The entire country has been riveted to the television every weeknight, taking in all the joy and heartbreak the U.S. Olympic teams have endured, but it’s been difficult–to say the least–to avoid spoilers during the day, because the games are on a 5-hour tape delay since they’re taking place in London this year. That’s why, when we all got a spoiler from the network themselves, it caused a huge backlash among Olympics fans.
The spoiler in question came moments before swimmer Missy Franklin’s 100-meter gold medal win on Monday and showed the athlete celebrating with her parents for the first time since taking the prize, with a narrator saying, “When you’re 17 years old and win your first gold medal, there’s nobody you’d rather share it with.” Oops.
NBC has released an apology for the gaffe and says they are ensuring it won’t happen again.
“Clearly that promo should not have aired at that time,” read the statement. “We have a process in place and this will not happen again. We apologize to viewers who were watching and didn’t know the result of the race.”
But it’s not just this one goof that has viewers irritated; since the beginning of the games, many people have been dissatisfied with the coverage NBC is offering. However, that hasn’t stopped millions from tuning in this week to follow their favorite athletes; over 31 million people are glued to the coverage.
Not happy with the coverage of the Olympics? Here it is in Lego form. http://t.co/yY9Q0EqO