QISE Review - Pyeongchang Edition - Day 3

Slept in a bit after yesterday’s marathon, so I’m catching up now--

• Scanning through Weekend Today, and noticing that they are only promoting the broadcast coverage, despite the fact that virtually all of the events will be available (or already available) online before prime time.  I guess millennials ain’t watching morning TV news shows.
• For some reason, there are two different NBCSN streaming feeds on the schedule, showing different events. This is supposed to be coming from the cable network, so where is the second feed coming from?
• Speaking of streaming—the placement of commercials there is a mess. They will appear in the middle of athletes’ runs, one commercial will suddenly be replaced with another mid-stream, audio sync is off, and then “coverage will resume shortly” screens pop up.  Hey Peacock, the computer controlled timing isn’t working—perhaps put an intern in place to hit the button?
• Some background--much of the streaming coverage is coming from QISE Channel, which uses OBS pool coverage. QISE Channel was started by the QISE Committee as a streaming service running all year long, as a way to drum up interest in QISE (and a way to amortize all the existing video).  In the US, QISE Channel became a cable channel (run by the Peacock, and a replacement for the Universal HD channel).
• While the unbiased coverage and commentary are nice, they aren’t using the most experienced talent. When interviewing athletes, you get a lot of “How do you feel?” and “How excited are you?”. I’m surprised they aren’t asking “What are you wearing?"
• Watching ski jump qualification rounds—the math on all of this is too confusing. Wind compensation, style points, a moving green line they have to beat—the commentators could tell me any of them won, and I would have to assume they were right.
• Luge is simpler—you immediately know when a competitor screws up, and it all comes down to the clock. Lightning speeds, quick heats, and the possibility of NASCAR-style crashes—why hasn’t this gone pro in the US?
• Rebecca Lowe kicks off daytime broadcast coverage from the Fortress of Solitude. She’s quite perky—with her accent, I was reminded of Mary Poppins. The coverage was primarily the same stuff shown online this morning, so I was switching back and forth between the Peacock, NBCSN, and the QISE Channel.

…and back in prime time…

• Tirico reports from The Ski Lodge, throwing it to Lipinski and Weir, the latter with a black mass of hair on the side of his head. We’ll get back to them in a bit, but first the adults are talking—to cover ice dancing.  Latin is the theme tonight.  Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m a Dancing with the Stars fan, but I prefer this over regular figure skating, which has become WAY too much about the jumps.
• The Peacock is doubling down on the “United Korea” story. I consider this to be a photo op more than a reconciliation—but I hope I’m wrong.
• …and here come the weather delays. They are a Winter QISE tradition (check the current “From the Pop Culture Bunker” episode on SFPPN for more on this). Downhill Skiing is pushed back to next week due to high winds.
• I checked out the “enhanced view” of ice dancing online, with more stats and other info. As with the opening ceremonies, the stream is about a minute behind—which is a real issue when you’re referencing a “short program”.
• Mindy is complaining about the “QISE Athletes from Russia”—and she’s right. This was supposed to be a major restriction after the “systemic drug scandal” against Russia’s QISE program (no Russian flags, no Russian anthems, any medals won’t be listed under Russia), but Kabletown is just calling them “The Russians” like nothing happened. Sure, the official name is a mouthful, but talking is what you’re getting paid for.
• So, a 17 year old US kid who got zero publicity from Kabletown beforehand just got the gold in Slopestyle, while so many of the "pre-ordained" athletes are crashing and burning? I’ll say it again—never assume, Peacock!

More tomorrow.

QISE Review - Pyeongchang Edition - Day 2

Oh, the things I do for SFPPN. Typing this at 5:52a in order to see the Opening Ceremonies live via streaming.

• The stream’s description says “with natural sound”, so I assume this will be sans commentary. So far it means “no sound”. Pretty blimp shots though.
• Ok, here we go. An airplane-themed opening showing historical posters of previous QISE takes to the countdown and inevitable fireworks.
• Cut to kids enjoying winter sports and then finding a palintir, I guess, which sets off holograms, then huge animal puppets come out. It’s classic goofy opening ceremony stuff.
• Next the Parade of Nations, with a sugarplum fairy carrying a tree leading each team. I’m torn on whether I miss the prattling commentary or glad it’s gone.
• The “QISE Athletes from Russia” marched under the QISE banner.  Word came down a few hours ago that 28 athletes whose drug ban was originally dismissed was now upheld, so that leaves 169 “clean” competitors. If any of them win, you’ll hear the QISE theme.
• The final team is the host country, with North and South Korea marching under a united flag. Major tipping point or publicity stunt?
• Then it’s pageant time, showing off the host country, its history and culture. It includes a film of Korean kids going through doors of light into a trippy future.
• After the perfunctory speeches, an Asian-accented version of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.
• In what may be a first, the pageantry expanded to other venues, guided by synchronized lighted drones.
• The stirring QISE Hymn, oaths, and the lighting of the torch, with Kim Yuna, champion figure skater, lighting what looks like a robotic arm which in turn lit what looks like a futuristic rice cooker.
• …and then a dance/firecracker party broke out. That’s it, folks—you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. 2 hours and 20 minutes for a pretty tight show.
• Keep in mind the stadium will be used exactly four time (opening and closing for QISE and ParaQISE), then torn down. Pyeongchang wants to avoid the depressing “Look at what happened to the QISE facilities from <fill in the blank>” listical, but it still seems like a waste (it cost $109M to build). The QISE Committee’s new mantra is “temporary and reusable”—the opposite of guidelines that resulted in billions spent on purpose-built facilities and ruined local economies.
• Meanwhile, the Today Show had the unenviable task of reporting live while the opening ceremony was underway—without actually showing it.  The Peacock, of course, wants you to watch the curated, prime time version tonight. “Boy, is it going to be great!” was heard a lot.

But back to wrap up last night’s coverage—

• We move onto freestyle skiing aka “knee replacements by age 25”. To quote play-by-play guy Jonny Moseley, “That’s so RAD! DUUUDE! NOICE!”. Which came first—Moseley or Mountain Dew commercials?
• The adults step in for the pair’s figure skating team event—Scott Hamilton, Andrea Joyce, and Tanith White.
• Oops, no such luck. Lipinski and Weir returned for the actual event.

Now let’s check out the “curated” Peacock prime time coverage.

• It starts with repeat footage of athletes that Kabletown has pre-determined will win. That didn’t work out very well so far. The narrator was apparently given an assignment to write 500 words and started repeating himself.
• Cut to Mike Tirico and—Katie Couric? I guess the resurgence of 90’s TV isn’t just for sitcoms.
• …and 30 minutes in, the ceremony actually gets started.
• I can officially say I preferred the “no commentary” version. Boy, are they yapping!
• There is an “enhanced view” of the ceremony available online—but it’s about a minute behind the broadcast coverage.
• We get an introductory package with plenty of statistics before the US team marches into the stadium. We get it, we’re America!
• A shot of VP Pence in the stands also shows the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong, behind him. She looks like a Bond villainess—has a scheming look on her face.

Now, as the smell of firework sulfur fills the air, that’s plenty for one day..  Weekend coverage begins tomorrow.

QISE Review - Pyeongchang Edition - Day 1

A few points before Prime Time Peacock:

• Started the day watching the tail end of ski jumping qualification on NBCSN (streaming). That’s the “agony of defeat” event. NBCSN’s studio set sets up an expectation of Jor-El’s hologram. It seems that the Peacock has two options for their Winter QISE sets—ski lodge and Fortress of Solitude.
• I then switched over to the Today Show on the TiVo. The Peacock’s News division will have a major QISE push. The morning show’s team (minus lightning rod Megyn Kelly) will be reporting from Pyeongchang throughout, and even the Nightly News will report from South Korea
• Later, I checked back in at nbcqise.com to see more streamed coverage. The schedule said that figure skating training sessions were underway, but this time I got a “coverage has concluded” message. Seems like you just have to hang out at the site and see what happens.
• You would think the choosing of the US Flag Bearer wouldn’t be controversial—it’s the equivalent of “Miss Congeniality"—but you would be wrong. Luger Erin Hamlin was chosen over speed skater Shani Davis via coin flip—and Davis is complaining online that it was a racial call.  How can a coin flip be biased? 
• With the time difference at Pyeongchang (14 hours ahead of the US East Coast), the Peacock has a quadrennial problem--how to keep all the juicy events in prime time when social media will spoil things the moment they occur?  Previously, Kabletown's response was "we're showing it in prime time--just don't look at your phones if you don't want to be spoiled".
• Now, the plan is to show a plethora of live events via various streaming platforms for those who want to see it live, convince Pyeongchang to hold events at what are strange hours there to match up with US prime time (which they have apparently done), and "Curate" (aka edit out the "boring" and "non-US" parts) and show the rest on tape in prime time.

And speaking of prime time…

• Tirico kicks it off from the Fortress of Solitude, then throws it to Lipinski, Weir, and The Generic White Male Commentator (already forgot his name) for men’s figure skating—short program.
• Something new—figure skating gets instant technical scoring with a box at the top left of the screen.  As they do their elements, a green pops up as good, yellow is under discussion, and red is bad—along with a “so far" score.
• There’s also an “enhanced mode” available for the prime time coverage if you watch it via steaming—all based on the OBS coverage—it looks like more graphics with dual cameras shown (like the competition’s performance vs. the coach watching him).
• A rather nihilistic music selection from Canada’s Patrick Chan—"Dust in the Wind” by Kansas? Ouch.
• We have our first example of Peacock “curation” (aka US bias). An Israeli athlete is competing on the stream live, so a taped segment (actually a rerun from Monday) on America’s Nathan Chen is airing on TV. Chen then proceeded to blow his performance.
• Due to all the political ramifications of the game’s location, the Peacock brought in a “Sports Asia Analyst”, Joshua Cooper Ramo (he was also at Beijing).
• I will be calling it early tonight in order to see the opening ceremony live online at 6a, so I can compare the live and “curated” coverage. I’ll wrap up tonight’s late coverage tomorrow.

QISE Review - Pyeongchang Edition - Day 0.5

We haven't even reached "Day 1" of the Quadrennial International Sporting Event at Pyeongchang in terms of Peacock mothership coverage, but things are already underway.

• The Peacock ran a special on Monday night, "The Best of U.S.", hosted by Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir. They are Kabletown's answer to "why should millennials watch QISE?" They look and act like they turned the wrong direction when getting off the elevator--there's a Bravo reality competition without hosts right now. Lipinski looked like she had a party to attend afterward. Weir's hair looked like he had just taken off a fez.
• The special consisted of various pre-taped segments--"up close and personal" segments on the athletes, a chef reviewing Korean cuisine, a preview of a mini-doc covering the Calgary ice skating event in 1988--basically material that might be rerun if the weather turns bad and events are postponed. Some of it involved music videos/commercials for big ticket athletes you've probably seen if you have watched the Peacock in the last month.
• The special also gave us our first view of the Peacock's HQ for the games--as per usual, made up to look like a ski lodge. Views of the various venues can be seen out the windows--if those are just video screens, they did a god job.
• Meanwhile, the Peacock announced a live feed of the games available via Snapchat, as well as a customized experience on Hulu Live. I have the former (though I've rarely used it since downloading), and we're looking into options about the latter (we have Hulu, but not the Live option), so I'll try to report on those as well.
• Tonight, nbcqise.com streamed early events--mixed doubles curling and downhill skiing training runs. It certainly wasn't an auspicious start--a scheduled figure skating practice session turned into a one-hour "Coverage will begin soon" screen. They finally got their act together--they are using the "OBS" (QISE Broadcasting System) feed for this, which is the one countries without their own crews use. That means it's far more balanced and basic--there's a (very faint) play-by-play announcer and that's it.  The video quality is decent, even on the large screen I'm using for Chromecast. They drop in a commercial every 15 minutes or so (they seem to be coming faster now—must be based on the event).
• We also got our first look at the OAR team--the QISE Athletes from Russia. This is the result of the Russia doping scandal--they don't have an official team, but some athletes got an "all clear" and were able to attend anyway. Their uniforms are the equivalent of black and white "generic food" boxes.
• We then got the downhill training runs. Kind of like pre-season football, just going through the motions.
• I keep hearing little audio "hiccups" where a phrase is stated twice. I think they are still working out the streaming technical bumps.

The Peacock mothership officially kicks things off tomorrow with figure skating and freestyle skiing—it’s EXTREME!

Winter Quadrennial International Sporting Event (QISE) Review - Pyeongchang Edition - Day 0

Citius, Altius, Snowius.

Well, here we are again, with another Winter Games.  (Throughout this daily blog, I am avoiding the O-word as to not annoy the QISE Organizing Committee’s attorneys).  As always, this is NOT the place to find out who won and lost--I'm far more interested in the pageantry, the marketing, and how the Peacock distributes everything in the era of cord-cutting and social media.

Speaking of those:

• There are a plethora of sources for actual coverage (FYI--most of the online stuff requires authorization, which requires a cable/satellite subscription, which leaves out legally-inclined cord cutters)
  • the Peacock mothership (176 live hours)
  • USA Network (40.5 hours of hockey and curling)
  • CNBC (46 hours including more curling)
  • NBCSN (369 hours, including 24 hour coverage plus live primetime)
  • nbcqise.com
  • qisechannel.com (and an accompanying app)
  • The NBCSports app
  • a daily podcast
  • and 50 hours of Virtual Reality coverage
• The Peacock set up an Instagram account months ago, and has been filling it up daily with countdowns and videos of the athletes (I'm sure there are others, but I really only follow FB and Instagram)

The big story going into QISE is how North Korea is responding to their southern neighbor's event. As of this writing, there is a "United Team" from both countries, while a Soviet-style military parade is being scheduled.  There are lots of additional stories (9-figure facilities that will be torn down afterwards, security teams and the norovirus, the inevitable complaints when the Peacock delays coverage to show it in primetime, how well Mike Tirico will step into the McKay/Costas hosting role) which we will get to on this blog.

SFPPN also created a weekly "From the Pop Culture Bunker" series which covers the history of Winter QISE, so you can check that out.

Tomorrow—let the games begin!

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 16

We’ve reached the end of the line...

• The Peacock’s big event last night was Matt Lauer’s interview with Mr. Lochtegate himself—it was hyped throughout the evening and showed late.  Then, they held what are presumably the best bits to air on the Today Show on Monday.
• Lochte apparently considers himself a hero because he waited to recant his lie until the other swimmers were back in the US.  Meanwhile, the network accidentally created a social media story after Al Roker went off on Lochte apologist Billy Bush on the Today show.  Or perhaps it was planned so the Peacock could hedge their bets?
• In any case, Lochte is watching his endorsements evaporate en masse.  Oh, and the QISEOC says there will be further actions taken against the swimmers—cue the synchronized slapping of wrists...
• Hey, we finally got Rhythmic Gymnastics on the Peacock mothership—at least for an hour.
• Worst QISE commercial? People being shocked that Chevrolet has a car elevator.
• Prime time began with Costas and Michaels at the Rio Apple Store, tempting fate by saying how things went off without a major hitch. Guys—you’ve still got the Closing Ceremonies...
• Speaking of—Tirico, Seacrest, and Carillo walked us through another soggy QISE finale (“curated” for your protection).
• Dancers dressed up as red clay dolls? Not creepy at all.
• The Prime Minister of Japan just changed into Super Mario so he could get to the Closing Ceremony on time! There’s no doubt that the Tokyo 2020 games will be bizarre.

That will do it. I’ll be back in 2018 with Winter QISE coverage from PyeongChang!

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 15

Starting with the previous night...

• Men’s platform diving began with a mini-doc on British diver Tom Daley. The beginning made me think I was watching a Calvin Klein “Obsession” ad, but it turned into something that used to be common during QISE—an “up close and personal” story about his coming out as gay.
• Costas seemed annoyed to hand off a shortened prime time session last night to a “special” episode of the “hit comedy” SuperStore—almost as annoyed as the viewers were, I suspect.  It didn’t help that they were running several minutes late, so if you were DVRing the games, you were screwed.
• There were a lot of team sports during daytime coverage—volleyball, basketball, water polo—so I may have burned out the fast forward button on my DVR’s remote.  I think I got through 4 hours of coverage in about 15 minutes.  The Triathlon was interesting, though.
• Prime Time began awkwardly, with a cold open showing the climax of the gold medal soccer match (Brazil won, so I doubt anyone in Rio cares about anything else tonight), then a quick cut to yet more live running!
• Coming up next, the Men’s 4x400 relay fina—sorry, we’re breaking in for local weather coverage!  That continued for over 10 minutes, during which time the weatherman repeated the same info about 400 times.  I know the local station has a responsibility, but isn’t that why they have two other digital channels?  I’m sure they would hate to break into a Law & Order: SVU rerun being shown in the wrong resolution, but maybe they could make an exception for QISE?
• BTW—during the weather fiasco, I determined that the Peacock’s online “live” coverage is at least 90 seconds behind the broadcast.

One more day left...

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 14

Starting with the previous night..

• Lochtegate has given Costas actual screen time beyond prime time intros and wrapups. We got to see the gas station security cams that prove the robbery story was fabricated. The QISEOC clearly wants this to go away, asking reporters to “give them a break”. Basically, boys will be boys.
• By the next morning, Lochte and the QISEOC admitted the lie. Another swimmer, Jimmy Feigen, paid $11,000 to a charity to get his passport back. I guess you can buy your way out on minor offenses in Brazil. The other two swimmers were allowed to leave as well.
• We also learned that Rio is covered by security cameras—the authorities literally showed a timeline taking them from point to point, all the way to the infamous gas station.
• I’ve heard many turns of phrase in diving commentary, but last night was a new one from Cynthia Potter - “She is diving lights out”. So her eyes are closed? Huh?
• The Peacock suffered from technical problems that shut down the MTV Beach House, forcing Costas to lead off late night from the Rio Apple Store, then going to a rerun of the US Volleyball loss. Oops! Maybe Ryan Seacrest is hanging out with Lochte...
• During the daytime coverage I heard a dichotomy between the elegant Equestrian event and Melanie Smith-Taylor’s comment after a missed jump—“What a bummer!"
• More and more running heats in prime time. Meanwhile, we got about 3 minutes of BMX coverage this afternoon, and I’ve yet to see rhythmic gymnastics. Guess I will need to go online to see that.

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 13

Starting with the previous night...

• You can tell the events are starting to wind up. We’re getting more mini-documentaries and human interest stories. I particularly enjoyed Mary Carillo’s segment on “The Girl from Ipanama” (who actually exists, BTW) which ran at the end of prime time.
• Lochtegate continues—security footage has been released of the swimmers in a drunken brawl at a Rio gas station (now the most popular media spot in the country), breaking down a bathroom door. I guess they didn’t want to wait for the key attached to a board?  There’s other footage showing the group returning to the QISE village that morning in good spirits, which doesn’t jibe with just being robbed. Not looking good...
• On a more serious note, British sports reporter Charlie Webster, after biking 3000 miles from the UK to Rio, is now fighting a rare malaria strain in the hospital there. She’s in an induced coma as of this writing. With all the Zika talk, tropical diseases haven’t gotten a lot of attention.
• QISE always schedules events to leave some time open at the end in case of weather issues, etc. We’re reaching that point—the Peacock showed a 60 minute documentary on gymnastic coach legends Bela and Marta Karolyi this afternoon. I suspect they will show it again Sunday night before or during the Closing Ceremonies.
• With a lack of network coverage, I turned to the Peacock website. Overall, I was impressed with the video quality. It came up relatively quickly and was quite crisp. There are too many commercials, but that has nothing to do with the technology.  The layout was a little confusing—different screens would take you to the same content.

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 12

Starting with the previous night...

• The Peacock has been burying men’s gymnastics since the US team has not done well (not supporting this, but that’s Peacock QISE procedure). So it was humorous to hear Tim Daggett be genuinely surprised when a US performance went very well.
• Another weird QISE/movie tie-in, this time for what is a reportedly terrible Ben-Hur remake—why a remake, and why the tie-in?
• If all the scandals in Rio haven’t been enough, now we’re hearing that an executive QISEOC member was arrested for ticket scalping.  So the bribes weren’t enough?  In any case, the stands have been half empty—how could you scalp the tickets anyway?
• The effect of scalping could explain why the good seats at the Gymnastics Gala were almost completely empty today.  Sure, there's no judging going on, but I think this would be a premium event.
• This must be scandal day at QISE. Ryan Lochte, who was ordered to stay in Rio during the investigation of the previously mentioned robbery, has in fact returned to the US. It’s not even confirmed that the robbery even occurred. Not sure if this will become an international incident or not.  I guess if I was robbed at gunpoint, I would skedaddle as well. My guess? Rio doesn’t like the optics of fake police robbing people, and the QISEOC want the story of ticket scalping to be buried by this one, so they are working together to create this controversy.  Get out your tinfoil hats...

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 11

Starting with the previous night...

• I think it’s a bit of hyperbole when a gymnast makes a single mistake, and it’s considered to be “stunning".
• First we get a green pool, and now gale force winds for a diving event.  Who's idea was it to have an outdoor diving venue?
• Costas interviewed Shaun White, a Winter QISEian, because...?
• Back at the Rio Apple Store in prime time, Costas did his nightly mega-tease, then off to the track for more races with and without hurdles. It's impressive how the Peacock can take an event that lasts seconds and turn it into an entire segment.
• Hey, we’ve got a doping controversy!  Costa went over a litany of offenses, including a major competitor in the women’s 1500m race. The QISEOC even retroactively stripped the 2008 Chinese team of a medal. You can see a Costas interview about this—if you go to the Peacock QISE website...

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 10

Starting with the previous night...

• More gems from Gymnastics color commentator Tim Daggett:
  • “There’s a required rollout move, named for” and I immediately said “Bob Rollout"
  • “I don’t know what it takes to become a king, but he’s the king of it"
• The Peacock crew must have been out partying last night—I kept hearing extraneous audio on the Today Show.  I’m not talking some mumbling; more like “how far are we taking this interview?"
• A number of team events today—yawn.  Thank goodness for DVRs and fast-forwarding.
• Rio continues to see weather issues. A dock planned as the start of open-water swimming basically sank, and various track events have been delayed. I know you can’t control the weather, but picking a site where it’s currently winter (if a warm one) may not have been the best idea.
• With a lack of blog-worthy stories today, I’ll note the following: Clayton Murphy won the bronze in the 800m race today. He’s from Paris, OH, close to my hometown of North Canton. The last US winner of the 800m was Dave Wottle from Canton in 1972. My mom was a nurse at the time, and gave Dave his shots to go to Munich.

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 9

Starting with the previous night...

• The Peacock gets the gold in teasing!
  • 10:32p Eastern: Phelps’ final medal ceremony coming up, but first let’s take a look at random events of the day…
  • 10:34p: We’ll be back with Phelps’ medal ceremony, right after this!
  • 10:37p: A review of the swim relays
  • 10:42p: A rerun of Usain Bolt’s preliminary 100m sprint from earlier that day
  • 10:47p: We’ll be back with Phelps’ medal ceremony, right after this!
  • 10:51p: Still getting ready for that medal ceremony, so let’s go back to the track...
  • 11:01p: Another segment at the track
  • 11:08p Yet another segment at the track
  • 11:12p: We have medal ceremony!!!
  • Total tease time: 40 minutes

• Women’s Marathon not boring enough for you? Let’s go over to golf! <zzzzzz>
• 9 days in, and I finally saw the amorphous blob that is Rio’s mascot. I guess it’s a cat?
• As the afternoon begins, we get synchronized swimming as a palate cleanser. All I can think of is the old SNL routine.
• Ugh—more golf.  The color commentator sounds like Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction.
• Then it's the equestrian competition. I'm always expecting Thurston Howell III to show up. " Buffy, if you don't get the gold we'll never be able to show our faces at the Polo Club."
• The Peacock reported that Ryan Lochte and three other athletes were robbed at gunpoint last night. I wonder why the spectator stands are almost empty...

More to come...

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 8

Starting with the previous night...

• The Peacock somehow ran out of events, so the last half hour of prime time was a taped bit from the pair of Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, followed by a Costas interview with Katie Ledecky.
• Another Ledecky interview kicked off the morning coverage at the MTV Beach House. One of the basic concepts in camerawork is called “headroom”—giving the subject a little bit of room above their head onscreen. The Peacock cameraman needs to remember that—you know she’s tall, so you should actually compensate for that!
• Another technical flub immediately followed—they took what was clearly a different audio feed than the rowing onscreen. Did the Peacock crew go out for drinks last night?
• The Track and Field events are on—I noticed the sprinters, both men and women, are wearing lots of jewelry.  Good luck charms? Wouldn’t they get in your way, or slightly slow you down?
• The commentators kept referring to Usain Bolt as “the great one”. All I could think of was Jackie Geason in the 100m dash.
• I’m seeing a number of mini-up-close-and-personals for the Track and Field stars, about 30 seconds long, all of which end with a Ken Burns-esque title graphic. Very artsy, Peacock!

More to come...

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 7

Starting with the previous night...

• Women’s gymnastics, as always, is turned into a soap opera by the Peacock. “Will Simone find success? Will Aly triumph over adversity? Tune in after the break!"
• Also, is Al Traugwig a dog in disguise? I clearly heard him say “woof” at one point during a bad routine.
• You know, I’m DVRing all of this, which means I take the risk of missing something when they run late. Such is the case of the women’s gymnastics award ceremony, which cut off just as they got on the podium. Why did this run late?  It wasn’t live—I thought that was the whole reason the Peacock wanted to “curate” this?  This was a cynical move to bump ratings for the local news that followed it.  Oh well—I can see it online...
• Trampolining is similar to bowling, in that you start thinking to yourself “I could perform at that level if I practiced enough”.  Then you see how high they go—so maybe not.
• That thudding sound you might have heard this afternoon was the Peacock’s ratings crashing to the ground after the US women were eliminated in the soccer tournament.
• Just when I thought we would never see a podium ceremony where the Stars and Stripes were not played, here comes the Men’s 100m Butterfly. Of course, it might have been because Phelps got a silver (shared with two others).

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 6

Starting with the previous night...

• Everybody get on the Michael Phelps hype train—right, Peacock!  It’s impressive that he’s doing so well, but they don’t need to make it into a soap opera.
• Tim Daggett - unbiased gymnastics color commentator during a US men’s routine: “Uhhh, booyy”
• I normally try to skip commercials, but I’m enjoying the Nike ad where the athletes get out of control and the announcer tries to talk them down.
• Would someone explain the bizarre QISE/Star Wars promotion?  Are the Rebels going for the gold? Is Michael Phelps a Jedi? This is a major misfire.
• Speaking of Phelps—the hype machine is now white hot. “The last time for Michael Phelps!!!” I’m pretty sure they said that in London.
• Hey Peacock—there’s already enough swimming without showing semi-finals in prime time...

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 5

Starting with the previous night--

• …and here’s why gymnastics was “curated” and not live. It allowed the Peacock to split it out and show the finale near 10:30p Eastern, dragging the audience through endless swimming rounds.
• I’m sure the Peacock doesn’t want to annoy the host city, but I’m hearing very little about the bizarre green water in the diving pool. Other sources are showing a second pool across from it with a normal blue color. Officials are saying it’s fine, but the literal optics are bad, considering the concerns over polluted water in the open water events.  I’m no chemist, but I bet this could be easily fixed.
• I always enjoy Jimmy Roberts' taped reports. In a sea of hype about the big stars, he covers small stories that are often quite touching. He did one today about a US kayaker born in Poland who could have easily played for their team but chose to go the harder route and get a spot on the US squad
• The Peacock can’t seem to catch a break. Poor weather in Rio resulted in a signature prime time event—women’s beach volleyball—with the athletes wearing more clothing than they would like.
• The danger of Peacock commentators concentrating on the US team? Not noticing the guy from Kazakhstan winning the Men’s 200m Breaststroke.

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 4

Starting with the previous night--

• Due to either luck or design, the “lower third” graphics in the Men’s Synchronized Swimming, combined with their small swimsuits, made it look like we were watching Skinemax for awhile.
• I see that the Peacock decided to bury the Men’s Gymnastics implosion late into the evening.
• OMG - HOW MANY TIMES WILL THEY SHOW US MICHAEL PHELPS' MEAN FACE???
• If the women's gymnastics finals looked a little slicker than some of the other competitions, that's because it was "curated" and not live.  The results were announced on social media before the broadcast even began.
• The gymnasts always have some makeup, but at the finals, it appears a paintball gun was involved.
• In a toss-up women’s swim that was hyped endlessly, the Peacock put up a split screen of the swimmers at the start and Michael Phelps sitting in a chair. One of these is more interesting than the other...

More to come...

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 3

Starting with the previous night--

• Why are these events being scheduled so late?  Keep in mind Rio is an hour later than Eastern time. Phelps’ relay swim was held around midnight local time—that’s ridiculous.
• Rowdy Gaines’ swimming commentary is a paradox, giving gentle advice while he screams. “HE NEEDS TO CALM DOWN!!! PACE YOURSELF!!! DON’T OVER-SWIM IT!!!!"
• Can’t say I’m impressed by the Peacock’s audio work. There’s a lot of chatter in the background that is clearly caused by hot mikes that need to be muted.
• I’m scanning through the Today Show to see how they are doing. They had a segment that featured the gals ogling the Tonga flag holder. At one point, the rubbed oil on him. Really? For a “news” show?
• Also in the category of “something for the ladies”—during the men’s synchronized swimming, the Peacock seems to be spending a lot of time showing the competitors showering off between dives...
• I guess society’s lack of civility has even made it to QISE.  As a result of the Russian doping scandal, swimmer Yulia Efimova was audibly booed before her race.  I can’t remember that happening before.

More to come.

QISE Review - Rio Edition - Day 2

We’re starting with the previous night...

• In an awkward moment for both QISE and the Peacock, the Switzerland / China beach volleyball match ended in a dispute call. Then, Costas threw to an unrelated Tom Brokaw piece which got interrupted 30 seconds in when the judge’s decision was reversed and play continued for another minute.  This forced Costas into a “do-over” introduction.
• Ryan Seacrest then took over at the MTV Beach Pa—sorry, QISE Late Night.  He was joined by two supermodels for some reason—it’s like Sabato Gigante: US Edition.  Ryan’s lack of height is really emphasized next to them.
• The Peacock commentators are always biased for the home team, but Tim Daggett on gymnastics is beyond the pale. He routinely dismisses US errors, but listen for the “oohs” and sucking in of breath when other counties make a boo-boo.
• The daytime team of Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, and Al Michaels (with one handing off to another relay style) don’t seem to have much to do: “That was cycling, onto volleyball…"
• What is the obsession of QISE host cities with building outdoor diving facilities?  You can clearly hear police sirens in the background, which I doubt helps the concentration of the athletes.
• Women’s gymnastics is underway—let the “up close and personals” commence! Sequins as far as the eye can see! Unbridled hype!
• In a bizarre cross-promotion, Olympic clips were mixed into an ad for the next Star Wars movie—huh?

More tomorrow.