NBC's Olympic Video Player Gives Away the Final Results of Some Events

NBC's streaming coverage of the Olympics has been robust to say the least (although it still leaves non-cable subscribers excluded), which is especially
NBC's Olympic Video Player Gives Away the Final Results of Some Events
NBC's Olympic Video Player Gives Away the Final Results of Some Events /

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 12.13.35 PM

NBC's streaming coverage of the Olympics has been robust to say the least (although it still leaves non-cable subscribers excluded), which is especially necessary when the games are taking place in an inconvenient timezone for American viewers.

But those hoping to catch full replays of events after the fact might be disappointed by a feature NBC has included on their video player that has the potential to spoil the event you're watching. Along the right side of every event replayed on NBC's sports streaming website, NBC Live Extra, is a Twitter feed that provides the latest thoughts, insights and sometimes results from experts covering that day's event.

It's a pretty big oversight by the network as the majority of people tuning in to a replay of an event would probably rather not have the result dropped right in their lap.

Curling itself isn't the most exciting of sports, but much less so when the final outcome of the match you're hoping to watch is displayed on the right side of the screen:

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 11.38.59 AM

Similarly, if you were hoping to catch a replay of the team figure skating competition to see how the U.S. fared, these tweets were probably a bit distracting:

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 1.28.45 PM

There are already people who say things during the broadcast to provide context -- they're called announcers. It's understandable that NBC is trying to integrate social media in order to expand the reach of the games, but doing so at the expense of your audiences viewing experience is short-sighted.

I'm hopeful NBC will revise this feature, but for the time being, try to refrain your eyes from the right side of your screen if you're hoping to catch an untainted replay of an event you missed.


Published