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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / General => Topic started by: on August 24, 2004, 03:06:42 PM
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I'm sure that a lot of people enjoy the olympics. When I was around 5, so did I. I'm also in favor of national pride and all that.
Right now however, I'm wondering when the Olympics became compulsory viewing? I have a few daytime shows that the Tivo picks up so I can watch them later in the evening. The problem is, at least five(?!?!?!) different channels, including NBC, Bravo, Spike, USA, and one other I can't recall at the moment are *ALL* showing the fscking Olympics, all day, every day...
The siege of these channels by sporto-jocks and stupid media petards who think it's a "good idea for everyone to see the Olympics from every possible channel" pretty much completely wipes out almost ALL of the shows I watch on a daily basis. One channel I could accept and write off... This however is worse than a fscking Bush Address of the Nation, or even having 5 "shop at home" channels for the lazy people....
Who had the bright fscking idea that every single channel should show the same goddamned boring displays of "I'm better and faster than you and can wave a flag to get on yet another TV channel and interrupt your day"?
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I know exactly how you feel.
I only have 4 channels (don't really watch TV much - certainly not sports) and this summer has been almost nothing but sports. Don't remember the exact chronology but there was the Euro Football (soccer) Championsh*t, Wimbledon Tennis, Tour De France and now the sodding Olympics, all of them hogging at least a week of airtime each ... and why they have to show the same thing on several channels at once really beats the hell out of me..
The only thing I use my TV for these days is the TV-out :o
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Well over here our two state funded and three commercial stations won't blink at either showing the latest minority sports at peak times for endless hours on end or show the same football match from the same cameras but on different channels.
Here's a brief rundown:
Football. There's the assumption that if you don't like football then you're an aged spinster, so rival channels all show Gone With the Wind instead.
Rugby. Only marginally more entertaining than football.
Darts. Indoor Javelin, played by only the very finest examples of athleticism that a nation with our licensing laws can hope to produce.
Snooker. Take a stick and prod a ball with it.
Golf. Similar to above, but takes place outdoors.
Cricket. Usually cancelled due to the weather. indecipherable rules.
Formula One. Never bet against a red car winning.
Tennis. Could someone please explain the point?
Boxing. Two grown men hitting each other. If they were doing it in a pub car park they'd be arrested.
These mindless sports are played out in their entirety, often for hours on end when supposed "action" is replayed from every conceivable angle. Over and over. Once the actual sport is finished, three of the most uncharismatic blokes sit there and dissect it for more endless hours.
Meanwhile, on BBC2 we'll have a programme all about common uses for snow that goes on for an hour. On ITV we'll have either a hospital or crime drama (doesn't matter which, the script will be exactly the same). Channel 4 will be showing Big Brother with the sound muted so you'll see five people sitting in a circle doing nothing. Channel Five will be showing some dodgy soft porn with all the eroticism of a builder picking his nose.
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@PMC
And it gets WORSE!!! With Freeview (Free to air digital TV - 10 extra TV channels and 5 shopping channels + all digital radio stations).
Yes now you get the above sport, with *special* camera views and commontary on at least 4 extra channels, with 24hour news doing the same for at least half of their one hour cycles.
Oh and whilst I'm on the subject of freeview, I would add that although you don't pay a subscription per se, your box will degrade to the point of uselessness soon after it hits 18 months old (if you're lucky, some companies build their equipment with the expectation of it dying after a few days...)
My second box will be arriving here on friday.
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The only part of the Olympics I`ve watched so far has been the table tennis, even then I had to video it then watch it later on slo-mo, play it normally and all you see is 2 oriental guys waving their arms around.
It`s absolute crud TV here in the UK, it`s almost as if the other channels have given up and are just showing repeats until the games are over.
Then again, the TV has been going downhill for years now, nothing original everyone just pushes out the same old crud.
When something new does come on and is successful, it just gets copied to death by the other channels... ITV do Plop Idol, BBC quickly bodge together Fame Academy.. BBC cast Shane Ritchie into EastEnders everyone loves him, ITV suddenly cast Bradley Walsh into Corrie..
..Breaking news from the mens final of the clay pigeon shooting..
Men with guns 948, clay pigeons nil.
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Hmm my taste must be a bit different. I welcome the Olympics, otherwise there's nothing on any channel during prime time except *shudder* reality shows, and *gag* trading spaces-esque type shows.
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I haven't noticed. Seriously.
I certainly think the Olympics are over rated. People who normally don't like to watch people jump in the water and swing their arms around like they're spastic, or watch people go around, and round, and round in circles, all of a sudden get all excited at this event, and can't keep their eyes of the TV.
There's something very cultish about it, IMO.
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Hoya!
@PMC
LOL, nice description.
Well, usually, and even if I do not like sport, I like to watch the Olympics because of the not-so-common sports you can see.
Unfortunately, in France they almost only show the events when France wins... So if you wanna see high diving, you are doomed...
As for TV becoming sh!te, I could not agree more.
The stuff I saw in England does exist in France too...
"Real-TV", yeah right!
"You know, you got a script, loads of cameras around and will be paid to pretend but it IS REAL TV!"
Turn your TV OFF and you Amiga ON!
Be funky
M A D
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>Watching Olympics
Hello
In India, cable operators boycott the Olympic because of excessive tax. In my country, ALL TV stations refused to pay US$ 1 M to ATHOC for rights to broadcast Olympics game.
Beside the right, they must pay for Satellite Rental, sending Reporter team to Greek etc.
On the last Sydney Olympic, a local TV station lost US$ 500 thousand, because lack of sponsor.
The only cable TV service broadcast 6 Olympic channels to 100 thousand home for US$ 50 / month.
They close V Music Channel, RAI Italy, TV V (France), and Indian TV channels during olympic.
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Hum,
i was just watching a bike race at the VeloDrome;
And there was one guy with a motor on his bike!. it was clearly heard above the roar of the crowds...
has anyone one else noticed any other suspect events/decisions...?
@asian1
Thessaloniki (2nd Greek city) seems to have boycotted the Olympics as well...(due to an imbalance of money distributions ; with most going to Athens...)
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@MAD
"Unfortunately, in France they almost only show the events when France wins... So if you wanna see high diving, you are doomed..."
LOL. Same situation here, with only events in which there is an Australian (and only if they have a shot at a medal) being shown. This has meant that, for the first time I can recall, I have not seen any triple jump, pole vaulting etc. Instead we have to put up with equastrian, beach volleyball, baseball, etc. :-(.
It is a shame that the IOC has such tight controls over who can broadcast the games. I would have loved to watch the games on the Greek public station, ERT, which we can view in Australia via sat (just for some variety). Unfortunately, they, ERT, are restricted in their ability to broadcast any olympic events beyond Greek borders. :pissed:
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@Wayne-
Oh, so there's Olympics going on. I wondered why my Tivo hadn't recorded anything in a few days. (I was starting to wonder if my wife changed the season passes, or something!) Good thing I tossed a 120GB drive in there last year, so I have an archive to pick and choose from.
This disruption can't last, what, more than another week? Maybe I should try to get a refund for this unused week from Comcast. ;-)
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God Save TiVO!!!
I would agree with you about a refund. Thank God I have a good video collection to fall back on. I've pretty much watched a season per day of Highlander. Now if only JAG were available on DVD.
:-)
Wayne
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With relatives over for the week, I am now being made to watch womens soccer. Ger. vs Swe. The halftime score is now Germany 1, Sweden 0, and I am thinking about poking a sharp pencil in both of my eyes.
But luckily my neighbor just called and said he had finished painting his basement, so I'm going over and help him keep the flies off the walls while it dries.
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My wife made me watch.
I can feel my brain trying to escape out my ear.
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I have the opposite problem. I almost never watch TV as just about everything on TV is crap, so I've had a hard time finding time to watch the Olympics. However, what I have seen has been rather exciting. I'm looking forward to the Marathon on Sunday. To be honest, I hope they release highlights on DVD.
Oh, and if you're wondering why all the channels are showing the Olympics it's because most people actually enjoy watching them. There's money in numbers.
- Mike
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T_Bone wrote:
My wife made me watch.
I can feel my brain trying to escape out my ear.
poor sod :lol:
Well, I think looking looking at a sprinter or swimmer or whatsoever finishing 10 milliseconds earlier than his opponent is as fun as looking at a surgical operation on telly during dinner time.
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Wayne wrote:
Who had the bright fscking idea that every single channel should show the same goddamned boring displays of "I'm better and faster than you and can wave a flag to get on yet another TV channel and interrupt your day"?
Gee Wayne, since when did 5 channels out of the well over 100 you have on your cable system become every single channel?? Your soaps arent on for these two weeks, because the Olympics draws alot more viewers, which means the TV stations and the cable operators and the channel owners make more money by showing the olympics. The Athens Olympics has won every single time slot its been shown on in the US, so it would be idiotic to not show as much as possible during the 2 week Olympics.
-Tig
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Oh, and if you're wondering why all the channels are showing the Olympics it's because most people actually enjoy watching them. There's money in numbers.
Certainly there's money in numbers, and the olympics work well for numbers. And, honestly, I don't really have anything AGAINST the olympics, I'm usually just kind of oblivious to them. (And, honestly, I was confused why my TiVo didn't pick up several things it usually grabs every week! I didn't put it together until that post!)
I think the olympics are probably better for "having the TV on" vs. really "watching the TV." They are fine for background at the local bar while having a few drinks with your friends. But I couldn't sit down and actually pay attention to the most events of the olympics any more than I could the "World Strongman competitions" or the "X-Games" or any of the other semi-competition nonsense that airs...
Of course, for actual sport, I plan on watching at least a few games of the World Cup of Hockey coming up... So maybe I'm just weird. :lol:
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Well, I think looking looking at a sprinter or swimmer or whatsoever finishing 10 milliseconds earlier than his opponent is as fun as looking at a surgical operation on telly during dinner time.
HAHAHA! My friend's wife.... Surgical channel and Animal Planet are all she watches! We're not sure how she does it! After a few minutes, we have to hide in the basement. (Of course the pool table is down there, anyhow, so that's where we'd end up anyway...)
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Gee Wayne, since when did 5 channels out of the well over 100 you have on your cable system become every single channel?? Your soaps arent on for these two weeks, because the Olympics draws alot more viewers, which means the TV stations and the cable operators and the channel owners make more money by showing the olympics. The Athens Olympics has won every single time slot its been shown on in the US, so it would be idiotic to not show as much as possible during the 2 week Olympics.
Well said Tigger! :-D
- Mike
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I only watch one soap opera on a regular basis and my "addiction" to it can be traced directly back to Melissa about 10 years ago. However, every single show I watch on a regular basis has been interrupted, not just the soap opera. Since it affects every single show I want to watch, whether it's one channel or 500 channels is irrelevant.
I have absolutely zero interest in being forced to watch jocks that I don't know compete to instill fake nationalistic sentiment. If you do -- or anyone else does -- that's fine and really doesn't interest me. My complaint is that MY viewing schedule is interrupted by something I couldn't care less about.
The Olympics will be over soon enough, if they aren't already. Contrary to your apparent belief, not everyone likes having the entirety of their TV watching interrupted on every single channel they normally watch for the sake of an unwanted series of events. Admittedly, though sadly, TV viewing is all I have left to do, so it might affect me more than it does you.
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Yeah, I see your point. I don't think you're the only one. The only good thing is that the shows you're missing, well, you're not really missing, they are just on hold for 2 weeks. So you're not missing out on something other's are enjoying, everyone is in the same boat.
As for every channel showing the Olympics, well, I can't blame the networks for wanting to sell to the masses. Like I said before, the Olympics are popular - especially in the US which currently leads the medal ranks. If you were in Europe a couple months ago the TVs would have been blitzed with the EUFA soccer tournament, but since North Americans don't really care about it we were spared that interruption (although of course I caught it on the Sports network).
Anyway, if you don't care for athletics, then you don't care for athletics. The good news is that it's only 2 weeks every 4 years. I can only suggest you see this as a break from routine and perhaps try something new. I certainly don't think it's good to allow this two week break to make you miserable.
- Mike
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Wayne wrote:
I only watch one soap opera on a regular basis and my "addiction" to it can be traced directly back to Melissa about 10 years ago.
:lol:
My wife got me hooked on "Judging Amy."
(hence this weeks avatar)
I think she only watches it because of Richard Jones :lol:
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Glaucus wrote:
As for every channel showing the Olympics, well, I can't blame the networks for wanting to sell to the masses. Like I said before, the Olympics are popular - especially in the US which currently leads the medal ranks. If you were in Europe a couple months ago the TVs would have been blitzed with the EUFA soccer tournament, but since North Americans don't really care about it we were spared that interruption (although of course I caught it on the Sports network).
- Mike
It´s because you don´t have public service television, here in Sweden the SVT, the stateowned channels bought the rights for everything but soccer and the only commerical channel that shows something is TV4 which bought the soccer-rights.
Anyway you can hardly have more olympics than Sweden, they broadcasted everything here, one off the two SVT channels was always olympics. And the terrestial digital newschannel SVT24 became a second olympic-channel and they broadcasted a extra channel SVTExtra with olympics in the terrestial digital network.
Not as much as the olympics in Sydney 2000, four extra digital channels they literally boardcasted everything, but quite a lot.
The really irritating thing is that the record and timedelay for example boxing or judo in favor off former jugoslavians playing handball :pissed:
It was a swedish competitor in some lame sport, like walking, I could understand it but this I didn´t understand.
Hopefully everyone will have digital next time and the tv-companys will use it for something good. Like broadcasting extra OS-channels instead off changing the regular programs, that way everybody would be happy.
Anyway I understand your frustration, watching the news was rather unnecessary it was only the Olympics all over again.
I think it´s rather charming that sport can stop a nation like this, there is no news to report simply.
All that happened was that some weirdo kidnapped and killed his shrink, they found her today.(Maybe he was disappointed that the Olympics ended)
The bankrobbers stays home and watch,no murders, no rapes and even the politicans and economists are running on empty because they knew nobody was listening.
You know why there wasn´t a terrorist attack at the Olympics?
Because the terrorists where busy watching it! :lol:
(Wow, this became a long post :-o)