A HERCULEAN TASK
WITH NO FANS, NBC MUST STILL FIND WAY TO SPOTLIGHT EMOTION & DRAMA
THESE Olympics present maybe the largest challenge yet for a network to connect with viewers during the pandemic. With no fans in attendance and host Japan in a state of emergency due to the resurgence of COVID-19, NBC will have to entice viewers without the usual Olympic atmosphere.
After a one-year postponement, the woman in charge of the whole production thinks it will be a broadcast of significance.
“We really believe the Tokyo Olympics will be the most meaningful Olympics in our lifetime,” NBC’s Olympic executive producer Molly Solomon said.
Maybe Solomon will be right. It definitely will rank as one of the most difficult Olympics to broadcast.
The Olympics are a unique television experience because — outside of sports such as basketball, soccer, golf and baseball — most of the events are not widely viewed in the four (or, five, in this case) years between Games.
They usually thrive on the feel of the event: the achievement of athletes, the reactions of fans and family and NBC’s Hallmark card storytelling.
With no fans, Solomon said NBC will not be adding any artificial noise, but instead will try to bring viewers closer to the action by using audio that would not be available with fans in the stands.
“We believe there’s an opportunity to bring viewers closer to the action than ever,” Solomon said. “And it’s sports like swimming, gymnastics, track, basketball, beach volleyball. You’re going to hear the sounds of games like you’ve never heard them before — from the thrashing and splashing in the pool to these intimate conversations between competitors and coaches.”
Through the pandemic, when no fans were present at sporting events, networks enhanced the sounds of broadcasts by piping in audio to give them more of a big-time feel. Solomon said that was an impossibility for the Games because of so many distinctive events.
(Some of the venues will be playing crowd noise and music so it feels more normal for athletes. This may be heard by viewers, too.)
All of this contributes to why the ratings for these Olympics will be interesting to monitor. At the height of the pandemic, viewing was down with no fans in the stands. As spectators returned and the biggest games returned to their usual slots, the ratings have mostly increased.
NBC will offer its usual tonnage over the next two-plus weeks. It will include 17 consecutive nights and 250 hours on broadcast TV, 1,300plus hours on cable, 5,500 hours on digital, 300-plus on Telemundo. Peacock, its relatively new direct-to-consumer paid service, will feature a lot of live gymnastics, track and USA Basketball.
NBC will have the Opening Ceremony live on Friday morning. Of the roughly 650 American athletes who are usually eligible to march, just 200 or so will take part this time around, according to Solomon. They will re-air the ceremony in prime time.
As for the Olympic TV feel, NBC will try to create interest with its storytelling. The network has worked with other broadcasters around the globe to overcome the pandemic conditions while creating features that hook you in on foreign athletes as well as doing its regular work domestically.
Without fans, NBC will try to create scenes in which viewers watch those closest to athletes as they witness their sons, daughters, family and friends go for gold. Families of Olympians will be hosted at Universal Orlando Resort for two weeks, and NBC will use their watch parties as part of its coverage.
The broadcasts also will take viewers around the country. For instance, superstar gymnast Simone Biles will have NBC cameras in her Texas gym with gymnasts rooting her on during her events.
Solomon and NBC will be challenged. If they can engage the public as if it were any old Olympics, it will be a TV feat worthy of gold.