Toronto’s 2008 loss is not only a disappointment for Toronto’s Olympic Bid Committee, but it’s also a disappointment for those broadcasting the Games.
Joel Darling, head of Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s (CBC) Olympic coverage, said an Olympic Games 12 time zones away isn’t the easiest thing to deal with.
At last year’s Sydney Olympics when CBC aired live coverage despite a 15-hour time difference, final ratings showed an average of 1.453 million viewers turned in, down 12 per cent from the 1996 Atlanta Games. NBC’s taped coverage was off 35 per cent from 1996.
And having most of the Olympic events a few blocks away from the network’s headquarters would also have allowed the CBC to have a lot more reporters, producers and cameras on the scene.
Darling said, “not having to send people halfway around the world would have helped”.
While plans for 2008’s coverage hasn’t been firmed up yet, Darling said he can’t imagine only using taped coverage, like NBC. “I don’t think we’ll be changing our approach” he said.
