NBC vs ESPN: What's going on?

[jaykay]

This ongoing battle between GE and Disney is infuriating (re: telecast of Wimbledon in the US). I hv to keep guessing/switching between channels to search for Wimby matches.

I don't get it... => does one broadcast channel have the exclusive rights to specific matches or the right to telecast exclusively at specific times of the day?

Why the heck doesn't one of the them buy the rights to the WHOLE thing? (just venting).

Tennis is anyways broadcast on tv as an afterthought in America (albeit it is slowly improving), and this whole NBC vs ESPN thing is only causing lots more pain...

[Andy Hewitt]

This is REALLY ******* me off....

[tpduke112]

I agree, I can never figure out what channel to watch.

[ollinger]

Same reason a Japanese company called Matsushita made home electronics equipment and then put the labels of Panasonic, JVC, Sharp and lots of others on the same stuff....same reason a Mazda 3, Ford Escort and Vovo S40 share most of their components and were designed as one car....companies realized a long time ago that sharing expenses to produce something (and 2 weeks of Wimbledon costs them a lot of money) that neither of them wants to sacrifice their entire broadcast schedule for saves them both a lot of money. Likewise at the US Open -- CBS and USA network use the same cameras, broadcast trailer, computers, etc. and can keep the parts of their regular broadcast schedule that they value most intact. It is hardly "NBC vs. ESPN" but rather the two of them cooperating to save money.

[Geezer Guy]

Just buy a TIVO box and tell it to record all tennis matches. It'll record them whenever and whatever channel they're on, and you can watch them later and skip through the commercials. TIVO's great! I never what "live" TV anymore. I tell TIVO what I like to watch, and it records it whenever it's on. I watch TV at MY convenience.

[aidenous]

I have HD and hate that they haven't been showing it in HD. You can bet if it were golf they would be showing it in HD.

[vkartikv]

Doesn't make much of a difference to me. I am at work all day. I wonder if jaykay is skipping work by calling in sick to stay home and watch the matches ;) JK

[punch]

NBC is the biggest joke I have ever seen, they must not know what live tennis is? right now im missing the Nadal - Bagdhatis match for Dr. PHIL. The match is on live and i'm having trouble not looking up the score but I don't want to spoil it!

[Progressive10s]

NBC coverage is at least 15-30 minutes behind the actual play. I was just watching the 2nd game of the 2nd set on NBC, but the score is 4-3 Nadal on Wimbledon.org's web site. This is truly disappointing. There's no reason not to be showing it live!

[Andy Hewitt]

NBC coverage is at least 15-30 minutes behind the actual play. I was just watching the 2nd game of the 2nd set on NBC, but the score is 4-3 Nadal on Wimbledon.org's web site. This is truly disappointing. There's no reason not to be showing it live!


They gotta show them cartoons or whatever the hell they are showing....

[tennis4losers]

who cares as long as there is tennis on tv?

[tpduke112]

who cares as long as there is tennis on tv?
ummmm, me. Its not like cable is a gift. We pay for it. They could at least show it live.

[Geezer Guy]

If they show it "live", they just have to put on a replay of a previous match during the rain delays. By showing it time-delayed, they can skip the rain delays and show the match without interruption.

[El Diablo]

tpduke
In fact, NBC is a gift and you don't pay for it. It is broadcast TV available for free to anyone clever enough to raise an antenna, so please stop whining.

[datsveryinterestin]

El Diablo... what a joke! you come to the "rants and raves" area of the message board to tell somebody to "stop whining".

i don't agree with your reasoning either.
NBC isn't a non-profit company.
They try to make you sit there through a bazillion commercials
so they should at least try make the viewer happy enough to
sit in front of the tv.

If enough people "whined", NBC would change right away... so whining "en masse" is actually quite productive if done though the right methods.

[tpduke112]

tpduke
In fact, NBC is a gift and you don't pay for it. It is broadcast TV available for free to anyone clever enough to raise an antenna, so please stop whining.
If they aren't going to do it right, don't do it. Let some else take it.