To think that the Olympics coverage on BBC is a bit too British?

[BlueberryPancake]

I don't know much about anything to do with sports, but I have always seen the olympics as being an international event. Isn't that the essence of it all.

So why is the BBC only interviewing British medalists? Aren't there any other winners? They had John McEnroe on the other day commenting on various achievements, but why don't they make the effort to try and interview athletes from other countries, just a bit even, once a day or something. Profiles. Whatever.

I have the family of an athlete staying with us right now, they are from the US, their daughter won a silver medal last night. I am trying to find a little bit of coverage about the high jump final on the bbc and really, there is so little. Almost nothing at all. I wanted to show it to my kids. But there is nothing at all.

I know they can't cover everything but the olympics has been only about our medals, and Husain Bolt. I am sure that the Americans are covering American athletes on their shows, but we are the host country. Shouldn't there be a bit more about other athletes?

British Broadcasting Company. Does that give you a clue?

I am sure reporters from other countries have interviewed their medallists.

Oh, and it's Usain Bolt.:o

Husain Bolt

Yes. The British broadcasting company is concentrating on team fb too much, during the LONDON Olympic.
Other countries will have the same coverage regarding their own athletes.
Of course the BBC will focus more on our own team.

There are 10,000 athletes competing.

How would you give them all air time?

As lovely as your friends daughter may be, silver place foreign national - unless she's someone famous - isn't newsworthy.

You must have missed all the foreign nationals being interviewed after winning their events?

Team fb? Sorry team GB

You should see coverage of the Olympics in France. Wall-to-wall handball. Day after day of it.

You might be interested in this thread "Team GB obsession is spoiling it for me".

Yes the clue is in the name.BBC.
The coverage has been amazing. About 10 channels worth.

Google is your friend! An infinite stream of news stories about Brigetta Barrett.

www.google.co.uk/search?q=Brigetta+Barrett&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1CHMO_en-gbGB471GB471&prmd=imvnsuo&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&ei=V14nUPjuHuLF0QWkh4CoCg&ved=0CBkQqAI&biw=1360&bih=667

Log on the internet, look for the main news stations in the US and the families local ones. They might have it.

German coverage has been concentrating mostly on German athletes, with a bit of added enthusiasm for Brits as they are the host nation and probably because they know more of their backstories then they do about, for example, a South Korean athlete, as the information is widely available.

We watch it online, so you get to see whatever is live, which is quite a lot at any one time. On the normal TV I think it's much more German-oriented because that's just what interests the most people watching in Germany.

I watched a bit when we were in England recently and it seemed ok to me.

I think you will find that wherever you watched the Olypmics, that country will feature its own competitors, mainly because the people in that country know of the people competing.
Also there is the thorny question of language. Fine if you have English-speaking medallists, but I am not sure how hot the BBC´s commentators/presenters are on foreign languages.

Apparently US concentrates on US, Germany on Germany etc etc what a surprise. Why would the British Broadcasting Corporation not concentrate on Britain?

E320 yes, that's true. Here in Germany you don't get many immediately-after-the event interviews due to translation issues. You get them on the news or in round-up shows afterwards where foreign press members get to interview them, and then they have time to do a voice-over in German.

I don't know if it's possibly only members of the British press who have track-side/pool-side etc access, and maybe one or two international/independant media types. With 204 competing nations, I cannot imaging that 204 journalists would be allowed to mob the athletes after each event

I've seen them post event talking to lots of different nationalities :/

Here in Sweden they concentrate on Swedish thing,s unfortunatly they have only won a couple of things so they resort to asking the international winners things about Sweden, I have heared them say things like "you look a little like a Swedish person" and "have you been on holiday to Sweden?"

At least there are some good british wins to cover!

BBC report of womens high jump

I watched the final on a BBC channel.... but can't remember which one. I just drop in to whatever I find on at the time.

I guess you missed the Opening Ceremonies, then...

Sorry Usain, went to bed at 3am after celebrating with too much bicardi and got woken up by a 5 year old running the 100m on my bed at 6:30.

I do know what BBC stands for, but I just feel that as hosts, I would have expected to learn a bit more about athletes from other countries. I hadn't seen the other thread about it, very interesting. Will have a look...

There is a lot of media seating - that whole brouhaha about empty seats was often due to media no-shows.

Eg in the commentary for the decathalon they said Daley Thompson was underneath their (BBC) box commentating for an Australian network. This is big business - almost every nation will have press passes; it's only the diddy little ones like Tuvalu etc that probably won't and will rely on a feed from another nation.

Should add I meant Corporation not Company. Sunday morning lie-in brain.

Yes, for commentary, but not for interviewing trackside.

Um..., I was watching the womens high jump final on BBC1, till I switched over to channel 454 to watch Tom Daley...

YABU

Do you not see the American and Australian news teams all lined up? All the athletes go to their own journalists - unless they have won - and thats because the BBC have the contract to interview first.

Look around the edge of the track at the bank of cameras - they aren't all ours, usually it has the moniker on the side of the company NBC, Fox etc I'm not too familiar with the European or Latin ones