Now They’ve Gone Too Far
Jan 11th 2008eSports of the Olympiad & Media
Since it the WGA strike began, its affects have been felt in almost all aspects of the television industry. Fortunately, sports are one area that’s emerged relatively unscathed—until now. The lack of original prime time programming on network television is going to lead to an increase in broadcasts of figure skating.
A schedule change owing peripherally to the writers’ strike will give the sport two nights in prime time during the U.S. Championships later this month in St. Paul.
And NBC, the U.S. Figure Skating Association’s new broadcast partner, promises significant promotion of the telecasts, according to spokesman Mike McCarley.
Note to self: Do not watch NBC.
Why? That’s my question. Are Seinfeld re-runs that expensive? Why show figure skating? It’s the most boring television sport of all time—and that’s completely independent of the fact that I care more about the fate of Croatian national basketball team that I do about the World’s top 100 figure skaters combined.
Heading into the strike the writers and the studios all had a set cost they were willing to endure. Obviously neither side has reached that cost, but perhaps they weren’t taking into account an increase in figure skating. Could this now make it worthwhile for them to end the strike and push the sides into agreement? We’ll have to wait and see.
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