(PCM) In a society obsessed with social media and live updates, it is almost impossible to keep any breaking news a secret. Example A: Saturday’s men’s 400 meter individual medley race where the USA’s top swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte swam for the gold.
Lochte won first place and veteran Phelps shockingly did not even place, news everyone found out via Twitter or some other Internet source rather than watching it on live television. NBC’s decision to air Saturday’s mid-morning race at primetime rather than live is already receiving blasts from critics.
“I can’t believe NBC isn’t putting Phelps first medal attempt live,” wrote University of Texas journalism professor Robert J. Quigley on Twitter. “Is a monkey running that network?”
NBA player Dirk Nowitzki tweeted: “Can’t believe they didn’t show Phelps Lochte live. Now, we all know who won. This is frustrating.”
Later, Olypmic fans bashed the network again for airing the outcome of the race on the news before showing the taped footage of the race. NBC’s decision to air the race at primetime has to do with earning higher rates from advertisers and die hard fans can stream the network’s coverage live online, but the network’s decision left many viewers unhappy.
“The world has changed,” one sports fan wrote on Twitter. “This tape delay thing doesn’t work anymore.”