Supporters of genocide?
Olympia’s largest donor is in deep crisis
2/2/2022 7:16 am
The US company Comcast will pay 7.75 billion dollars for the broadcasting rights to the Olympic Games. This results in a dilemma for the broadcaster NBC, because a success of the major event in China is in its interest. Criticism doesn’t seem welcome.
Bob Costas is a man of his word and as such an icon. The longtime presenter and commentator of the US media giant NBC was the face of the Olympic Games on television twelve times, he was “host” at prime time – from 1992 to 2016. In the meantime he devotes himself professionally to his great love baseball, but when he himself like these days again about the Olympic Games, then his words resonate.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) deserves nothing but “contempt” and “loathing” for returning to China, Costas told CNN on Sunday. The Lords of the Rings are “shameless”, so the Olympics do not only take place in times of Corona, there are also “restrictions on freedom of the press and the feeling that everyone there is being monitored in one way or another”. That was already the case in 2008, and now it’s even worse.
However, Costas also emphasized the contradictory situation in which his former employer finds himself more than ever: NBC is the largest sponsor of the IOC, for the multimedia transmission rights until 2032 the parent company Comcast pays 7.75 billion dollars – and thus supports games in China, which are being diplomatically boycotted by the United States. Because of the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity”.
No room for criticism?
It’s not just NBC that has a problem, Costas said. At the same time, any company “that broadcasts major sports is in a position to be at best only quasi-journalistic”. This is a report about an event that is also being promoted. News channels like CNN don’t pay for the right to report on the White House, but NBC spends a lot of money on rights and production because it’s the “central building block” of its entire TV strategy.
US economics professor Andrew Zimbalist, author of several books on Olympic Games business, believes NBC is “in an impossible situation.” The broadcaster, telling the Internet portal Deadline, could only “try to subtly and without offending the Chinese too much, make a few contributions” on critical topics. In truth, however, they are “in a bind”.
Molly Solomon, NBC’s Olympic production boss, knows the dilemma she faces but refuses to pledge critical coverage of China. They will “shed light on China’s place in the world,” as well as explain the “geopolitical context in which these games are being played,” she said evasively. She made it much clearer: “The athletes remain the focus of our reporting.” By the way, Bob Costas will be commentating on the Beijing Olympics for CNN. And thus without any consideration of sensitivities.