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Jul 12 10:06pm
The Denison Kenyon article seems pretty one sided...
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Jul 8 12:40pm
Get it while its still hot!
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Jul 8 12:38pm
We all know that this comes down to the money, but for once could the companies forget about that factor and remember why we are all here? Yes, some people may be here for the money, but the majority of us belong to such a community that we love the thrill and the sport. As far as Im concerned, NBC has no right to block interviews of the athletes on any sites. Yes, they may have a point where they dont want people to replicate the Trials coverage, but since when did they ever care about swimming (except for that small chunk out of every four years?) And since they are profiting off of this, do you think they really even care? Sadly, for the small community of those of us who truly appreciate the sport, NBC just wants their hands on our wallets.
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Jun 26 7:04pm
Terry: FOIA only applies to government documents.
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Jun 26 11:10am
Lion King,
It really all boils down to money. NBC does not want anyone making money off of their broadcast. So since they have the Olympic contract they decide who gets to share, and as you see after 8/7, the terrible twos come out and no one gets to share. Unfortunetly NBC does not care for the Flowswimming/Coaching ideals of sharing information.
As far as the non-race footage, to NBC, everything is part of the event as a whole. I will liken it to the Masters. If you remember tiger woods shot with the Nike emblem. Nike had to buy that footage AS WELL AS the interview from CBS to use it for an ad. That is the best analogy I can think of where it included game/post game footage from the same event.

I hope that makes some sense. If not please feel free to email me!
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Jun 26 7:19am
Someone should carefully review the contract (if possible, the contract may not be available to the public - but that is what FOIA is for) and determine if the rights NBC purchased also cover webcasts. If so, are there any exceptions (such as prelims, etc)? However, I suspect that by the time you get access to the contract, the events of interest will be over and the question moot.
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Jun 25 2:11pm
Jimmy Morris: it has nothing to do with WMG ... they are also bound by these rules. It is a mandate from NBCOlympics.com
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Jun 25 11:31am
nbc sucks go floswimming
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Jun 25 10:45am
Jgullotta3:

I have no problem with covering the races, but why the stranglehold on non-race stuff? Why can't interviews be OK? There are swimming-competent journalists who can interview better than the talking heads the network has (no offense, Ambrose, you're good, it's others that make me gag). Can you shed some light on that angle for us since you have some inside knowledge? I don't see much difference between an interview which is transcribed from a live person-to-person conversation, and the taped interview itself. But I'm not the sharpest crayon on the box, so a little help if you don't mind. Appreciate it. Really.
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Jun 25 10:12am
Working in television I can say that rights holders take their property very seriously. Remember, they own the the content, in tv talk this means what is put to tape. With the internet, video is easily accesable and NBC wants to make sure that they can charge top PREMIUM dollar to the advertisers. This is how NBC makes its money. NBC has the exclusive rights to broadcast so that is how they sell it. If they let the races out to other media outlets, they "lose money" because they lose advertising and possible interest.

People may not like it but the Olympics is a big business and this in NBC's last Summer Olympics. NBC'c view is that they are protecting their investment.
I hope that this sheds some light on the matter. I am all for sharing swimming videos and this is by far my favorite site but big brother is big brother and he does not want to share!
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Jun 25 9:48am
Re: NBC/WMG controlling media access

Gee, this is amazing! I could have sworn that the history books said that Stalin and Brezhnev were dead. And Mao. But it is a deal for a China event...
If WMG and NBC, et al, are going to hamstring the great work done in bringing interviews through ESTABLISHED ATHLETE AND COACH RELATIONSHIPS by the likes of Rutemiller and associates at Swimming World and their professional colleagues, it just stinks. Coverage of the racing, fine, no problem. Let the big money and control guys (WMG, NBC) and their ilk get the first interviews with the athletes and coaches, but after that let the "little people" (sorry, Brent, lol) have a shot. Unless it's really, REALLY important to not only BE the 800-pound gorilla, but act like a jackass, too. This would -hurt- them and their investment? Not hardly, pilgrim.
"I Want It All" - Queen
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Jun 25 7:38am
I am sure that someone out there with a legal background would question this! Especially, with all the contracts with Speedo, TYR, and Nike. In addition, you would question individual branding, tradename, and talent releases.
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Jun 24 8:25pm
So is this the fine work of the Wasserman Media Group?
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Jun 24 7:47pm
killing sports making money !!
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Jun 24 2:35pm
i dont understand how they can say swimming gymnastics and track are so important to them this summer when they ignore these sports through out non olympic years
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Jun 24 12:53pm
i dont understand how they can have ownership of that
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Jun 24 11:32am
This is a comment board to discuss news articles
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