Olympic Buzzkills Take Down Viewer Commentary
from the you-will-not-have-fun-at-the-olympics dept
We are all very much aware that it is an Olympic tradition to make sure that no one enjoys watching the games. The IOC and its sponsors take additional steps to avoid commentary that is not completely controlled by them, even if its own commentary is completely ignorant. With that in mind, it shouldn't come as any surprise to hear that the IOC has taken it upon itself to seek and destroy any viewer sourced commentary that brings laughter and greater exposure to the Olympic games.This is where one amatuer commentator, Francis Higgins, finds himself. Francis had taken the time to watch the Olympic Radial event and provide a play by play commentary of his own as he tried to make sense of it all. His commentary is pretty funny and introduced me to a sport that I did not know existed. Apparently that is not something that the IOC wants anyone to experience. It has decided to takedown the video in an effort to kill everyone's buzz.
Of course this being the internet where nothing ever disappears, the video has made it back online in various places. You can watch it embedded here.
No one really understands the state of mind behind those sending the takedown. This video is actually bringing in new viewers and interest in an event that doesn't get as much attention as events like Gymnastics, Soccer (Football for those outside the US) and Dressage. But, since it isn't "official" commentary it simply can't be allowed. Or it could just be that the IOC has no sense of humor and felt humiliated and/or offended that someone would have anything but the nicest flattery to say about one of its events.
Either way, the fact remains that such remixing and satire is a very powerful tool in promoting the original product. Francis's video had received 500,000 views prior to being taken down. That is a lot of people who may have not known about the Radial event. If the IOC really wanted to spread the message of the Olympics and bring in new viewers, this is the type of video that would accomplish that goal. Sadly, I don't see it changing its policies anytime soon.
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Filed Under: commentary, olympics, takedown
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As long as we see exclusive deals (and particularly NDA'ed ones), the legacy industry will have a way of making a living. As long as we see regional locking, they will have allies among politicians. Make away with those two seemingly less significant factors and suddenly the internet will be a far better place to invent.
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So, IOC is a prick. Not News
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Do you remember?
Wait...maybe the solution to a better Olympics is to simply rekindle the Cold War....
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Re: Do you remember?
Well stated... comrade.
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Re: Re: Do you remember?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120817/08080520082/russia-confirms-to-world-that-its-not-fan -free-speech-pussy-riot-gets-two-years-jail.shtml
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Re: Do you remember?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics_boycott
The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott of the Moscow Olympics was a part of a package of actions initiated by the United States to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan.[1] It preceded the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott carried out by the Soviet Union and other Communist-friendly countries....
;-)
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What, NBC Worried?
Then again, for most of us, we have Jon Stewart who does a better job in covering the news than NBC, so maybe Comedy Central could just cover the Olympics in two years and have this guy as one of the hosts.
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fascist asshats
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MWM?
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Its a shame we can't have more free-form commentators. Heck its worked for games , why not sporting events?
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