NBC Continues To Ignore Wrestling By Not Covering 2017 World Cup
NBC Continues To Ignore Wrestling By Not Covering 2017 World Cup
NBC Sports is sending mixed signals about how they feel about wrestling, ignoring the 2017 World Cup in Iran.
Recently, United World Wrestling announced a multi-year partnership with NBC Sports -- an agreement that will land the World Championships, Continental Championships, and, yes, the 2017 World Cup on the broadcasting network.
In August, Willie Saylor wrote about how NBC slapped wrestling in the face. NBC Sports chose to not show Helen Maroulis' thrilling and historic Olympic finals victory against three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida in the primetime NBC broadcast. Instead, it elected to air an interview of Ryan Lochte (who failed to earn even an individual medal at the 2016 Games) regarding his fabricated story of getting robbed in Brazil during the Olympics.
NBC's coverage fell short in Rio and is currently non-existent while the world's eyes are focused on the World Cup in Iran. This incredible script writes itself: President Trump signs the order banning immigration from seven different nations, including Iran. Iran reciprocates and the U.S. is unable to attend the World Cup. A judge overturns Trump's decision, and Team USA is back in.
This week, Iran welcomed the U.S. and showered our athletes with admiration and open arms. Two days of incredible wrestling ensued, and it culminated with a storybook finish: Iran versus the USA in the World Cup finals.
CNN even took notice of the magnitude of the event, sending a reporter to Iran and producing content around the World Cup.
During Friday's finals in Kermanshah, Iran, would NBC Sports at least acknowledge the event that they had ignored up to this point?
Apparently not. This screenshot was taken during the finals of the World Cup:
That's the NBC Sports homepage. Here's a glance at their Olympic sports homepage:
The lead story on the NBC Sports Olympic page during the World Cup finals is an article that was posted Thursday at 11:53 AM.
This is confusing after reading a quote from NBC's president of production and programming, Jim Bell, in the United World Wrestling press release. Bell mentioned being "thrilled" about the opportunity to showcase more wrestling.
"NBC Sports Group is thrilled to showcase more wrestling, one of the world's oldest, and best Olympic sports," said Bell to United World Wrestling in the press release. "This is great news for us and for wrestling fans alike, as more content will now be available on more platforms than ever before."
What did Bell actually mean when he said the words "showcase more wrestling?"
If our sport is truly the "one of the best Olympic sports," why does NBC Sports so frequently ignore it -- especially on its Olympic page during a time of the year with minimal Olympic sports storylines? Whether it's laziness or just apathy toward our sport, wrestling deserves better.
The most recent piece of wrestling-related content was an Associated Press release regarding Iran lifting the ban against USA on February 5.
NBC has shown a reluctant or, at best, apathetic approach to covering wrestling. We hope that improves during the life of the current contract. We'd like to see wrestling, and its premier events, elevated to their highest potential.
As FloSports CEO Martin Floreani said on FRL in response to NBC's poor Olympic Coverage, "When wrestling wins, we win. If the tide rises, then we rise."
In August, Willie Saylor wrote about how NBC slapped wrestling in the face. NBC Sports chose to not show Helen Maroulis' thrilling and historic Olympic finals victory against three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida in the primetime NBC broadcast. Instead, it elected to air an interview of Ryan Lochte (who failed to earn even an individual medal at the 2016 Games) regarding his fabricated story of getting robbed in Brazil during the Olympics.
Matt Lauer interviewed Ryan Lochte this morning. Will air in Olympic prime time tonight.
— Jim Bell (@jfb) August 20, 2016
NBC's coverage fell short in Rio and is currently non-existent while the world's eyes are focused on the World Cup in Iran. This incredible script writes itself: President Trump signs the order banning immigration from seven different nations, including Iran. Iran reciprocates and the U.S. is unable to attend the World Cup. A judge overturns Trump's decision, and Team USA is back in.
This week, Iran welcomed the U.S. and showered our athletes with admiration and open arms. Two days of incredible wrestling ensued, and it culminated with a storybook finish: Iran versus the USA in the World Cup finals.
CNN even took notice of the magnitude of the event, sending a reporter to Iran and producing content around the World Cup.
During Friday's finals in Kermanshah, Iran, would NBC Sports at least acknowledge the event that they had ignored up to this point?
Apparently not. This screenshot was taken during the finals of the World Cup:
That's the NBC Sports homepage. Here's a glance at their Olympic sports homepage:
The lead story on the NBC Sports Olympic page during the World Cup finals is an article that was posted Thursday at 11:53 AM.
This is confusing after reading a quote from NBC's president of production and programming, Jim Bell, in the United World Wrestling press release. Bell mentioned being "thrilled" about the opportunity to showcase more wrestling.
"NBC Sports Group is thrilled to showcase more wrestling, one of the world's oldest, and best Olympic sports," said Bell to United World Wrestling in the press release. "This is great news for us and for wrestling fans alike, as more content will now be available on more platforms than ever before."
What did Bell actually mean when he said the words "showcase more wrestling?"
If our sport is truly the "one of the best Olympic sports," why does NBC Sports so frequently ignore it -- especially on its Olympic page during a time of the year with minimal Olympic sports storylines? Whether it's laziness or just apathy toward our sport, wrestling deserves better.
The most recent piece of wrestling-related content was an Associated Press release regarding Iran lifting the ban against USA on February 5.
NBC has shown a reluctant or, at best, apathetic approach to covering wrestling. We hope that improves during the life of the current contract. We'd like to see wrestling, and its premier events, elevated to their highest potential.
As FloSports CEO Martin Floreani said on FRL in response to NBC's poor Olympic Coverage, "When wrestling wins, we win. If the tide rises, then we rise."