NBC news has exclusive control over the American broadcast schedule of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Their broadcast event-times operate on an artificially created schedule to maximize their advertising revenue, many times delaying their favored events for many hours beyond the 6-hour time zone difference for later broadcast in their 'primetime' lineup.

In Tulsa, KRMG News reports on events at all hours, not just in a 7pm ‘primetime.’

We would no more time-delay a world-record breaking 100M race than we would a shooting at a local school.

Yet, some listeners have expressed frustration with KRMG News for 'spoiling' the thrill and drama of the Olympic Games by announcing the results prior to the primetime NBC broadcast. NBC News will learn some tough lessons about the value of providing live coverage of their Olympic events, as evidenced by this reaction to their decision to not provide live coverage of a highly anticipated swimming showdown.

The delivery of news and information has changed considerably since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games and even since the last Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. The brave new world of immediate access to information does have the occasional road bump, and this is surely one.

While NBC has the exclusive broadcast rights for the Olympics in the US, people who feel the need to always know news and information first can find the information they want about the Olympic events on hundreds of websites from providers to other nations. NBC is not only facing competition for Olympic news from other major media companies in other nations through several different media, but they face competition from the very Olympians they cover:

@MichaelPhelps

@RyanLochte

@NatalieCoughlin

@FranklinMissy

@KDTrey5

@KingJames

These athletes all have Facebook and Twitter accounts and will all be reporting their wins and losses in real time, not delayed to NBC’s broadcast schedule.

When vaunted media powerhouses like the NY Times, LA Times, CNN, BBC, AP, CBS, WSJ and the Drudge Report all report on events from London as they happen live, they will push the hand of every news room in America (that’s not affiliated with NBC) to do the same.

There is no turning back the clock in this era of right-now information.

NBC’s Olympic coverage covers 300 events that broadcast on more than a half-dozen channels in multiple time zones and dozens of NBC-branded websites. It’s simply not possible for us to coordinate timing of our reporting to synchronize with their American broadcast embargo schedule. KRMG’s only real choice is to cover the events in real time or not cover the events at all.

Given those options, KRMG will report news in real time.

It will be a difficult two weeks for consumers who only want to know of the sport, drama and thrill of the Olympics via NBC’s primetime schedule. You will need to avoid most Internet exposure, Facebook, Twitter, phone calls, interoffice chit-chat and, of course, your friends and family who’ve been exposed to the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, phone calls and interoffice chit chat.

Out of consideration for our KRMG users who do wish to enjoy the primetime, time-delayed drama of the Olympic Games, we will say (or write) the words “KRMG Real-Time Olympic Update” before any spoiler-type news from London. This will give users a moment to avert their eyes/ears before the information is revealed.

We believe people listen to News Talk KRMG for the fastest and most accurate information available and we will continue to provide the same to our listeners and readers.

At KRMG, news happens in real time.

Thank you,

Joe Kelley

KRMG News Director