Olympic Broad Jump

This week, many of us will be tuning in to the Olympics to watch those young athletes -- and some not so young -- achieve their gold medal dreams. Some of us might be tuning in from our computers to watch streaming video from Beijing. NBC has made a big deal of its uber-coverage of the games, employing broadband technology to fill the gaps of its TV broadcasts.

However, some people aren't too impressed with NBC's approach. The broadcasting company decided to spend big money on video coverage, but is saving much of it for prime time TV rather than live online streams. New York Times deputy managing editor Jonathan Landman accuses NBC of "oldthink." Of course, Landman is trumpeting his media company's coverage over NBC, but his point is valid.

If NBC is showing an event on tape delay, it won't make the video available until after it airs on TV. So much for high-speed communication. In addition, NBC is also monitoring its online visitors to make sure they're located in the United States. And here I thought the Olympics were a global event.

I commend NBC for its savvy video content and nifty Web site (www.nbcolympics.com), but the company is missing the broadband boat. If I'm interested enough in an event, I'm not going to wait until the delayed broadcast to find out what happened. I'll get my news elsewhere, just like everyone else. Oldthink, indeed.