Why NBC Doesn't Care That You Want to Watch the Olympics Live on TV

The easiest way to understand why NBC wants to force you to watch the Olympics in prime time is to stop thinking about what audiences want and start thinking about advertisers want.

NBC paid about $1.2 billion for the rights to broadcast these games. To make back most of that money, NBC needs to sell extremely expensive commercials. The most valuable commercials aren't sold online to be viewed on browser tabs on 12-inch display screens. They're sold on prime time TV. So NBC has a clear interest in funneling our Olympic attention into the prime-time TV slot. The strategy is working, in its own way. Even with the awkward five-hour delay -- too small to swap day for night a la Beijing, but late enough that England is asleep by the time New England finishes dinner -- these Olympics are smashing all-time viewing records.