Schedule Olympic Events 24-7

Watching America wipe the ice with Canada has filled with me with the Olympic Spirit. I’m so full of it that I’m going to improve the Olympic Games. No, this isn’t about NBC’s choice to banish the game to MSNBC, though I do resent not being able to watch in HD.

Do you realize that Olympic events only use half the day? Why? So the athletes can sleep? What a waste. Who says athletes have to all sleep at the same time?

The Olympics should schedule events 24-7. From sun-up to sun-up again, there should always be athletes competing somewhere.

As it stands, attendees and viewers are forced to choose one event among many. With twenty-four hours at its disposal, the Olympics can shine a spotlight on each event, so we won’t miss a thing.

It’s what’s best for the host city. Think of all the extra food that will be sold with the streets filled all day and all night. And it’s not just food. Less events per hour means more customers per hour for local businesses. All registers will be overstuffed with cash.

There’s more money to be made on the broadcast, too. With Olympic events 24-7, team sports can be scheduled closer to prime-time of the home team’s homeland. With Vancouver on west-coast time, it’s easy for Americans to forget that in most countries these Olympic Games are happening in the middle of the night. A 24-7 schedule could have Belarus competing on Belarus time. Where's the money? A full game fits a lot more ads than a recap. You’re welcome, Belarusian television networks.

You may be thinking, “But Jon, aren’t the Olympians accustomed to a certain schedule as athletes?” Yes, they are. But remember, these athletes have flown in from halfway around the world only a week or two before the Olympics began. They’re already adjusting. Let them adjust to the new Olympic schedule instead of the sun.

The best festivals last all night, and so should the Olympics. So let’s turn the Games into a sixteen day, 384 hour bender of sporting action. Otherwise, the London Games will start at 3am CST.

Until next week,
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Jonathan Rozen


Bonus idea: Holding events all day and all night creates a constant stream of content, but NBC only has enough commentators to cover their four channels of whatever they decide you want to watch. For all events that don’t figure into NBC’s commentator rotation, pick out fans from the crowd to fill in. Better yet, how about a rotation of the athletes’ parents? Their moms and dads surely know more about these obscure sports than Bob Costas.