Several days into the competition in Paris, sporting glory is not the only topic that has dominated NBC's comprehensive coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Celebrity, in the form of famous faces watching from the stands, reporting from the stands and broadcasting from the studio, has achieved Olympic obsession status for the network. Tracy Brown and Greg Braxton, two of the Games’ most avid viewers for The Times, sat down this week to discuss whether it has been an effective lure for casual fans or a distraction from the incredible feats of the athletes.
Tracy Brown: We’re about a third of the way through the Paris Games, and athletes have been performing as usual (shout out to the U.S. men’s and women’s gymnastics teams) with inspiring wins, visible disappointments and more. As an admittedly casual spectator of most of these sports, one of my favorite things to do is be a part of the collective embrace and celebration of athletes who weren’t previously household names, like pommel horse Clark Kent, Stephen Nedoroscik and rugby sevens (and social media) star Ilona Maher.
These athletes have star power all their own and this is their time to shine, but I can’t help but notice that NBC’s coverage has also been trying to harness the power of celebrities at these games. There are cutaways to reactions from the various Hollywood celebrities attending these events, including Natalie Portman, Spike Lee, Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo, as well as the many who are involved with the coverage in an official capacity like Snoop Dogg, Leslie Jones, and Colin Jost. I’ve had mixed feelings about the effectiveness of NBC’s strategy: Do I care what John Mulaney has been watching (and betting on) in Paris? No. But I’m wondering how you’ve found the celebrity presence in the coverage so far, Greg. Have they stood out to you as you’ve been watching these games?
Greg Braxton:I'm still recovering from the opening ceremony and host Kelly Clarkson's incessant chatter. I felt a little vindicated when I saw all the complaints about her on the Internet (“Why is she there?”).
The segment where Leslie Jones and Katie Ledecky gush over each other was also cringeworthy and added nothing. It's interesting to see the mix: The Olympics are the only place where Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) and Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) are in the same building. Some of the celebrities seem to be in regular seats, like Spike Lee and Broderick with wife Sarah Jessica Parker. Lady Gaga was in a luxury box wearing dark sunglasses. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Ervio were sitting together both to promote their upcoming film “Wicked” and to be avid sports fans, I suspect. I also feel a little sorry for Jost from “Saturday Night Live” covering surfing in Tahiti. He seems so removed from the real action; he would have been better served in Paris. And where is his wife Scarlett Johansson?
As expected, there were plenty of stars in the stands for Simone Biles and her U.S. women's gymnastics teammates' big night in the group competition. Lee, Portman, Bob Costas (oh, how we miss him!), Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Bill Gates and Serena Williams all had time for the cameras.
The only surprise so far is that no Kardashian has made it to any of the events. But it's still early days. Perhaps to the basketball final, especially if the American team competes.
Brown:Don't jinx basketball teams! Since you mentioned it, I've been even more annoyed that Jost, supposedly an avid surfer, has made it seem like sending him to a beautiful tropical island to cover a sport he loves has been a hassle. I understand that he got injured, but it hasn't gone well for me. Surfing deserves better!
And I agree that Jones' interview with Ledecky wasn't entirely convincing. I'll admit I'm not the most familiar person with this stuff, but I generally enjoy Jones' enthusiasm for these athletes (I see her at LA Sparks games all the time) and I think her commentary is something the public enjoys, at least on social media. I feel like it really made being a celebrity superfan something special. one thing And he made the most of it when he officially got involved in covering the last Olympics. I was a little surprised that that role went to Snoop Dogg this time around.
An unexpected crossover of Olympics and celebrity that I appreciate is how Flavor Flav came to be a true supporter of the U.S. women's water polo team, which is competing for a record fourth consecutive Olympic title. When the support is authentic and the story organic, it's much more compelling. Or it just seems like opportunistic marketing, like the TV spot NBC aired that linked the women's gymnastics team to the upcoming movie “Wicked” because all the women defied gravity…
I'm curious how Snoop's involvement has gone for you, Greg. Were there any pleasant surprises with any celebrities or was it a bit embarrassing?
Braxton:Before I get to trash talk Snoop, I have to hand my cardboard medal to NBC on what will likely be the biggest night of the games: The U.S. women's gymnastics team won the gold medal in the team competition on Tuesday. Before we could enjoy the final chapter of The Redemption Tour, NBC made viewers sit through about 45 minutes of swimming events, including semifinals and incessant commercials.
Which brings me to Snoop, who appeared in a segment in which he received swimming lessons from Olympic superstar Michael Phelps. The sketch was more painful than Jost's foot injury in Tahiti: a shot of Doggy Dogg.
It could have benefited from a little humor from Jost.
Otherwise, leave it because it's not… good.
The evening was also a clear example of what viewers have hated about NBC’s prime-time coverage of recent Games: destroying the momentum of what viewers really want to see by holding it up with what they don’t really care about. Why a bunch of semifinals? Why an insufferable segment about swimmer Regan Smith and her cat, or an explanation of how lanes are assigned in the swimming competition? All I want to see is the greatest gymnastics team in history in action. The broadcast didn’t even show the U.S. women’s gold medal ceremony. Maybe they were filming Snoop getting fencing lessons?
And even when attention returned to the competition, it was interrupted by more packages about the team's trip, which could easily have been shown before or in place of the swimming events.
I guess NBC had a case of a stiff neck, but when you spend that much money on the Olympics, someone has to foot the bill. Unfortunately, it's the viewers.
