NBC: How about a little respect for sports and sports fans?

Let me start by saying that I know that commercial television has to have commercials.  I grew up with commercial TV, and I survived, and I know that TV has to have an income stream.  But in their zeal for satisfying their obligations to their sponsors, they sometimes don't think enough about the integrity of their entertainment product.

Take, for example, the Olympic Games.  I hope that not too many readers lose interest when I say that I am a distance running enthusiast.  I'm not really interested in the sprints; races 800 meters or longer get my attention, though.  So it irks me when, in the course of the 5,000 meter race, which takes less than fifteen minutes to run, there are at least two commercial breaks.  Now, I don't begrudge the network their commercials in the 10,000 meter or the marathon, because, by golly, that's a long time to go without selling something.  But the number of breaks is, I think, excessive.

While we're at it, something else really got me shouting at the TV during the women's marathon.  Not content to interrupt that race only for commercials, they also ran little featurettes during the race.  (They didn't do this during the men's marathon, presumably because the Olympics were just about over.)  Such unnecessary intrusions are disrespectful to the viewers, and especially, in this case, to the women running the race.

Anyway, after my complaining about the placement of commercials and their detrimental effect on my enjoyment of the sporting events, there's a punchline!

Last night, I watched the closing ceremonies (which were something like a cross between MOULIN ROUGE and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade).  I wasn't too interested in the ceremonies, but I wanted to see The Who.  Before every commercial break, Ryan Seacrest would say, "We'll be back with more, including The Who!"  But as eleven o'clock approached, there seemed less and less time for the headliners.  (At this point you can call me a fool for not checking the program guide more carefully, but no matter.)

Then, at 10:58, Bob Costas announced, "Later on tonight, we'll be back with The Who, but first, we'll broadcast the first episode of the new comedy, 'Animal Practice,' WITHOUT COMMERCIAL INTERRUPTION!"

Oh, NBC, thank you, thank you, for the gift.