Social media blamed for poor data flow
By Roger Blitz, Leisure Industries Correspondent
Widespread use of Twitter and other forms of social media by thousands of spectators lining the men’s cycling road race was to blame for poor transmission of race data, Olympic officials said.
The interference meant race officials could not keep track of timings and positions of competitors on Saturday, which also made it difficult for commentators to explain to TV viewers how the four-hour race was unfolding.
Billed as the first social media Olympics, London 2012 has already shown up the significance of mass instant communication at big events such as the opening ceremony, which caused Twitter to break down.
Meanwhile, US Olympic broadcaster NBC has been criticised for sticking to its practice of tape-delaying events for viewers at peak times, despite social media’s ability to inform Americans of the outcomes of events almost immediately.
The BBC bore the brunt of UK viewers’ complaints about the men’s road race, but made clear that the pictures were produced by OBS, the International Olympic Committee’s in-house broadcast team.
