Dear Londoners and the rest of the world: The Olympics don't belong to you. They never did. - by Brian Aranas

So after one weekend of the Summer Olympics two gripes have emerged:  1)  ALL those empty seats when no one in London could get tickets*  and  2) NBC delaying the events to ratings-heavy prime-time (read: advertiser friendly) instead of airing live.

Really?  The biggest sports spectacle of the past four years and Joe Public feels slighted?  Who'd have thought?

Here's an idea:  Get over yourself.  The Olympics are a billion dollar industry.  It's not your local community sports group.  Yes it's quite something to see all those empty seats but did you pay $1.1 billion for sponsorship like Coke did?  Take all those empty seats, charge fair price and you still wouldn't hit those numbers.  For $1.1 billion Coke and other sponsors should be given a lot of seats.

NBC is being mocked for tape delaying the Games to show during the evening hours instead of showing them "as they happen" (as London is many hours ahead).  It does seem ludicrous in this age of instant results to show events late, sometimes as much as twelve hours later.  But it’s money, plain and simple: NBC paid $2 billion for the rights to show the Games.  The broadcaster makes their money off the advertisers who pay a bigger buck in the evening hours.  Seems like simple math here.  And if you want instant results NBC is offering free live-streaming, something they did not have to do if they really wanted everyone to watch at night only.

The Olympic brand is worth $47 billion dollars.  That's 47 followed by nine zeros.  It's a big business people.  Sure, they'll throw Londoners some bread crumbs to invoke "community" and "unity" but it's commerce first.  Remember that Montreal hosted the Summer Games back in 1976 and LOST $1.6 billion dollars.  That debt was finally paid off six years ago!

This is very similar to the Calgary Stampede.  We’ll get those “free” events like pancake breakfasts and parades that make us feel like we’re all part of those ten days but don’t fool yourself:  The Stampede is a business that makes MONEY.  And lots of it.

I won't discredit the hard work of the athletes, trainers, parents, volunteers and so on who did have to work to death to make the Games.  In the end that's what the Olympics are all about.  Citius.Altius. Fortius. -  Faster. Higher. Stronger.    

-bri

* - Apparently the masses have been heard and the London organizers were able to free up some of those tickets today.  Good on them.  Hopefully for the Olympic organizers all those new ticket holders are sitting back sipping on a Coke.