NBC is adding a wholly unnecessary, yet somewhat interesting, tweak to some of their Summer Olympics coverage.
In a lengthy feature about this summer’s games from Paris, Variety reveals that NBC is outfitting the parents of athletes competing with heart rate monitors and will display the results on-screen.
In something that might seem more at home on “America’s Got Talent” or “The Voice,” the network even plans to deploy five heart-rate monitors among the parents of athletes. The results will be shown onscreen as moms and dads watch their kids compete — something that test audiences have loved. Will the medical devices have an on-screen sponsor? “We are talking about it.” says Dan Lovinger, the NBC ad-sales executive who is responsible for snaring hundreds of millions in ad support.
Adding the on-screen heart rate monitors is the latest addition to NBC’s coverage, which is getting something of a makeover this summer.
Mike Tirico will cohost the Opening Ceremony alongside Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning, while the Closing Ceremony will be cohosted by Tirico, Jimmy Fallon, Tara Lipinski, and Johnny Weir. Additionally, podcaster Alex Cooper will host watch parties on Peacock during various events and Snoop Dogg will return as part of NBC’s primetime coverage.
To the surprise of no one, Peacock will be a huge part of NBC’s Olympics coverage, with all events streaming live on the service and the Gold Zone whiparound show returning.
Compared to all of those significant changes, adding heart rate monitors on parents isn’t an earth-shattering move. However, it’s another point to NBC treating the Olympics like a reality show.
[Variety]
