NBC Olympic Flubs Continue With Closing Ceremony Cut-Away

Two words, NBC: "Heidi Bowl."

That admittedly dated reference begets a roll of the eyes and a related six-word exclamation of exhasperation: You just don't learn, do you?

About a few dozen or so fumbles into its 2012 Summer Olympics coverage, NBC didn't so much stride proudly across the finish line with Sunday night's Closing Ceremony telecast as crap itself while tripping and tumbling across it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, not only were fans amply brassed off about the network editing out Closing Ceremony musical performances by Muse's Matt Bellamy, The Kinks' Ray Davies and George Michael's second performance, but they're also taking the House of Peacock to task for an 11 p.m. cut-away to preview its new comedy "Animal Practice."

Bob Costas told viewers that the "closing party" - which featured a performance by the surviving half of The Who - would actually be aired not live, but an hour later after the preview and local newscasts.

And Lo, the hate did flow like wine. "Glee" star Kevin McHale took to Twitter and admonished, "DEAR NBC. Interrupting the Olympic closing ceremony for an hr to air a show about a fictional animal dr. before it ends is a disgrace. Shame on you."

The "Robot Chicken" official account added, "Doing a Twitter search for 'Animal Practice' right now is like tapping a keg of pure hate."

However well NBC meant, attaching a stigma like this to an upcoming comedy that leaves this kind of bad taste is like teaching a child to ride a bike by sitting him on the seat, stuffing a steak in his pocket, then unleashing a pitbull with a cavity.

"#NBCFail #AnimalPractice is now the most hated show in America before the first episode. Amazing," tweeted Ski Vegas.

Twitter user Lawrence Escamilla added, "I may not be a The Who fan, but cutting them off to show terrible Animal Practice is just anotehr thing to add to the #NBCfail list."

Escamilla is referring to the network's mind-boggling decision to show many events on tape-delay, including Jamaican Usain Bolt's historic 100-meter victory.

Even worse? If any network should know better, it's NBC.

"The Heidi Bowl" is an unknown travesty to many, but it's one of the most notorious incidences in broadcast history of ill-conceived sports programming strategy. On Nov. 17, 1968, NBC found the finish of a New York Jets-Oakland Raiders football game poised to cut into its scheduled broadcast of the girl-meets-goats saga "Heidi." The Jets held a 32-29 lead headed into the game's final minutes of regulation. NBC executives deemed it imperative that America miss nary a moment of girls-and-goats action and ordered that coverage of the American Football League rivalry battle be cut short to start the movie on-time at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

What followed has lived in infamy, for those who witnessed the debacle - or rather, it's infamous for what WASN'T witnessed. Oakland stormed back and scored two touchdowns in the final minute, pulling out an improbable and thrilling 43-32 victory. It was one of the most memorable moments in NFL history, and the eastern United States missed it because by the time the jammed switchboards were set straight after fans flooded the network with demands to continue coverage, the movie had already started.

Fast forward about 44 years, and some lessons just didn't stand the test of time. One of the greatest and most entertaining Olympians of all time was ready to step to the line to attempt breaking his own world record, and NBC can't be bothered to air it live.

Just for the record, what was the International Olympic Committee's take on NBC's tape delays of their games' history being once more re-written, opting instead to merely stream it online at 4:50 p.m. EDT? "It's certainly not for us to tell them how to reach their audience," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. "If you wanted it live, you could get it live."

To translate more clearly:

Fast forward still further, and NBC pares down the entertaining, jubilant revelrie of closing a memorable, history-making Olympiad before short-changing rock-and-roll royalty to force a crappy sitcom on viewers.

As the graphic above illustrates, events happening 3,500 miles away from American shores were broadcast on a six-hour delay by NBC. Amid the games, NASA needed by a 14-minute delay to broadcast a landing on Mars, 355 million miles away.

NBC, folks: We just can't have nice things.