From The Daily Universe at BYU, 9/25/00:

By Cameron Sawyer
NewsNet Staff Writer

When it comes to Olympic coverage on NBC, apparently not all sporting events are created equal.

Badminton, trampoline, shooting and handball are just a few events that will either see little or no television time at this year’s Olympics.

Brooke Harris, a junior from Calgary, Alberta, majoring in exercise science, is disappointed in NBC for not equally dividing television time among all sports.

“Badminton is the second most popular sport in the world. It’s second behind soccer,” Harris said.

Harris said she played badminton in Canada, and won four national titles playing for the Canadian junior and senior national teams.

Harris also said she worked out with six Canadians who are currently representing Canadian badminton in Sydney.

Olympic badminton is not the kind of badminton played in a yard during family home evening.

According to the Sydney Olympic Web site, professional badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the world. The bird has been recorded at speeds of up to 160 mph.

“People would be shocked to see badminton played at a higher level,” Harris said.

Rachael Bradford, a junior from Hong Kong, majoring in nursing, said Hong Kong badminton is always on TV.

“I lived in Malaysia for years, and badminton was on constantly,” Bradford said.

Harris’ younger sister, Page Harris, a freshman from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, majoring in business, played on the Junior Canadian National Team before suffering a knee injury in a badminton match.

“All I’ve seen the last couple of days is gymnastics and swimming,” Harris said.

Mike McCarley, a spokesman for NBC, said the better known sports such as basketball, boxing and gymnastics are scheduled to receive more television coverage.

“Obviously there are some sports considered more traditional than others,” McCarley said.

However, if a good story takes place in the Olympics, NBC will fit it into the schedule, McCarley said.

“NBC’s focus has been storytelling. What it takes is a story,” he said.

McCarley gave the example of Nancy Johnson winning the first American gold medal in the 10-meter skeet shooting event the first night of the Olympics.

He said although shooting was not expected to get any coverage, it was covered Friday night because it was a good story.

“Rhythmic gymnastics kills ratings,” said Matt Jesperson, a senior from Sunnyvale, Calif., majoring in English.

Jesperson said he would like to see more sporting events covered during the Olympics, such as the trampoline event.

“I can’t believe they don’t have trampoline Jumping on TV. Everyone would want to see that,” Jesperson said.

According to the Olympic Web site, professional trampoline athletes can jump up to 30 feet in the air performing various aerial maneuvers.

Derrick Woodward, a freshman from Alpine, majoring in neuroscience, said he agrees with NBC’s lack of coverage.

“I don’t think those sports have as big of an audience pull as the others. They’re sports I can play in my own back yard,” Woodward said.

Ryan Varkevisser, a sophomore from Pretoria, South Africa, majoring in accounting, said, “America likes to show all the sports they excel in. That’s probably why you don’t see table tennis and badminton on TV. Other countries are going to win those sports.”

Angela Smith, a junior from Logan, majoring in biology composite teaching, said that NBC is probably too scared to try anything new.

Smith said she would like to see other sporting events introduced in the Olympics, such as the egg toss and dodge ball.

“I would love to see people get smacked by the ball,” Smith said.

The Olympics will be shown on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC until Oct. 1.