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.
The results will be shown onscreen as moms and dads watch their kids compete — something that test audiences have loved.
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.
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. »
