@NBCOlympics: Great opening show; too bad you can't see it

(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

It's something of a tradition for NBC to ensure that the U.S. is even further cut off from reality.

In previous iterations of its Olympics coverage, the network's insistence on refusing to show events live -- favoring instead tape-delayed, saccharine soap opera -- put many people off watching at all.

But not enough people, obviously. NBC seemed to believe that, without competition during the summer viewing season, it could create this false programming and people would watch by default, which quite a few did.

This year promised to be different. Every event was to be live-streamed. Oh, except two. The opening and closing ceremonies.

For some strange reason these would not be shown anywhere in the U.S. But that didn't stop NBC from live-tweeting last night's opening extravaganza. Yes, it used its tweets to get you all excited about not being able to see it on NBC.

Some might feel that it would have to take a humongous level of half-wittedness to conceive of such a plan.

But NBC's explanation was full of intelligence. In a statement to the LA Times, NBC said: It was never our intent to live stream the Opening Ceremony or Closing Ceremony. They are complex enterta... [Read more]