What NBC (Olympics Coverage) Can Learn From Asset Managers?
The Rio 2016 Olympics captivated my family from the opening night to the closing ceremonies. We cheered Team USA from our little corner of Brooklyn whenever possible; that’s usually after dinner. From relishing the Team USA soccer victory over France to lamenting Mara Abbot’s cruel loss cycling (my 11-year old actually began crying), we took in more than our fair share. But it’s been a struggle in some ways.
I know NBC is streaming everything and that works pretty well (though the west coast – east coast tape delay issue seems so odd to me). My biggest complaint is an inability to see a schedule per sport, per nation. This use case seems so straightforward I’ve started questioning my frame of reference. Aren’t others frustrated? For instance, my son has some interest in rugby (presumably from Cal’s annually dominant performance each May). So on day 1, I went to NBCOlympics.com looking to answer when will Team USA men’s rugby play? In my mind, this is akin to where is your mid-cap growth fund’s fact sheet? It’s a typical use case in the asset management industry. Persevering for a few minutes, I found a way, through the Rugby feed to TV listings, but that requires scrolling through days and days of matches to find Team USA’s 3 preliminary matches.
When I visit the Lord Abbett home page (click image below), I’m immediately greeted with “Documents & Forms” to the right-hand side. Two clicks later, I’m downloading that fact sheet. Why can’t I have that experience for the Olympics? Is NBCOlympics.com designed for the Millennial consumer, not a Gen X dad?