Some Things Never Change

Almost did a double take when I read the headline on this NBC release.
"Olympics Opening Ceremony to Air at New Early Start Time 7:30 ..."
You're not serious, I thought. NBC showing the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony live. Now there's a day that didn't appear to be coming anytime soon. Or so I'd always thought.
Thought correctly, as it turned out. That early start time? 7:30 p.m. As in, more than 12 hours after the big show in Beijing actually kicks off (you can watch it all live on CBC, of course, if you so choose).
Oh, and the 'early' reference. The original plan called for NBC to hit the air at 8 p.m. ET. So 7:30 is early ... well, relatively speaking.
I know what you're thinking. When will they ever learn? But it's a safe bet if you called somebody at the Peacock Network about this, you'd hear all about maximizing audience and giving Americans exactly what they want when they want it. Yadda, yadda, yadda ...
Um, whatever. Guess we do think differently north of the border.
To be fair, NBC says roughly 75% of its coverage in Beijing will be presented live. Problem is, most of it will be shown on networks like MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen and the like ... NBC Universal-owned networks that don't offer their Olympic programming in Canada (even NBCSports.com's live Games streaming is being blocked at the border).
And we do have the NBC folks to thank for the swimming and gymnastics finals that will air live in prime time (though you might get a much different response from the athletes who have to drag their asses off to the pool or gym to compete for medals first thing in the morning over in China. Who cares about the athletes, though, right?).
But all that being said, it's still more than archaic that a major television network in North America would hold back coverage of one of the biggest moments of any Olympics until more than 12 hours after it happens. CBC is showing the opening ceremony live in the morning, then presenting an encore in prime time. And we're guessing their evening audience won't suffer because of it.
Maybe NBC should take a page from that book, too. Hey, you never know until you try. And besides, isn't choice what it's all about for viewers today anyways? At least that's what I keep hearing.