NBC Olympics

WASHINGTON—The ANCA joined thousands of frustrated Armenians across the U.S. and around the world Monday in expressing frustration with NBC’s short and silent coverage of Armenia’s Olympic team during its coverage of the 2012 Olympics opening ceremonies in London on July 27th.

In a letter sent to NBC CEO and President Stephen Burke, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian noted “We were troubled by the absence of any commentary or background – scripted or otherwise – about Armenia, a nation with a history of thousands of years, and a proud legacy of participation in the Olympic games.  In the place of information, your viewers were treated to a single line – “Armenia, now walking in” and then nothing more about Armenia during the very short on-screen time devoted to broadcasting only a single member of the more than two dozen athletes on the Armenian team.”  The ANCA letter called for an explanation and apology, as well as a commitment from NBC to provide meaningful coverage of Armenia and her athletes during the remainder of the games.

The ANCA first voiced the community’s concerns on its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/ancagrassroots – on Friday, and issued its letter earlier today. These concerns have been echoed by Facebook and Twitter posts from around the world.

The full text of the letter is provided below.

I am writing, on behalf of your many U.S.-based viewers of Armenian heritage, to share with you our disappointment over the very short and inexplicably silent coverage of the Republic of Armenia’s team during your broadcast of the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

We were troubled by the absence of any commentary or background – scripted or otherwise – about Armenia, a nation with a history of thousands of years, and a proud legacy of participation in the Olympic games.  In the place of information, your viewers were treated to a single line – “Armenia, now walking in” and then nothing more about Armenia during the very short on-screen time devoted to broadcasting only a single member of the more than two dozen athletes on the Armenian team.  The

inadequacy of the coverage provided to Armenia, relative to that provided nearly every other country, was underscored by the hundreds of community complaints we continue to field on this matter. NBC’s dismissive treatment of Armenia was disrespectful not only to the citizens of Armenia, but to a world-wide Diaspora that includes over 1.5 million Armenian Americans. Such actions undermine NBC’s longstanding relationship with its viewers who care about Armenia.  We call upon you to explain and apologize for the shortcomings in NBC’s broadcast of the Armenian team, and to ensure proper coverage of Armenia and her athletes during the remainder of the Olympics.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.

Sincerely,
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman