The other day, I watched four sports at once: surfing, women's rugby sevens, men's gymnastics, and fencing. Four screens is so many screens. But during the Olympics, I crave this. I don't like being made to choose between sports about which I know very little, and for which I am newly passionate! I want to flip around my games at my leisure while they are live.
This, in theory, could be stressful. But NBC's streaming service Peacock has created a perfect Olympics experience for people like me. Unlike Paramount Plus, which consistently makes my life a living hell, I have mostly felt neutral about the Peacock app. When I watch my favorite show The Traitors, it always behaves. But I didn't think it was anything special until the Olympics.
Much like the clown throuple featured in the opening ceremonies, Peacock understands an abundance mindset: Every sport is worthy of love. You do not have to pick one sport and devote yourself to it. Your love is big. It can be shared. And the easiest way to share it is through the gorgeous invention of Multiview.
In theory, Multiview is simple: There are four different games on your screen! But it is better than any version of this I've ever seen. I use Peacock on the PlayStation and I can move the cursor over any of the screens and it will allow me to listen in to the sound of that screen. So you can still focus on the sport of your choosing while you vaguely pay attention to the others. On Tuesday morning, Peacock also offered Tennis: Multiview, which was just four tennis games. It is an idyllic viewing experience to me. Its only flaw is that you cannot choose the sports in the multiview. NBC chooses those.
Peacock also has a channel called GoldZone. GoldZone is exactly like RedZone, except for Olympic sports. I hate NFL RedZone because it stresses me out. The men who speak have incredibly grating voices, and they are not experts in the sports so I never learn anything. I choose to avoid this channel but it exists! A lot of other people seem to like it! You can also watch any individual sport happening. They have cameras everywhere. If you only care about surfing, you can watch surfing for six hours.
This is such a sensible approach—one that understands and respects the desires of an average viewer—it's almost hard to believe an American network came up with it. It feels like the future we were promised streaming would bring that never arrived. But here it is, for a couple of weeks, to celebrate the Olympics. A little present for me.
