NBC’s obsolete Olympics: Is your credit union cable-passé?
Thank god the Olympics are over. I’d rather watch another video of Armenian weightlifter Andranik Karapetyan dislocating his elbow than suffer through another painful night of NBC’s Olympic coverage. The network’s outdated programming has only reinforced television’s growing relevancy problem with tech and social-savvy viewers.
Is your credit union making the same mistakes?
Take, for example, the network’s sexist commentary. I had seen some social media posts criticizing the network but didn’t think much of it. Everybody criticizes the media.
But not even five minutes after tuning in, my jaw dropped when I saw it for myself. As gold medalist swimmer Abbey Weitzeil entered Aquatics Stadium, commentator Rowdy Gaines quipped, “Let’s get a smile, Abbey.”
No commentator would dream of encouraging Michael Phelps to smile for the good folks watching on TV right before he competed for Olympic gold.
Why does it matter? Because it communicates that men compete, while women merely perform. That’s sexist, outdated and flat-out repulsive.
If you don’t realize how much women bristle at being told to smile, you’re probably loathed in your credit union. Millennial women often respond to such a patronizing request with indignation. Baby boomer and Gen X women aren’t as obvious. They’ve grown accustomed to forcing a pleasant facial expression the clueless man perceives to be a smile intended to brighten his big, important day.
The outward response doesn’t matter – all three generations of women note to avoid this man in the future. If he’s in the business of growing market share, he’s striking out with half of his prospects.
NBC’s scheduling and delivery channels are also frustrating. Because the network only shows events during prime time, by the time it airs here on the West Coast, I’ve known the results for three hours or more. NBC is live streaming events this year for the first time ever on its website, but a cable provider login is required.
In an omnichannel world, NBC will die a slow, painful death if it limits online viewers to only cable subscribers. By the next Olympics, it’s estimated at least ¼ of U.S. households won’t have cable service. The network paid $4 billion for exclusive domestic broadcast rights in the U.S.; that’s a lot of money to limit access to a rapidly decreasing market.
Does your credit union provide an omnichannel experience? If you don’t communicate with members via text message, interact with them on social media or provide a mobile app that offers complete account access, the answer is no. And if that’s the case, you’re also dying a slow, painful death.
Consumers today want what they want, when they want it and how they want it. There may be significant operational hurdles that prevent you from offering a true omnichannel experience, but consumers don’t care about your problems. The cooperative structure is important within the credit union community, but consumers aren’t willing to sacrifice convenience and innovation to support the credit union philosophy.
Just like Netflix, Hulu and livestreaming apps provide an alternative to cable television, there are plenty of innovative financial service providers ready to steal your market share. Like the Olympics, the purchase of goods and services will survive the ages. How you deliver that service determines whether you survive, too.
