NBC reveals Olympic winner ahead of its own coverage

By Patrick Kevin Day

July 31, 2012 12 AM PT

NBC has received much criticism for its decision to delay coverage of key Olympic events in order to air those contests during prime time, but a poorly conceived “Today” promo on Monday drove fans especially nuts.

The outcome of U.S. swim team member Missy Franklin’s backstroke race was delayed so it would run Monday night, but before the network could air the highlighted race, it showed a promo for Tuesday morning’s “Today” show featuring footage of Franklin holding her gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke. All suspense was gone.

GRAPHIC: Your Olympics TV-watching guide

After much outrage on Twitter and social media, NBC corrected the mistake by the time the promo aired on the West Coast. According to Zap2It, the network substituted the Franklin promo with one featuring U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and the men’s gymnastics competition.

Complaints about NBC took a turn for the nasty over the weekend when Guy Adams, the Los Angeles bureau chief of the Independent, a British newspaper, tweeted the email address of Gary Zenkel, head of the network’s Olympics coverage.

Twitter temporarily suspended Adams’ account for sharing private information, but has since reinstated it.

ALSO:

NBC London Olympics coverage sets records despite angry tweets

NBC’s London Olympics coverage breaks ratings records, irritates fans

Late Night: Jon Stewart slams NBC for cutting tribute to terror victims

Join Patrick Kevin Day on Google+ or Twitter. Email: patrick.day@latimes.com