• by October 10, 2000

By Anya Khait

Disappointing ratings and criticism over tape-delayed, hyper-produced coverage aren't the only problems NBC is dealing with in the wake of its recent telecast of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Now comes word the network's coverage of the Games' closing ceremonies has outraged thousands of ballroom dancing fans. "Since Sunday, October 1, that's all the ballroom dancing community has been talking about," said Robert Tang, the founder of DanceScape.com, the Internet's first and most comprehensive website devoted to competitive ballroom dancing, also known as DanceSport. "People are saying this is worse than what Jim Gray did to Pete Rose at last year's World Series because it didn't just insult an individual, it insulted an entire sport." An "Olympic-recognized" sport currently being considered for official event status at future Olympic Games, ballroom dancing was prominently featured during the closing ceremonies at Sydney's Olympic Stadium. But DanceSport fans became upset when NBC showed only fleeting glimpses of the dancers and announcer Bob Costas made what were regarded as flippant remarks about the sport. "It was certainly disappointing," said Tang. "Ballroom dancing is a highly athletic, enormously entertaining sport, and it would have been wonderful if more viewers had been exposed to it, especially in the United States and Canada." "This has clearly touched a nerve," said Tang, himself a former ballroom DanceSport champion. "Since we can't depend on traditional networks like NBC to put DanceSport in its proper light, we're going to do it ourselves." Tang said that DanceScape.com's parent company, DanceScape Corporation of Burlington, Ontario, is planning to launch DanceScape.TV, the Internet's first dance television network, by the end of 2000. "DanceScape.TV will be a place for viewers to watch dance of all kinds and even receive online instruction," Tang explained. DanceScape Corporation recently announced it had received $650,000 in first round funding from Timberline Venture Partners, a venture capital firm based in Seattle. Ballroom dancing is a multi-billion dollar industry that's especially popular in Europe and Asia, where it's a well-established spectator sport. Japan alone has over 15 million ballroom dancing enthusiasts. In the United States, there are over 30,000 registered amateur ballroom dancers. PBS's annual telecast of Championship Ballroom Dancing attracts more than 10 million viewers.

- MediaPost staff writer Anya Khait may be reached at anya@mediapost.com