When the Summer Games are held in, say, Beijing — which is 12 hours ahead of United States East Coast time — The Trashing of NBC wanes in popularity. So long as NBC can throw its weight around and get the International Olympic Committee to hold events Americans love — women’s beach volleyball, women’s gymnastics and any event with the words “Michael” and “Phelps” in it — in the morning (for Beijing, that meant it was prime time in New York), NBC can broadcast those events live.

But when the Summer Games are held in, say, London — which, for the foreseeable future, is going to be five hours ahead of New York, timewise — NBC has a more problematic situation.

If NBC aired all Olympic events live, viewers in the United States would have to get up at 3:30 a.m. on the East Coast to watch women’s doubles badminton, and 5 a.m. to watch men’s 100-meter freestyle swimming, and call in sick to watch women’s team artistic gymnastics at 11:30 a.m. this week on Tuesday.