I've never been able to make it through a huge amount of the broadcast, but always have enjoyed times I did sit through it.
In the words of E.T. -- Bee Good.
By the way, even if you don't watch much of the coverage -- or even none of it -- I highly recommend the wonderful documentary, Spellbound, which follows eight contestants in the 2001 competition. The joyous film received an Oscar nomination as Best Documentary Feature. It has a stunning 98% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes (though the viewer rating there is a "just" 83%...) It's available on Netflix. Here's the trailer --