I couldn't really have the audio up very loud when I saw it (at work), but it seemed ok to me. I think it is just really hard to have a fair segment on AB's in particular. I mean, don't get me wrong, the actual Springer shows were probably worse because...you know...it was Springer....fake people, fake crowds, etc. With that being said, I don't know how you can show AB's in a "non-creepy" way to many people (I am not trying to be mean here, I just think many people won't ever understand it, and they will never be able to get past judging it as freakish).
From what I saw, the HBO thing was a pretty realistic view of how it works at such an event, so I can't fault the channel for anything there. Perhaps I missed something with the audio being down, so I am curious to know what made you find it coming off as creepy?