With nearly 1,600 hours of coverage from the Sochi Olympics, NBC Universial will set a Winter Games record, according to an announcement by NBC Olympics.
NBC reports it that the biggest Winter Olympics in history, set to take place in the biggest country in the world, will receive the most U.S. coverage in Winter Games history. And the coverage is more than that given to the previous two Winter Olympics combined.
NBC Universal will present more than 1,539 hours of coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network and NBCOlympics.com.
NBC’s coverage of the 2014 Sochi Games begins in primetime at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 6, one night before the network’s traditional coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 7, and continues until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 23.
NBC’s schedule is divided into three dayparts – daytime, primetime and late night – for a total of 185 hours over 18 days.
Following is a breakdown of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games:
- The six NBC Universal platforms–NBC (185 hours), NBCSN (230), CNBC (36), MSNBC (45), USA Network (43) and NBCOlympics.com (1,000+)–will offer the most in-depth coverage in Winter Olympics history.
- The 1,539+ hours is more than Vancouver (835) and Torino (419) combined (1,254).
- NBCUniversal’s 539 hours of television coverage is the most ever for a Winter Olympics, eclipsing Vancouver (436) in 2010.
- Over the 18 days of the Sochi Games (Feb. 6 – 23), NBCUniversal’s coverage will average over 85 hours per day–nearly double the entire coverage of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics (43.5) on ABC.
- NBCUniversal is presenting its 14th Olympic Games and eighth consecutive, both the most by any U.S. media company. ABC is second with 10 and four (twice).
Bob Costas will host primetime and late night for NBC’s Sochi Olympics Coverage, becoming U.S. television’s first 10-time Olympic primetime host.
Sochi marks the first time NBC will air Olympic primetime coverage before the Opening Ceremony. The primetime broadcast on Thursday, Feb. 6, is scheduled to include competition in the Olympic debuts of snowboard slopestyle (men’s and women’s).
Prior to the 2014 Sochi Games, NBCOlympics.com will provide in-depth coverage of Winter Olympic news, announcements and information. The site will profile key competitors, with a focus on many of the athletes likely to represent Team USA in Sochi, preview popular events across all 15 sports, and feature video highlights from memorable Winter Olympics moments. In addition, NBCOlympics.com will offer coverage of the U.S. Olympic Trials, and will feature a detailed viewing guide once those details are released.
During the Sochi Olympics, and for the first time in the history of the Winter Games, all competition across all 15 sports, including each medal-winning performance in all 98 events, will be live streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app. The vast majority of live streaming will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home, and on multiple platforms.
NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app are the exclusive places to consume Olympic live streaming. The site will also feature exclusive content, real-time results, medal stand-ings, event highlights and analysis, athlete interviews and profiles, and rewinds of all event coverage.
For more information on NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Sochi Olympics, please click here.
This article originally appeared in The Sport Intern. The Sport Intern editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.