NBC To Air 3,600 Hours of Olympic Coverage on NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo, Universal HD and NBCOlympics.com
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jul 9, 2008 | Print |
NBC Universal will present the most Olympic coverage in history next month with over 3,600 hours on NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo, Universal HD and NBCOlympics.com.
The media conglomerate is broadcasting its record 11th Olympics and is expected to air nearly 2,900 hours of live sports from Beijing.
NBCU’s unprecedented Olympics coverage features the most live coverage in the United States (75 percent in all), across the most platforms, of any Summer Olympics in history when the Games of the XXIX Olympiad commence on Aug. 8.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer of NBCU’s Olympic coverage.
The 3,600 total hours of coverage on seven NBC Universal networks: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD, as well as NBCOlympics.com, is 1,000 hours more than the combined coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history (Rome 1960 - Athens 2004, 2,562 hours). NBCOlympics.com will feature approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage, the first live online Olympic coverage in the United States.
“For the first time, the average American will be able to create their own unique Olympic experience whether at home, at the office or on-the-go,” said Ebersol.
“With 25 sports streamed live at NBCOlympics.com and significant live coverage on our cable platforms and NBC, highlighted by all swimming finals, the biggest nights of gymnastics and beach volleyball live in primetime, the viewer has plenty of options for live coverage.
“In the 41 years since my first Olympics, it’s staggering to me to be involved in a Games where we are producing 2,900 hours of live coverage - especially from an Olympics half-a-world away. It’s more live coverage from a single Olympics than the total of all previous Summer Olympics combined. The enormity of what we’re doing just blows me away.”
Following is a breakdown of the Beijing Olympics coverage on the NBC Universal networks:
– The seven NBC Universal networks: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD, as well as NBCOlympics.com, will offer the most in-depth Olympic coverage in history. The 3,600 hours is 1,000 hours more than the total coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history. Note: Dating back nearly 50 years to CBS in Rome in 1960 (20 total hours) through NBCU in Athens in 2004 (1,210 total hours), the 12 Summer Olympics broadcasts have totaled 2,562 hours. Even the live hours of Beijing coverage surpass the total from those 12 Summer Games (Nearly 2,900 to 2,562).
– Over the 17 days of the Beijing Games (Aug. 8-24), NBCU’s coverage will average more than 212 hours per day - that’s more coverage than was produced in total for each Summer Olympics through the 1996 Atlanta Games, which delivered 176.5 hours just 12 years ago.
– The NBCU networks will offer more live coverage than any Olympics in history, domestic or foreign, despite the 12-hour time difference from the Eastern time zone to Beijing. Approximately 75 percent of NBCU’s Beijing Olympics coverage will be live.
– The 3,600 total hours of coverage from Beijing nearly triples the 1,210 total hours of coverage from Athens in 2004 and is more than eight times the 441.5 broadcast hours from Sydney on NBC in 2000.
– For the first time by a U.S. broadcaster at a Summer Olympics, NBCU will broadcast the entire Olympic Games entirely in high definition.
– The networks of NBCU will provide coverage of every one of the 34 Summer Olympic sports.
– The 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing, China represent the 11th Olympics broadcast by NBC, surpassing ABC’s 10 Olympics for the most Olympic broadcasts by any U.S. network.
– In addition to the 3,600 hours, NBCU is also providing coverage of the entire men’s and women’s soccer and basketball tournaments through Soccer (58 games) and Basketball (76 games) NBC Olympics specialty channels.
– Two foreign language channels in both Korean and Mandarin Chinese will feature a variety of Olympic events.
Complete day-by-day listings will be available soon at NBCOlympics.com or a PDF is available immediately at NBC Universal Media Village, the company’s media specific Website NBCMV.com.
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David D. | Jul 9, 2008 | Reply
And all of what NBC said in that article is true and surely a positive for all Olympic fans across the country. But beware, it turns out that NBC’s Olympic plan can be too good to be true. This are the flaws that I have heard from other blogs and articles:
* Sure, NBCOlympics.com will stream 2200 hours of coverage. But none of that live coverage will be of the marquee events like gymnastics and track and field. In an AP Report from last week, the Web will still be taking a backseat to TV.
* No other website or news organization (or blog including this one) is allowed to post videos of events prior to their broadcast on NBC. Actually, we can’t post videos from the games at all.
* NBCOlympics.com will not stream any events that are scheduled to air on TV. So for us hoping to watch the Men’s 100 meter final, we’ll have to wait until it airs on NBC 12 hours after the event is completed.
READ MORE AT MY BLOG:
http://nowsportsamerica.blogspot.com
Ellen O. | Jul 14, 2008 | Reply
As an Olympian in a fairly minor sport (diving), I applaud NBC’s effort to broadcast all sports participating the 2008 Games. I have always watched the Canadian channel during the Olympics because they cover almost all sports, they cover live, and they don’t just cover the medal winners. I’m glad to finally be able to get the same (or similar) coverage from NBC.
As to whether it is a negative to only get to post after a broadcast or to have to wait for delayed broadcasts, NBC is incurring phenomenal expense to bring us the Olympics. They deserve the right to control the product they produce and its distribution. I have a feeling with 3,600 hours of coverage, there will be enough to go around!!
Ellen McGrath Owen
1992 Olympic Team, Women’s Platform Diving
Soccer Lover | Aug 4, 2008 | Reply
What channel will I be able to watch the USA women’s soccer game vs. Norway on. I live in Nova Scotia and one of my friend’s is on the team so I would like to watch it.
Thanks!
Aaress Lawless | Aug 4, 2008 | Reply
Soccer Lover,
We just published a comprehensive schedule here:
Thank you for visiting On the Baseline!
kenneth | Aug 20, 2008 | Reply
How many times are the nerds at CNBC going to fail showing the “results” (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9) after an event is complted and the results shown on the bird’s nest giant scoreboard. Their correspopndents keep talking, they show the winner’s result (time) but don’t show the rest like in todays 200 meter final and womens 400 meter hurdles. They also did that several times in previous races. Apparently they don’t think anyone is interested in the times clocked by those who place after 1st. (dumb, dumb, dumb.)