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NBC Says It Won’t Air the Opening Ceremony From the Rio Olympics Live — Here’s Why

Jul 12, 2016  •  Post A Comment

NBC won’t be televising the Opening Ceremony live at the upcoming Olympics, even though the network plans to televise most of the competition events live.

The AP reports that NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus talked about the plans Monday, explaining that adding a one-hour delay to the Opening Ceremony will enable producers to “curate” the network’s coverage, adding context to the broadcast.

“With Rio just one hour ahead of the United States’ Eastern time zone, the network will televise most competition live, with the notable exception of gymnastics,” the AP reports. “For the third straight Olympics, NBC will stream every event live, but that hasn’t included the Opening Ceremony. This year, viewers will need to wait only an hour.”

NBC also announced plans to air a one-hour special on Aug. 4, the night before the Opening Ceremony, as a preview to the network’s Olympics coverage. “While the program will feature several star athletes, it will also offer the network a chance to cover topics such as the Zika virus and polluted waters that it likely won’t address much once the games begin,” the AP notes.

olympics rio 2016

2 Comments

  1. The spectacle of so many colorful uniforms is too much for me to watch.

  2. The Olympics just “ain’t” what it used to be for a kid who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s watching. Although, remember some of those Russian and East German “female” athletes does bring back some memories. I’ve read that there is virtually no “BUZZ” regarding the Olympics this year. Granted, ratings will probably be decent, but certainly not “awesome.”

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