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NBC launches more than 5,000 hours of Olympics coverage Thursday, much of it available live on its website and – for the first time – some of it in 3D for viewers who have paid for special receivers.
It will be the most widely televised Olympics in the history of the games and will splash across the NBC network and its cable franchises: NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo and Telemundo.
Daily coverage will start most days at 10 a.m. on WCNC (Channel 36), allowing live coverage of major events. London time is five hours ahead of the East Coast, so prime-time events will have been taped earlier.
Familiar faces will take the screen. Bob Costas is prime-time host, Mary Carillo will do the late-night wrap-up and Al Michaels and Dan Patrick will handle daytime programming. John McEnroe will be a correspondent as will a newcomer, “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest.
CNBC will switch from business coverage to handle Olympic boxing. Bravo will be the home of tennis, hosted by Pat O’Brien. Telemundo will carry 173 hours of Olympics in Spanish.
Huge web presence
But the network’s special website, NBCOlympics.com, will be the home of more coverage than all the channels combined. It will live stream the equivalent of 3,500 hours, including all 302 Olympic medal ceremonies.
It will offer multiple concurrent streams for various sports so viewers can follow the entire event rather than bouncing around to other venues.
NBC paid $1.1 billion for the rights for the Olympics in London, a sum the network does not expect to match in advertising. But it is expected to attract millions of viewers to the company’s various networks over 17 days and build brand identity. NBC has secured the rights to the Olympics through the 2020 Summer Games.
Charlotte’s NBC affiliate, WCNC, will have reports during its daily newscasts from anchor Dave Wagner, who arrived in London early this week to cover athletes with Carolina connections.
