NEW YORK — Embarking on its 18th Olympics broadcast, NBC Sports is banking on a different experience for viewers for what is being billed as the “best reality show in the world” when the Summer Games kick off with the opening ceremony in Paris on July 26.
With the coronavirus pandemic effectively in the rearview mirror, the coverage will look much different from Beijing and Tokyo, as there will be spectators in person (more than 10 million tickets have been sold, according to NBC), more celebrity presence (including podcaster Alex Cooper and rapper Snoop Dogg), plus the broadcast of 32 different sports, with the two newest additions, kayak cross and breaking.
NBCUniversal unveiled its plans for extensive coverage during an event at Rockefeller Center on Wednesday, commemorating being 30 days from the opening ceremony. Because Paris has a six-hour time difference from the East Coast of the United States, most of the live sports will take place in the afternoons, including the swimming, track and gymnastics finals.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, launched four years ago, was integral in getting new customers to sign up to watch the Olympics. But according to NBC executives, it wasn’t smooth sailing. The experience wasn’t what they expected, and this time, the main focus was modernization.
“We didn’t do a very good job of delivering to our customers,” Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBC Universal Media Group, said, adding that Peacock will be the go-to destination for any live event.
“We will have the best drama, the best reality, and the best comedy show all rolled into one,” said Rick Cordella, president of NBC Sports.
Overall, NBC will present over 7,000 hours of coverage throughout the 17 days of competition. The opening ceremony will be on July 26, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET, with a repeat broadcast in primetime.
Olympics Host Mike Tirico, along with Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning, Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will commentate as athletes in boats make their way down the River Seine.
Before the opening ceremony, a four-minute short film, “Land of Stories,” narrated by Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg, will also debut.
A three-hour curated show called “Primetime In Paris”, will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET which will advancing the most compelling stories, with in-depth analysis, with limited commercial interruption during the final hour.
Whether that pays off for NBC’s bottom line is another story, as NBCUniversal is paying $7.65 billion to televise the Olympics through the 2032 games.
The Tokyo Games in 2021 were the least-watched Olympics on record averaging 15.6 million viewers, a more than 50% drop from the 2012 London Games, which averaged over 31 million a night.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympics on NBC: How Peacock will cover 2024 Paris Games
