NBC Announces 2014 Sochi Olympics Coverage

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. NBCUniversal 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. The 1,539+ hours are the most ever for a Winter Olympics and more than the coverage of the previous two Winter Olympics combined.

NBC's coverage of the 2014 Sochi Games begins in Primetime on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. ET, 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 NBCUniversal 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), respectively;

· Bob Costas will host Primetime and late night for NBC's Sochi Winter Olympics Coverage, becoming U.S. television's first 10-time Olympic Primetime host. Click http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/shows/2014-sochi-olympics/ for additional commentator announcements;

· 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), in which two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White may compete, and team figure skating, where the U.S. is expected to contend for a medal, as well as women's freestyle moguls, where defending U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Kearney is scheduled to compete;

· NBCSN, the NBC Sports Group's Emmy Award-winning 24/7 sports network, will present more than 230 hours of coverage, including live figure skating for the first time, and serve as the home for Team USA;

· MSNBC, NBCUniversal's 24/7 cable news channel that is fully distributed in roughly 100 million homes, will telecast live hockey coverage on 11 of its 12 days, including medal round games;

· USA Network, the #1 network in all of basic cable for an unprecedented seven straight years and seen in more than 100 million U.S. homes, will present medal round coverage of hockey and curling and three men's hockey games featuring Team Canada;

· CNBC, NBCUniversal's fully distributed cable business channel, will serve as the home for curling during the 2014 Sochi Games, and present a daily curling program beginning on Feb. 10;

· NBCOlympics.com will serve as the preeminent digital destination for Olympic content and the exclusive home of Olympic video coverage, featuring, for the first time, live streaming of all Winter Games competition, plus event rewinds and extensive video highlights.

A breakdown of platform-by-platform coverage follows:

NBC TO AIR 185 HOURS OF WINTER OLYMPICS COVERAGE FROM SOCHI

NBC will present 185 hours of 2014 Olympic Winter Games coverage from Sochi over 18 days, beginning with Primetime coverage on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and concluding with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 23. Coverage of the Opening Ceremony begins on Friday, Feb. 7 in primetime.

NBC's 2014 Sochi Games coverage highlights:

· NBC will begin its Primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 6, one night before the broadcast network provides its traditional Primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 7;

· Primetime coverage will include figure skating, short track, SPEED skating, alpine skiing, snowboarding/freestyle, and more;

· Daytime coverage will include gold medal finals in 11 of the 15 Winter Olympic sports, including SPEED skating, short track, snowboarding and hockey;

· All 12 new Olympic events, including disciplines in freeskiing, snowboarding and figure skating, will air on NBC;

· NBC will present coverage of the men's and women's ice hockey gold medal games live across all time zones;
· o The women's gold medal game airs on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Noon ET/9 am PT;
· o The men's gold medal game airs on Sunday, Feb. 23, with coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET/3:30 a.m. PT;

· NBC's coverage of the Sochi Games concludes with the Closing Ceremony, preceded by Sochi Gold, on Sunday, Feb. 23, beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

In alpine skiing, reigning Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, the most decorated skier in American history, is looking to recover from knee injuries suffered in 2013 and repeat her performance at the 2010 Vancouver Games, where she became the first American woman to take Olympic gold in the downhill. Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety, who won three world titles in 2013, is expected to make his debut in Primetime on Sunday, Feb. 9. Eighteen-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin has the makings of the next great American ski racer. She won the world and World Cup titles in the slalom last season to establish herself as the Sochi favorite, and she is also rising fast in her other event, the giant slalom.

In snowboarding, Shaun White looks to become the first American man to win the same Winter Olympic event three times with a gold medal in the men's halfpipe. White earned the gold medal in the halfpipe in Torino (2006) and Vancouver (2010). He should also contend for a medal in the new slopestyle event. American Jamie Anderson is a favorite to win the gold medal in women's slopestyle.

NBC's coverage of figure skating at the 2014 Sochi Games begins with the Olympic debut of team figure skating on Thursday, Feb. 6. The new event will include men, ladies, pairs and ice dance teams for each of 10 qualified countries, including the U.S., Canada, and host Russia. Reigning U.S. champion Ashley Wagner and 18-year-old Gracie Gold could challenge for medals in ladies' singles, while two-time world champions and 2010 Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White have a slight edge over reigning Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in ice dancing after defeating their Canadian counterparts at the 2013-14 Grand Prix Final.

In SPEED skating, Shani Davis looks to become the first American man to win titles in the same event at three Olympic Winter Games after earning gold in the 1000m in Torino (2006) and Vancouver (2010). Davis also took home silver medals in the 1500m in Torino (2006) and Vancouver (2010), and is the current world-record holder in both of those distances. Medals in both the 1000m and 1500m in Sochi would tie Davis with Bonnie Blair for the most Olympic medals by a U.S. SPEED skater. Davis became the first African-American athlete to win a Winter Games gold medal in an individual event, and is expected to make his Primetime debut on NBC on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

In short track, J.R. Celski aims to build off of his double bronze medal performance in the 1500m and 5000m men's relay at the Vancouver Winter Games. Celski should compete in all three individual men's short track events - 500m, 1000m, and 1500m - and lead the U.S. men in the 5000m relay. Celski is the world record holder in the 500m, is the only skater to ever break the 40-second barrier in that event, and will debut on NBC in Primetime on Monday, Feb. 10.

NBC will present live coverage of the men's and women's hockey gold medal games across all time zones. Live coverage of the women's gold medal game will air on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Noon ET/9 a.m. PT, with coverage of the men's gold medal game scheduled to begin on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 a.m. ET/3:30 a.m. PT. Team USA looks to build off of silver medals in men's and women's hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Games, after both teams fell to Canada in the gold medal contests. The U.S. men are expected to be led by numerous Stanley Cup champions. The women are led by Vancouver veteran and team captain Meghan Duggan.

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