NBC takes wraps off Olympics plan

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC Universal on Tuesday formally announced the most wide-ranging coverage plan for any Olympics in history, including 225 hours over 17 days on NBC and 3,600 hours total across TV, online and mobile.

Coverage of the August 8-24 Beijing games will appear on seven networks: NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Telemundo, Universal HD and, for the first time, newly acquired women's cable channel Oxygen.

All 34 sports will be covered, and 75% of the TV coverage will be live on the East Coast, even with the 12-hour difference.

NBC was able to get the Olympics organizers to schedule most of the key finals early in the morning Beijing time -- for live primetime coverage on the East Coast. The primetime coverage will include all 32 gold-medal finals for swimming, four nights of gymnastics, beach volleyball, and the men's and women's marathons.

NBC's weekday coverage will run from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET, as well as 8 p.m.-11:30 p.m. ET and midnight-1:30 a.m. ET.

Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo will offer 380 hours, including two men's soccer games that begin the day before the opening ceremony. USA Network will focus its 165 hours primarily on Team USA's basketball and soccer, water polo, tennis and volleyball.

MSNBC will have 175 hours, including weekday coverage of softball, soccer, beach volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, basketball and volleyball. CNBC will have just 100 hours of boxing, softball, tennis, wrestling and badminton, after CNBC's "Closing Bell" coverage of the stock market.

Oxygen's 20 hours of coverage will focus on gymnastics, as well as tennis and equestrian events.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter