In two weeks, the sports world will turn its focus to Rio de Janeiro. And, although the region has been plagued by concerns over venue readiness, disease, and crime - not unlike most Olympic Games in recent memory - NBC Olympics remains committed to capturing the iconic moments, telling the heartwarming stories, and delivering more Summer Games content to U.S. viewers on more platforms than ever before.
We are ready and Rio is ready, said NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus at last week's Rio 2016 Press Preview. And, while there's still some things that they need to finish out - and that we, as normal preparation in getting our broadcast center [ready, need to finish] - we and the city are both ready.
In addition to blanketing the NBC Sports' family of linear networks with nearly nonstop television coverage, the network again plans to stream every event on NBCOlympics.com.
This will be the biggest media event in history, continued Lazarus. We anticipate televising and streaming over 6,700 hours, mostly live, so it will be the most live ever; it will be the most networks ever - from NBC to Telemundo to NBC Sports Network, USA, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC - and then all of our streaming. In English and in Spanish, it will be the biggest Games in history.
No Live Broadcast of the Opening Ceremony
The Games of the XXXI Olympiad will officially open on Friday August 5, when Rio welcomes more than 10,000 athletes representing 206 countries to compete in 306 events across 42 disciplines. Although the vast majority of the 306 events will be streamed live on an authenticated platform, the Opening Ceremony will not be.
NBC plans to broadcast the Opening Ceremony on a one-hour delay, simulcasting the feed on NBCOlympics.com. The network delayed the domestic broadcast of the Opening Ceremony for both the London and the Sochi Games because of the large time difference between those locales and the U.S. Rio is only one hour ahead of the Eastern time zone; however, NBC again will delay the broadcast of the Opening Ceremony in order to air it during primetime in the East.
We think it's important to give the context to the show, said Lazarus. This Opening Ceremony will be a celebration of Brazilian culture, of Rio; of the pageantry, the excitement, the flare that this beautiful nation has. We think it's important that we're able to put that in context for the viewer so it's not just a flash of color. So we will air that on a one-hour delay.
Production Plans Include Plenty of Tech Toys
Last month, NBC announced that virtual reality will make its Olympic debut at the 2016 Summer Games. The network plans to deliver 85 hours of OBS-produced VR programming to authenticated users of compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphones equipped with Samsung Gear VR and the NBC Sports App. In addition, the Peacock plans to deliver delayed 4K/UHD coverage of the Games to cable, satellite, telco providers, and more.
It's important to take steps and try to push the boundaries with things like different cameras, technologies, and graphics, and who knows where it'll all go. says Executive Producer Jim Bell. VR is a cool thing that still is probably limited to a pretty small amount of people, but we still want to do it. We see the Olympics as a place where new technologies and toys should be tried, whether it's VR or 4K or 8K, which is not too far down the road.
Virtual-reality coverage of the Rio Olympics will be available on a one-day delay and include some of the Games' most popular sports: men's basketball, gymnastics, track and field, beach volleyball, diving, boxing, and fencing. NBC will launch its VR programming with the Opening Ceremony, which will be available to authenticated users the following day, and conclude with the Closing Ceremony.
It's always a special moment, says Bell of the Opening Ceremony. It's the chance when the host country gets to say to the world, Here's who we are, here's where we are, here's our story. I think especially since Beijing, which was just such a jaw-dropping spectacle, cities have tried to find a way to play a little can you top this?.' And, when it comes to throwing a party and the celebration, I think the Brazilians feel pretty confident.
According to Bell, NBC again will rely heavily on OBS coverage, supplementing the feed with its own cameras, graphics, and announcers. The production team will also select several venues on which to deploy unilateral coverage.
It's really a hybrid, Bell explains. You take some sports, like basketball, [that] we feel like we can do essentially with the world feed supplemented with one camera. The game's the game, so that's kind of how we've tried to approach it venue by venue. There are some venues where we just have announcers. And then there's some, like swimming, we don't really even need OBS save for maybe a handful of replays and a couple of special cameras.
As for whether NBC has any exciting graphics enhancements up its sleeve, like the London Olympics' SplashCam for diving or the virtual line denoting the world-record pace in swimming, Bell responds, We're working on it. What's fun for us and our team is, there are, like, 20 things we haven't thought of that are going to make that experience better. We just haven't figured all of them out yet.
Keeping Concerns in Perspective
Coverage of the Olympic Games has come a long way over the past 20 years, evolving from a purely broadcast product in 1996 (NBC broadcast 171.5 hours from the Atlanta Olympics) to a cable entity in the 2000s to a digital phenomenon today. One thing that hasn't changed during that timeframe, however, is trepidation about the host city's preparedness.
Rio faces serious concerns over the Zika virus, the current poli
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
In two weeks, the sports world will turn its focus to Rio de Janeiro. And, although the region has been plagued by concerns over venue readiness, disease, and crime - not unlike most Olympic Games in recent memory - NBC Olympics remains committed to capturing the iconic moments, telling the heartwarming stories, and delivering more Summer Games content to U.S. viewers on more platforms than ever before. 
