Networks revise how they cover Olympics

Advertiser News Services

Viewers of the 19th Winter Olympics on NBC, which begins today and lasts for 17 days, can expect to see some things on screen that they haven't seen in previous coverage. However, the network wants to make sure that first of all, they see what's actually happening.

NBC will introduce new graphic elements to its coverage of the Games — several of them appropriated from other sports — but promises not to overload the TV screen with information.

"The Winter Olympics contain a number of sports which are largely unfamiliar to Americans," says David Neal, NBC Olympics executive vice president. "A major focus of our coverage time (is) making those sports more viewer friendly."

For instance, NBC is applying elements from its coverage of NASCAR and the swimming events at the 2000 Summer Olympics to speed skating in Salt Lake City.

A set of "SportVision" cameras, first used in auto racing, will show each skater's position on the track and their speed relative to each other.

The flag of each skater's home country will also be displayed in their lane, as they were in the pool in Sydney.

Other innovations include a distance-to-beat line superimposed over the snow in the ski-jumping events, 3-D maps of the downhill skiing course and "speed traps" on the bobsled, luge and skeleton tracks that will show how fast each sledder is moving.

NBC and its cable partners, CNBC and MSNBC, are putting forth a massive effort to broadcast the game. More than 3,200 full- and part-time staffers will be in Utah for the Games.

Here are some other numbers involved in the production:

• Hours of coverage on all three channels: 375.5.
• Number of blank videotapes: 25,000.
• Miles of cable used: 1,000.
• Tons of poultry to feed NBC staff: 4.2.
• Number of camera positions: 458
• Hotel rooms rented: 2,123.
• Number of servings of hot and cold drinks: 553,728.

You won't need extra caffeine or a VCR for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, either.

"Across all three networks (NBC, MSNBC and CNBC), the coverage will be 70-75 percent live," NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics from Sydney, Australia, and the 1998 Winter Games from Nagano, Japan, because of the time differences, TV viewers either had to tune at night to see live coverage of big events or watch them on tape, often after already knowing the results. Any drama was left on the cutting-room floor.

This year, it's different, Ebersol said. "Each night in prime time, we have 3 1/2 hours of coverage as opposed to the five that we had in Australia and Atlanta (in 1996). That means we'll be much more event-heavy."

Translation: Expect fewer sidebar features as well.

NBC is presenting 168 1/2 hours, MSNBC 131 hours and CNBC 76 hours, with most of the latter being ice-hockey coverage. CBS and Turner broadcast 179 hours from Nagano in 1998.

NBC Television president Randy Falco projected that NBC would make as much as a $75 million profit on its coverage. He said NBC was very close to its goal of selling $720 million in advertising.

Security, said Ebersol, who has been in Utah for several weeks, is unprecedented for an American sports event.