FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, January 5th, 2014

2014 Sochi Olympic Media Guide – NBC TO BEGIN PRIMETIME COVERAGE OF 2014 WINTER OLYMPICS ONE DAY PRIOR TO OPENING CEREMONY

Primetime Coverage Begins February 6

With more Winter Olympic events than ever before, competition for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, will begin one day prior to the Opening Ceremony. As a result, NBC will begin its primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Thursday, February 6, one night before the broadcast network provides its traditional coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday Feb. 7. This marks the first time NBC will air Olympic primetime coverage before the Opening Ceremony.

With 12 new events debuting at in Sochi, including eight in freestyle skiing and snowboarding, the International Olympic Committee constructed a competition schedule that begins on Thursday, February 6, 2014, one day prior to the Opening Ceremony.

“Our recent Olympic coverage has clearly demonstrated that the viewer’s appetite for Olympic content continues to grow,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Due to the new events, it’s our pleasure to provide an 18th night of primetime coverage that will benefit viewers, advertisers, affiliates, and all of our Olympic constituents.”

The primetime broadcast on Thursday, Feb. 6  is scheduled to include competition in snowboard slopestyle (men’s and women’s), in which two-time gold medalist Shaun White is expected to compete in slopestyle’s Olympic debut; team figure skating, which is also in the Olympics for the first time; and women’s freestyle moguls.

–NBCUNIVERSAL–