FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 3rd, 2022

2022 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES – FEB. 3 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON NBC & PEACOCK

 “This is the Olympics. It’s biggest sporting event in the world, the destination reached for about 2,900 athletes from 91 delegations and they’re living out their dreams, and it’s our pleasure to be here to share their stories.” – Mike Tirico opening tonight’s primetime show

“Names like Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods – Nathan Chen is those guys to the world of figure skating.” – Johnny Weir

“Nathan Chen refuses to be haunted by the past.” – Tara Lipinski on Chen’s short program in the team figure skating competition

The Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics is Tomorrow in Primetime on NBC and Peacock; Live Presentation at 6:30 a.m. ET

Two-time Gold Medalist Jamie Anderson Aims for Third Straight Women’s Slopestyle Snowboarding Gold Medal, Competes in Qualifying Tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET Live on USA Network & Peacock

STAMFORD, Conn. – Feb. 3, 2022 – NBC Olympics began its primetime coverage of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China, tonight on NBC and Peacock, kicking off 18 consecutive nights of Olympic primetime coverage. Mike Tirico serves as NBC Olympics primetime host and opened coverage.

Tonight’s primetime show also included a conversation between Tirico and NBC Olympics contributors Andy Browne and Jing Tsu, who discussed the politics, policies and background of China as the host-country.

Highlights of upcoming coverage include:

    • NBCUniversal presents unprecedented full-day coverage of the Opening Ceremony tomorrow:
      • Beginning with NBCU’s first-ever live morning presentation of a Winter Games Opening Ceremony at 6:30 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
      • The Opening Ceremony will be followed by a special edition of TODAY at 9 a.m. ET with reaction and athlete interviews.
      • NBC will then present a first-ever Olympic Daytime show on the opening Friday of the Winter Games at Noon ET, previewing the upcoming competition.
      • The day-long coverage will culminate with an enhanced primetime broadcast of the Opening Ceremony featuring special coverage of Team USA, along with the performances, pageantry, and Parade of Nations — the heart of the Opening Ceremony — at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
    • Tomorrow evening, two-time gold medalist Jamie Anderson seeks her third straight gold medal in women’s slopestyle snowboarding and will compete in qualifying tomorrow live at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock.

Following are highlights from tonight’s primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics on the platforms of NBCUniversal:

 

Tirico opening the Winter Olympics primetime show on NBC and Peacock: “We’re back together again just 180 days after the delayed Tokyo Games concluded, and here we are for an on-schedule Winter Games. It’s the tightest Olympic turnaround going back-to-back that we’ve had in 30 years. It brings another gathering of the world in the midst of the pandemic, and there haven’t been many other gatherings like that in the intervening seven months. The Tokyo Olympics, which were doubted, they were completed, and the event wasn’t a super spreader, it in fact gave us some new superstars…this is the Olympics. It’s biggest sporting event in the world, the destination reached for about 2,900 athletes from 91 delegations and they’re living out their dreams, and it’s our pleasure to be here to share their stories.”

FIGURE SKATING – NBC & PEACOCK

Tara Lipinski on Nathan Chen’s short program performance in the team competition: “Nathan Chen refuses to be haunted by his past. I’m not sure he could’ve skated the short program better. What a way to start off his Olympics…In a way this Olympic Games, he’s competing against himself more than anyone else. He’s proving that he’s the master of his mind, not just his physical prowess and that’s what got him at the last Olympics four years ago.”

Terry Gannon on Chen’s performance: “Second time around at the Olympics has gone, at least to this point, much different than the first.”

Weir: “I’m having trouble even finding words. That was absolutely brilliant, brilliant skating…He was touted as a favorite going into the last Olympic Games, and that kind of pressure is so hard to live under especially when it comes to an Olympic Games and he crumbled. And the last four years have almost been a continuous journey to prove himself to himself…and to find that strength of self is so important in the life of an athlete and a human, and he’s done so well.”

Lipinski on what Chen must be feeling before taking the ice for the first time: “This is the moment where he defines his Olympics. In fact, this is where he defines the Olympics for American figure skating. It’s a lot of pressure.”

Weir on Nathan Chen: “Nathan Chen is the gold standard. He’s revolutionized men’s figure skating, and now not only is everyone trying to keep up with his technical arsenal, but also his consistency…you think of names like Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods in the sports world – Nathan Chen is those guys to the world of figure skating.”

Gannon: “I’ll say one thing – all of those guys won championships. He’s got that still out there – the Olympic gold medal.”

Lipinski on Japan’s Shoma Uno: “He understood his assignment and he delivered. What a strong start for his Olympic journey. Even though he’s an Olympic silver medalist, I feel like he’s still in (Yuzuru Hanyu’s) shadow and has been for years. Finally this season, I feel like he’s stepping out of that shadow.”

Weir on Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue in the rhythm dance in team competition: “I just love the authenticity that they bring to the ice. They skate big and bold and grand, and there isn’t a disbalance of power. They’re both such strong skaters, such strong performers, and it makes them so interesting…They shone so brightly in this performance, and Team USA definitely needed a performance like that from them.”

Tanith White: “It was powerful, in unison, it was crisp, the rhythm drove the choreography. I think that was the first time I’ve seen them really have fun in that last 30 seconds.”

***

FOLLOWING ARE HIGHLIGHTS FROM NBC OLYMPICS CONTRIBUTORS ANDY BROWNE AND JING TSU DISCUSSING CHINESE AND EAST ASIAN CULTURE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS – NBC & PEACOCK

Tirico: “There’s a term ‘sportswash’ and some thought that having the Olympics and if the Games go on and they are successful, it may free China of some of the charges and clouds that others around the world point toward this country. On the other hand, the Olympics being here, cast a very big spotlight. We’re having this conversation now. And the athletes are stuck somewhere in the middle.”

Browne: “Back in 2008, the Chinese leadership lived by the saying, ‘Tao Guang Yang Hui,’ which basically means keep your head down, keep a low profile. There was a certain humility about this approach. Well, that’s gone. The story, the message now to the world is, ‘We’re big, we’re strong, we’ve made it, and now you’re going to have to deal with us on our terms.’ One more thing that has changed – the way that the world looks at China, and precisely because of this change in China’s approach to the world, China’s image has suffered very badly. Many countries around the world now have a much more negative view on China.”

Tsu: “In these times, the times we live in, we’re so heavily divided. It’s all the more important to think about what it means to inhabit a global civic space together. Not just for ourselves, but also for our adversaries. And practically speaking, if we didn’t have a space, if we didn’t keep this channel of human-to-human contact, face-to-face, person-to-person, we will no longer be able to see each other with clarity. We won’t know what’s going on, and that is the most dangerous scenario of all, I think. The alternative would be to let a country like China go dark.”

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

NBCUniversal will provide coverage of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 2-20. The Opening Ceremony will be presented on Friday, Feb. 4, live in the morning and again in primetime on NBC and Peacock. Similar to recent Winter Games, NBC’s primetime Olympic coverage begins the night before the Opening Ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 3. Coverage begins on Wednesday, Feb. 2, on USA Network and Peacock. NBCUniversal is presenting its 18th Olympic Games, 12th consecutive overall, and sixth straight Winter Games, all the most by any U.S. media company.

— NBC OLYMPICS —