NBC to Broadcast 400 Hours of HDTV Olympics Coverage

[Gregg Lengling]

NBC today said it will broadcast about 400 hours of the Summer Olympic Games from Athens in HDTV. NBC also said USA Network will carry 49 hours of Olympics, including live morning coverage on the East Coast of events taking place in the afternoon and evening in Greece. Over all of its networks, NBC said it will offer 1,210 hours of Olympics coverage, up from the 800 hours NBC planned earlier this year, and more coverage than the previous five Summer Olympics combined, said Dick Ebersol, chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. The HDTV broadcasts will be available via NBC affiliates. NBC's coverage will start with a soccer match Aug. 11 on MSNBC, two days before the opening ceremonies. Randy Falco, president of NBC Universal Television Networks Group, said ad sales are at about 90 percent of the goal to generate $1 billion at the networks and the stations.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Nice.