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Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony won’t air live on NBC

By Matt Couden

Aug 6, 2014; Rio de Janiero, BRA; A general view of HSBC Arena site of gymnastics at Olympic Park during the second world press briefing in preparation for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 6, 2014; Rio de Janiero, BRA; A general view of HSBC Arena site of gymnastics at Olympic Park during the second world press briefing in preparation for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil won’t be shown live in the United States when it takes place in early August.

With the 2016 Summer Olympics set to start on August 5th, NBC will be serving as the exclusive network to telecast coverage throughout the games. However, they won’t have live coverage of the opening ceremony which will be held at Maracana Stadium. The network has cited that it’s due to getting the show seen during the most opportune time for more viewers.

Deadspin reported that NBC will instead have the opening ceremony on a one-hour delay. With the event set for a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start, it will be shown at 8 p.m. ET instead. NBC explained that they’d prefer to have the ceremony showing on that Friday during a time when more people will be home for the viewing experience, which prompted them to delay the show an hour.

Rick Cordella, senior vice president at NBC Sports, also mentioned that female viewers outnumber male viewers when it comes to the games, adding that, “they’re less interested in the result and more interested in the journey.” However, that may be seriously underestimating what all viewers want to see from NBC’s coverage.

While delaying Olympics opening ceremonies may seem like something only happening recently, it’s been going on with NBC since 1996, a time when live streaming wasn’t really “a thing.” By keeping the event on a delay, NBC not only can help show it during an ideal time for television ratings, but they can also trim the recording, stripping it of any unnecessary pieces. It will also allow the network to figure out the best times to interrupt the coverage in order to get their sponsors’ ads shown to all those attentive viewers.

NBC faces a risk in showing the opening ceremony on a delay due to the nature of live stream technology and the rapid spread of information online. The network will be hoping that enough people want to wait to experience that show at the time when they present it, rather than immediately heading to the internet to consume the event live.

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