Genre Olympics telecasts No. of seasons 1 | Country of origin United States | |
Also known as Games of the XXXI Olympiad on NBC Original language(s) English
Spanish (Telemundo, NBC Deportes) Location(s) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Various Olympic venues (event telecasts and studio segments) | ||
NBC Sports coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics (the broadcasts being officially titled, as were the games themselves, The Games of the XXXI Olympiad) was broadcast from August 3 to August 21, 2016 on the various television networks of NBC Universal in the United States. Coverage was broadcast on NBC, NBCSN, Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, MSNBC, USA Network, Telemundo, NBC Universo, the NBC Sports app, and NBCOlympics.com. NBC once again set up two dedicated cable channels, the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and the NBC Olympic Basketball Channel, for the express purpose of providing additional coverage of those two sports. NBC had a record 170 commentators covering the Rio Olympics, in Brazil and from the NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, CT.
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Coverage
NBC aired a record 6755 hours of coverage. NBC had daily coverage of every event, either online or on TV. Every night Bob Costas hosted primetime coverage on NBC, for the 11th time, from their set at the International Broadcast Center. Al Michaels and Mike Tirico hosted NBC's daytime coverage from NBC's set on Copacabana Beach. Tirico covered his first Olympics, after being acquired by NBC Sports from ESPN/ABC in July. Ryan Seacrest hosted NBC's late night coverage, also from Copacabana Beach, every night from August 5–20.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics was aired on August 5, 2016 at 7:30pm ET/PT on NBC. The broadcast was shown on a tape-delay, despite Rio only being one hour ahead of the eastern time zone in the United States. Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, and Hoda Kotb were the commentators from Maracanã Stadium, while Bob Costas hosted from the IBC. NBC's broadcast of the opening ceremony was criticized for being tape-delayed, having frequent commercial breaks, and lack of commentary. The broadcast went over its time-slot ending at about 12:30 AM instead of the scheduled 7:30PM–12:00AM runtime. The ceremony focused on Brazilian culture and protecting the environment, with the usual Parade of Nations, raising of the Olympic Flag, and lighting of the Olympic Cauldron. Throughout the broadcast NBC showed pre-recorded interviews from the producers of the ceremony, in a box in the corner of the screen.
Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics was aired on August 5, 2016 at 7:00pm ET/PT on NBC. Similarly to the opening ceremony it was shown on a tape-delay, despite Rio only being one hour ahead of the eastern time zone in the United States. Mike Tirico, Mary Carillo, and Ryan Seacrest were the commentators from Maracanã Stadium, while Bob Costas and Al Michaels hosted a one-hour highlight show, called Rio Gold, from 7pm-8pm from the IBC. The ceremony featured Brazilian culture, the handover to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, the lowering of the Olympic Flag, and the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame. Unlike in Summer Games past, NBC showed the medal ceremony of the Men's Marathon (with American runner Galen Rupp receiving the bronze medal), and unlike in Sochi 2014, NBC showed the full Olympic Anthem and lowering of the Olympic flag. The broadcast ran from 7:00pm–10:30pm, followed by a preview of NBC's new season of The Voice at 10:30pm.
Music
NBC Sports had announced upon its release that Rise by Katy Perry would be prominently featured during its U.S. television coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Perry stated that the track is "a song that's brewing inside me for years, that has finally come to the surface", and wanted to release it as a standalone track instead of including it on an album "because now more than ever, there is a need for our world to unite". She further added:
I can't think of a better example than the Olympic athletes, as they gather in Rio with their strength and fearlessness, to remind us how we ALL can come together, with the resolve to be the best we can be. I hope this song can inspire us to heal, unite, and rise together. I am honored that NBC Olympics has chosen to use ['Rise'] as an anthem before and during the Rio Games.
NBC felt its message spoke "directly to the spirit of the Olympics and its athletes" for its inspirational themes. It was released as a single on July 14, 2016, for streaming on Apple Music and for download on iTunes. "Rise" was used for highlights at the end of each night of primetime coverage each night, including the Opening Ceremony but excluding the Closing Ceremony.