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on both CNBC and MSNBC
Promises 273 hours of cable coverage
Sports fans can expect saturation coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympics from NBC come September.
Having paid huge sums for the rights to the upcoming Summer games in Sydney, NBC has announced it intends to broadcast the games on both CNBC and MSNBC, offering cable viewers a total of 273 hours of programming.
Olympics programming will run for a full 18 days in September, with MSNBC carrying the games during the day and CNBC picking over the coverage during primetime. That will be in addition to to the 160 hours of coverage aired on NBC.
This will be the first time the Summer Olympics have aired on cable.
In announcing the saturation coverage, NBC executives said viewers will have the opportunity to watch at least one of of 30 Olympic finals a day on either MSNBC or CNBC.
The announcement of the expanded coverage--twice as many hours as originally planned--was made at the Western Cable Show in Los Angeles.
The cable coverage is expected to be heavily promoted on NBC, which will direct viewers to the two channels for even more extensive coverage.
Viewers will see the games on tape because of the time difference between Australia and the U.S. East Coast viewers will see events 15 hours later, while those on the West Coast will catch the games 18 hours later.
Coverage will be around the clock or nearly so, however.
MSNBC will broadcast from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on weekdays, and at 5 CNBC will pick up the coverage till 9 p.m. Then MSNBC will return at midnight to provide replays of the day's games until 7 a.m. Both will offer extensive coverage over weekends as well.
Hosting the coverage for MSNBC will be Jim Lampley, while Pat O'Brien will be the studio host for CNBC.
NBC acquired the TV rights to Olympics coverage in 1995 for $3.5 billion. They extend to 2008.
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