Rio balks at NBC request to alter parade

Seeking to maximize its prime-time audience for the Olympics, US television network NBC tried but failed to change the order of the teams in the opening ceremony parade, Brazilian organizers said on Wednesday.

NBC wanted the nations to parade in English alphabetical order instead of in Portuguese, which would have put the US near the end of the Aug 5 ceremony instead of the beginning.

The US, which is accustomed to parading just before the finale, is called ‘Estados Unidos’ in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil.

Organizers in host city Rio de Janeiro said they were open to the idea, but could not change the rulessetbytheInternationalOlympicCommittee.

“We wanted the change; we think their request was pertinent,” said Mario Andrada, spokesman for the Rio2016 organizing committee.

“ButIOCguidelinessaythatit’saccordingtothe alphabetical order in the local language, so there will not be any change.”

NBC, a subsidiary of cable giant Comcast, has been the exclusive broadcaster of the Olympics in the US since 1988.

The network has a $12 billion deal to keep that privilege through the 2032 Games — the IOC’s most lucrative contract.

The 2012 London Olympics was the mostwatched sports event in the network’s history, earning it a profit of $120 million.

Seeking the biggest possible audience, NBC has announced it will broadcast the Rio opening ceremony with a one-hour delay, starting at 8 pm Eastern US time on Aug 6.

Meanwhile, the network has successfully persuaded organizers to schedule the swimming finals late in the day.

Swimming is one of the most popular televised Olympic events in the US, thanks largely to the presence of American star Michael Phelps.