Comcast betting $963M on appetite for Games

NEW YORK» Fresh off the Super Bowl, NBC begins more than two weeks of Winter Olympics coverage on Thursday with a new host, some new wrinkles and the hope that its business model keeps pace with the different ways people experience events on television and online.

Some skiing and figure skating competition takes place Thursday in South Korea.

NBC will stream the Olympic opening ceremony from PyeongChang live early Friday in the United States, then rerun it that evening for television viewers with Mike Tirico and Katie Couric as hosts.

NBC parent Comcast Corp. placed a $963 million bet — the PyeongChang rights fee — on Americans wanting to take a breather from arguments in Washington to watch athletes prospect for gold.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to be apolitical in a time when that’s been very difficult to do,” said Couric, who’s making a return to NBC for the Olympics.

That may be a tough sell. There’s always more attention paid to summer Olympics than the winter sports, and distant locations tend to depress interest, too.

Adam Schwartz, an analyst for Horizon Media, said he’s noticed a lack of enthusiasm among many advertisers, some related to curiosity over how the time zone difference will play out. (PyeongChang is 16 hours ahead of Mountain time.) NBC has estimated it has booked more than $900 million in national advertising.

“Outside of (American skier) Lindsey Vonn, there hasn’t been much buzz,” Schwartz said.

Tirico, formerly of ESPN, replaces Bob Costas as host of NBC’s primetime coverage and already he’s being asked to put in more hours. For the first time, NBC will air its evening coverage live across the country. With a halfhour break for local news, Tirico will stay on the air each evening until midnight Mountain time.

NBC believes the time zone difference will serve the American audience well. Since prime evening viewing time coincides with daylight hours in South Korea, it means more live events than usual.

NBC’s prime-time coverage is the window through which most Americans experience the Olympics, but it’s only a fraction of what is offered. All the competition will be streamed online, and coverage is also available on the NBCSN sports cable network, CNBC, USA and the Olympic Channel. NBCSN even airs different Olympics coverage during prime time and, coupled with the online options, gives couch-bound viewers the chance for a multiscreen experience.