The 2018 Winter Olympics are being held in South Korea for the first time in three decades. The special event has officially started in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang. NBC, as well as its cable networks in different regions of the country, is airing traditional Olympian sports such as skiing and figure skating in the United States.
The 2018 Winter Olympics will be aired on national television from February 7 to February 25. In the U.S., NBC, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSN (NBC Sports) are broadcasting the events. Due to a 14-hour difference between the far-east and the U.S., not every sport will be aired. However, Americans can stream some games on NBC online programming.
NBCSN has been the primary network covering the Olympics. The channel has included sports such as bobsled, biathlon, and luge. CNBC and USA have limited their coverage to ice hockey and curling.
The Olympic Channel has covered news, highlights, and medal ceremonies. However, they have not shown event coverage.
The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Broadcasting Service has covered much of the games on their online community. CBS News reported that much of the attention would be on all of the athletes, not just the Americans, because of the extensive social media coverage.
Practice and some training runs can be streamed. NBC has also planned digital-only shows.
History of the Winter Olympics
The first Winter Olympics was held on Jan. 25, 1924. The massive and prestigious event was held in Chamonix, France, which is in the French Alps. History.com reported that the audience was captivated by the bobsled and ski jumping tournaments. There were another 12 events and a total of six sports.
The 1928 Winter Olympics was known as the International Winter Sports Week. It was a great success, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially designated the winter tournaments. The second Winter games were held in Mortiz, Switzerland.
The modern Olympic games were held in 1896. Five years later the first winter competitions were conducted in Sweden. The sporting events were an international competition and originally titled the Nordic Games. The only countries that could take part in the activities were Scandinavian nations.
The Nordic Games were held every four years, much like the Olympics. However, they were always held in Sweden. In 1908, figure skating became a part of the Summer Olympics. However, it was not held until October, which was three months after the end of the summer tournaments.
The IOC created the proposition to stage a separate winter competition for the 1912 Stockholm events. However, Sweden declined in order to protect the popularity of the Nordic games. Germany then planned the new event after the 1916 Berlin Summer Games. World War I forced the cancellation of both games in the nation.
According to Reporters Notebook, the Olympics that are being held in South Korea is the 23rd Winter tournaments. One hundred and two gold medals are being decided over 15 sports that are played on ice and snow.
By John A. Federico
Edited by Cathy Milne
Sources:
CBS News: Winter Olympics 2018: How to watch on TV and without cable (online)
History: 1924 First Winter Olympics
Reporter’s Notebook: Winter Olympics to kick off in South Korea’s Pyeongchang
Featured Image Courtesy of Republic of Korea’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Top Image Courtesy of Andy Miah’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License