TORONTO – CBC and TSN each announced the details surrounding their respective coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics,, which begins August 8th.
In its final Olympics for a while (CTV owns the rights for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and the 2012 London Summer Games and will co-broadcast them with Rogers), CBC is pulling out all the stops, and will provide an unprecedented 2,400 hours of coverage.
Canadians will see the entire Games in high definition for first time ever
CBC’s broadcast of Beijing 2008 begins on Wednesday, August 6 at 4:45 a.m. ET on CBC Television and CBCSports.ca with live coverage of a preliminary women’s soccer match featuring Canada taking on Argentina. On Thursday, August 7 at 9 p.m. local, CBC preps Canadians for the Games with Beijing 2008 Preview (also on CBCSports.ca at 8 p.m. ET), followed by live coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, August 8 at 7 a.m. ET, which will include all of the pageantry from the Parade of Nations (simulcast on CBC Newsworld).
As usual, CBC Television will air most events live, working around the 12-hour time difference (with the Eastern Time zone, anyway), and, together with CBCSports.ca, CBC’s digital channel Bold, CBC Newsworld, CBC Radio, Radio-Canada, RDS and TSN, will bring the Beijing Games home to Canadians. CBC will broadcast more than 2,000 hours of English-language coverage of the Olympics.
CBC Television will provide 282 hours; Newsworld, 145 hours: Bold, 250; TSN, 150 hours; CBCSports.ca, more than 1,500 hours. For French viewers, Radio-Canada will offer 263 hours of content while RDS will provide 206 hours of coverage.
“CBC’s coverage of the Beijing Games will allow Canadians to have more access to the Olympics than ever before,” said Trevor Pilling, executive producer. “Our broadcast package is unprecedented, especially in terms of the total hours of coverage produced, the multiple platforms available and our excellent cast of commentators and analysts. The 2008 Games are a coming out party for China and feature some of the best athletes the world has ever seen – and CBC will present it all in HD – from inside the stadiums to the crowded streets, our viewers will see everything.”
In order to accommodate the 12-hour time difference in Beijing, CBC Television will begin each day with Olympic Morning, hosted by Scott Russell and Diana Swain from 6 a.m. to 12 noon ET. Olympic Prime, with host Ron MacLean, kicks off at 6 p.m. ET while Ian Hanomansing takes over the reins at 12 midnight ET to host Olympic Pacific Prime. The 12-hour time difference is a plus for Canadian viewers, as they will be able to see big-ticket events such as Swimming and Gymnastics gold medal events live during Olympic Prime.
In addition to a daily simulcast of coverage from CBC Television and Bold, CBCSports.ca will offer up to nine live, uninterrupted streamed events daily throughout the games. CBCSports.ca/Olympics will provide more than 1,500 hours of live Olympic coverage in addition to extensive on-demand video, interviews, highlights, cultural features, CBC News regional reports and CBC Radio clips.
Bold is home to exclusive, live daily coverage of Equestrian and Sailing events for the Olympics. Starting Friday, August 8, the digi-net will telecast more than 250 total hours from Beijing, including more than 150 hours of combined live coverage.
CBC Newsworld will work in conjunction with CBC Television, providing 145 hours of coverage. The news channel will also report on stories beyond the field of competition, including special interviews and features during Beijing Today, airing every hour on the half-hour, starting at 6:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. ET, beginning August 9th. Veteran sports journalist Brian Dunstan, who has covered six Olympic Games, will host the daily program. CBC News: Morning host Heather Hiscox with Colleen Jones will also be in Beijing to tell the big stories of the day from the sidelines and behind-the-scenes.
Beginning Saturday, August 9 through to Saturday, August 23, CBC Radio One will provide listeners with all the scores and results from Beijing, along with an insider’s perspective on the events and drama as it unfolds.
In addition to television, online and radio, Canadians can also access Olympic Games content on their cell phones. Bell Mobility subscribers can keep abreast of all the action in Beijing with an up to 180-second highlight package of CBC’s Olympic Games coverage delivered throughout the day to their cell phone, available via Bell Mobility’s Beijing 2008 video bundle. Subscribers can check Canada’s medal standings; view exclusive interviews with athletes and text votes for top Bell Olympic Moments on CBC every day throughout the Games.
And, Bell ExpressVu subscribers will be able to access a range of Olympic Games coverage at the touch of a button with Olympic Mosaic. Viewers will not miss a moment of the action as Olympic Mosaic provides access to five different channels at once – CBC, CBC HD, CBC Newsworld, Bold, and TSN, along with the Bell Moment of the Day. Olympic Interactive, also available to Bell ExpressVu subscribers, provides viewers with interactive CBC coverage including up to the minute news; in-depth event information; athlete biographies; history; sports essentials and broadcast schedules.
