US network NBC will show the majority of its television coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games on a tape-delayed basis despite the criticism it received for employing a similar strategy for the London 2012 Olympics.
Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group, said that the broadcaster would again opt to provide live streaming of events on the internet, while delaying most television coverage.
“I can’t create a primetime event live if it’s the middle of the night where the event is taking place,” Lazarus told the Bloomberg news agency. “There are no events at four in the morning to do live in Sochi. We have to do it taped in primetime. We have no choice.”
Despite criticism of its approach during the London Games, NBC reported record viewing figures for last year’s Olympics with 219.4 million people tuning in.
The company said it made “a small profit” from London 2012, compared to the $223m (€164m) it lost on the previous edition of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.
Last week, NBC said that it had sold a record $800m in advertising for Sochi 2014.