Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Online streams enable some US Olympic fans to bypass NBC’s delay of opening ceremony

CP27119755
The 2014 Winter Olympic games official mascots, the Leopard, the Polar Bear, and the Hare, perform during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Lionel Bonaventure, Pool)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – NBC’s decision not to stream a feed of the Winter Olympic opening ceremony live in the United States didn’t mean that video couldn’t be found.

Links to the ceremony from other sources popped up online Friday on social media sites like Twitter, sometimes accompanied by complaints about NBC’s decision. NBC has rights to Olympic video in the United States, but there are other rights holders outside the country that aired the ceremony live.

NBC said Friday that a “very small number of users” watched online instead of waiting for the network’s prime-time coverage. During the London Olympics in 2012, NBC estimated that less than 2 per cent of Olympics video viewed in the United States was not from NBC’s official feed.

The network would not discuss anti-piracy efforts taken in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee.

The ceremony over, NBC is showing all of the competition live online or on cable TV. No decision has been announced on the closing ceremony, although NBC streamed that online. There is a nine-hour time difference between the eastern United States and Sochi.

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles