PyeongChang 2018: CBC Reveals Broadcast, Multiplatform Coverage Plans for Canadian Olympic Fans
With just days to go until the start of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, CBC announced extensive plans to keep Canadians connected and engaged with the Olympic Winter Games on all of the public broadcaster’s platforms. Through broadcast, web, mobile apps, social media and radio, CBC’s coverage from February 9–25 will be as in-depth as any Olympic Games the network has covered before, and additional Olympics-themed content across other CBC programming genres shares the excitement with audiences of all ages.
Canadians will also receive a head start on the action with CBC’s live primetime coverage of preliminary competitions on February 7 and 8. Overall, CBC/Radio-Canada and partner networks will offer more than 3,100 hours of coverage across broadcast and digital platforms over the course of the Olympic Winter Games.
Broadcast Coverage
CBC will offer live broadcasts from every venue and coverage of every medal-winning moment throughout the Games, totalling 18 hours of live coverage daily across four consecutive programming blocks – Olympic Games Primetime, Olympic Games Overnight, Olympic Games Morning, and Olympic Games Hockey. Kate Beirness hosts Olympic Games Hockey, which features an experienced team of hockey analysts offering insights on the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments. Later in the day, Olympic Games Afternoon rebroadcasts the biggest long-form events of the previous day, with a focus on Figure Skating, Curling, and Hockey. All in all, CBC will broadcast 21 hours of Olympic Games programming daily, keeping the early bird, the night owl, and everyone in between, up-to-date on what’s happening in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
In addition, broadcast partners TSN and Sportsnet will once again expand the volume of live event coverage available each day, giving Canadians multiple options as to what to watch on TV, while TLN provides the option of watching select hockey games in Italian and Spanish.
7 p.m. – 2 a.m. ET (4 – 11 p.m. PT) Olympic Games Primetime – LIVE
2–6 a.m. ET (11 p.m. – 3 a.m. PT) Olympic Games Overnight – LIVE
6 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET (3–9 a.m. PT) Olympic Games Morning – LIVE
12–1 p.m. ET (9–10 a.m. PT) Olympic Games Hockey – LIVE
3–5 p.m. ET (12–2 p.m. PT) Olympic Games Afternoon
5-6 p.m. ET (2–3 p.m. PT) Olympic Games Hockey (encore broadcast)
CBC’s coverage of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 begins with live primetime broadcasts on February 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) and February 8 at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), showcasing early competition in Mixed Doubles Curling and Team Figure Skating. At 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) on February 7, CBC Sports presents the World Premiere of one-hour documentary Unbroken: The Snowboard Life of Mark McMorris, following the journey of superstar snowboarder Mark McMorris to PyeongChang 2018 as he attempts one of the greatest comebacks in sports history after sustaining near-fatal injuries in April 2017.
The Olympic Winter Games officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 9, beginning with a pre-show at 5:30 a.m. ET (2:30 a.m. PT) followed by the Ceremony itself at 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT).
cbc.ca/olympics
The Canadian home of the Olympic Winter Games online continues to be cbc.ca/olympics, offering live and on-demand video, schedules, up-to-date results, medal table, news, Team Canada info, photo galleries and highlights. For the second consecutive Olympic Games, CBC’s website offers virtual reality technology in the form of 360-degree immersive video and a schedule of daily live VR coverage. Every minute of the action will be available via CBC’s digital coverage, with live feeds of every event, and live feeds of CBC, TSN and Sportsnet linear channels. Fans also have the option of dual-screen live video, allowing them to watch two different feeds at once.
The CBC Olympics App
The CBC Olympics app ensures that Canadians don’t have to miss a minute of the action from PyeongChang 2018, with the ability to watch whatever they want from wherever they are. Available for iOS and Android devices, the CBC Olympics app will feature high-quality live-streaming of every event, up-to-the-minute results and personalized alerts – everything fans need to follow the stories of the Olympic Games on their smartphones or tablets. The CBC Olympics app will be available prior to the Opening Ceremony on February 9, and it will also be replacing the CBC Sports app, at which point dedicated sports fans can still connect with the mobile version of cbcsports.ca for all their non-Olympic Games needs.
CBC Olympics VR App
The free CBC Olympics Virtual Reality app, available prior to February 9 for iOS and Android devices, will offer Canadians access to more than 55 hours of live sports coverage in immersive virtual reality throughout the Olympic Winter Games. The VR live-streams of events include Alpine Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Short Track Speed Skating, Skeleton, and Snowboarding, in addition to live VR coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and a selection of other highlights. The VR app can also be downloaded for Oculus, with additional exclusive content available, and is best viewed using Samsung Gear VR headsets.
CBC Radio’s Olympic Games Report
CBC Radio’s Olympic Games Report will air multiple times daily across the CBC Radio network from February 9-25, and will include reports from South Korea as well as interviews with athletes and CBC broadcasters. Scott Regehr hosts weekday mornings, with Martina Fitzgerald hosting weekday afternoons, and Jill Dempsey hosting weekends. Jamie Strashin is the main CBC Radio reporter on the ground in Pyeongchang for the Olympic Winter Games.
@CBC and @CBCOlympics Social Media Feeds
@CBC and @CBCOlympics social feeds will have social/digital teams across Pyeongchang offering different perspectives on the action: @CBC accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will focus on the Olympic Games atmosphere and fans’ Canadian spirit, with an exploration of Korean culture, while @CBCOlympics will cover all moments from the Olympic Winter Games with added insight from analysts and the athletes themselves using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
CBC Sports PYC Podcast
The new CBC Sports PYC Podcast, hosted by Olympic Games Overnight host Kelly VanderBeek, focuses on the Olympic Games past and present, with unique insights from the people who have lived – or are living – the experience. Current available episodes include: reminiscences about the “Crazy Canucks” group of downhill ski racers, with former Olympian Steve Podborski; the challenges of doping scandals for all athletes, with Nordic skiing giant Beckie Scott; and “skate god junior” Kurt Browning on his bratty beginnings and the skating stars of 2018. New episodes will continue to be posted regularly throughout the Olympic Winter Games, offering fans another way to enhance their PyeongChang 2018 experience.
CBC Kids
For the youngest sports fans, CBC Kids offers a dedicated Olympic Games website with videos, activities, quizzes, blog posts, and fun facts about each sport and the host country. Gary the Unicorn is traveling to Pyeongchang to bring the sights and sounds of the Games to Canadian kids through his unique lens, with weekly postcards and regular videos.
CBC Music
Capturing the sounds of the host nation, CBC Music offers streaming music channel K-Pop Idols, an upbeat selection of the best and biggest in South Korean pop music, and athletes share their favorite Canadian song in a special Olympic Games playlist. In addition, for the first time ever, the annual CBC Music Canadian Music Class Challenge included the “CBC Olympic Games Theme” as one of the song options for music classes to perform, record and submit for a chance to win a state-of-the-art classroom recording kit. Three of the six winning schools chose to perform the theme, and their winning video entries will be shown during CBC’s broadcast coverage of PyeongChang 2018, giving the students an opportunity to experience their own Olympic Winter Games glory.