NBC will utilize NBCSN to present more than 230 hours of coverage of the Sochi Games, the most Winter Olympic coverage ever on a cable network. NBCSN's coverage will be highlighted by complete, live coverage of figure skating and the U.S.-Russia men's hockey game on Saturday, Feb. 15. NBCSN's Olympic broadcasts begins Saturday, Feb. 8, at 3:00am ET, and concludes Sunday, Feb. 23. The net will air at least one gold medal final live each day through its 16 days of coverage (NBC). The AP's Rachel Cohen noted "in a shift from NBC's coverage of past games outside North America, nearly every figure skating performance will air on cable during the day, with the key moments shown on tape delay on the main network that night as in previous Olympics." For years, the network's "argument for holding back the most high-profile events was that nighttime is when the most people are free to watch TV -- and when advertisers and local affiliates benefit most." In "one sense, nothing has changed." But the other priority is "to get more people to pay attention, and for those who already care to stick around longer." NBC during the '12 London Games "started streaming every sport live online." The network discovered it "didn't hurt prime-time ratings -- and may have even helped." Even with the "success of the streaming in 2012, the network still received some criticism for not airing popular events live on TV" (AP, 12/17).
