NBCSN will air 330 hours of events from the Rio Games, the "most of any of NBCUniversal's TV networks." That will include "extensive coverage of men's and women's basketball and men's and women's soccer -- including the U.S. men's basketball and women's soccer teams." The net on most days "will air 16 hours of events" from 8:00am-12:00am ET. Coverage begins "two days before the opening ceremony with women's soccer Aug. 3" (AP, 6/6).
EIGHT MEN OUT: The fledgling Olympic Channel has reached content deals with 27 of 35 Olympic-sport federations. FIFA and the IAAF are among the eight holdouts. It is not clear how negotiations are progressing or whether the IOC expects the channel to launch with deals done for soccer and track and field. IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement said the channel will announce its launch date in the coming weeks. The launch is not likely to be before the Rio Games, as originally hoped. The other Olympic sport federations to not yet sign deals include cycling, handball, volleyball, biathlon, luge and skating (Ben Fischer, Staff Writer).
TALKING THE TALK: Discovery Communications President & CEO David Zaslav said that the company "is in talks" with Twitter and Facebook to show programming from its Eurosport channel, including the Rio Games. Zaslav: "We're talking to them because we have that Olympic content for the next decade" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/2).
