The Olympic Channel is "launching Saturday on a number of cable systems and streaming services," and it will air all eight original broadcasts of the '92 U.S. men's basketball team's Gold Medal run on "eight consecutive nights in primetime this August," according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. The Dream Team games debut on Aug. 28 at 8:00pm ET and will "culminate with an 11-hour marathon on Labor Day on Sept. 4." The re-airing "features the original commentary teams that called the action including Marv Albert alongside analyst Mike Fratello and reporter Jim Gray, and the team of the late Chick Hearn and Steve Jones." The Olympic Channel will be "available in more than 35 million homes at launch" (SI.com, 7/12). THE COMEBACK's Kevin McGuire noted this will be the "first time many viewers will get to watch the full game broadcasts, as some of the games were trimmed down for scheduling limitations of NBC's original coverage." Fans "get a chance to relive the dominance of the first true super team basketball had to offer, and one that will be unrivaled in terms of dominance for as long as anyone can imagine" (THECOMEBACK.com, 7/12).
REACH FOR THE RINGS: NBC’s Mike Tirico this morning promoted the launch of the Olympic Channel on "Today," calling it a "home for the Games between the Games.” He said the channel will be a "place to watch Olympic sports" outside of the Olympics. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie said, “I read you were saying sometimes the athletes themselves, future athletes get inspired watching past Olympic moments. Maybe it's kind of a recruiting tool as well.” Tirico: “It can be.” He noted young fans can watch and be inspired watching stick and ball sports on TV, but he asked, "What if you want to be the next Katie Ledecky or the next Michael Phelps? There’s not as much swimming on TV on a regular basis. The Olympic Channel will provide that 24/7, 365” (“Today,” NBC, 7/13).
