NBC Sports’ primetime and late-night studio coverage of the Pyeongchang Games will "originate from a 3,500 square-foot geodesic dome set, designed to appear carved out of the Pyeongchang mountainside and showcase the natural beauty of South Korea," according to Brian Steinberg of VARIETY. The studio will "feature a 40-foot by 16-foot LED wall, complemented by 18 55-inch high-definition monitors." The facility "provides space for a main anchor desk, interview areas, a news update desk, and more than 15 different stand up locations for host Mike Tirico to deliver analysis of the 18 days of coverage." The studio will also have an "additional facility -- on the roof." This 1,000-square-foot area, "made to look like a winter lodge, will feature windows overlooking the ski jumping venue at Alpensia Ski Resort as well as panoramic views of the Taebaek Mountains." NBC Sports Group Coordinating Dir of Olympic Production Michael Sheehan said that HD monitors will "hang from the ceiling and look like shards of ice." Despite the time difference between Korea and the U.S., NBC Sports President of Olympics Production & Programming Jim Bell said NBCU "expects to show a healthy amount of live coverage during primetime hours." Coverage each day will "originate from a studio in the Gangneung Coastal Cluster at Olympic Park, the site of figure skating, hockey, speed skating, and curling competitions." This will be the "home of all primetime, daytime and late night coverage on NBCSN, and will feature a 30-foot by 30-foot outdoor skating rink that will be used for demonstrations and stand up interviews -- a first for NBCU’s Olympic broadcasts." Studio sets will also be located at NBC Olympics’ HQ in Stamford, Conn., where "five studios will be dedicated to hockey, figure skating, curling and digital coverage" (VARIETY.com, 1/3).
