NBC is not sending announcers to Beijing for the Winter Olympics next month, according to a Wednesday report.
Molly Solomon, the head of NBC’s Olympics production unit, cited concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic in talking about the decision to change plans just weeks before the Games begin.
“Something significant has changed virtually every day for the last three months, forcing us to adjust our plan numerous times. And I expect that to continue as well as the challenge of doing the Olympics,” Solomon said, according to the Associated Press.
CONVENIENCE TAKES PRIORITY OVER ATHLETE SAFETY AND PRIVACY WITH THE 2022 OLYMPICS
“With COVID’s changing conditions and China‘s zero-tolerance policy, it’s just added a layer of complexity to all of this, so we need to make sure we can provide the same quality experience to the American viewers. That’s why we are split between the two cities,” Solomon added.
A spokesman for NBC Sports, Greg Hughes, said plans would “continue to evolve based on the conditions.” Hughes said the network would not be sending announcing teams to cover alpine skiing, figure skating, and snowboarding during the Olympic Games despite prior expectations that they would make the trip.
This will be the second time within a year that NBC announcers will be covering the Games from abroad. NBC had most of its announcers, but not all, working out of NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and not in Tokyo for the summer Olympic Games last year, the report said.
The report also said the network has sent 250 people to Beijing, among them mostly technical staff, as well as NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel.
The Washington Examiner reached out to NBC for further comment.
The Winter Olympic Games in Beijing are set to begin Feb. 4 and end Feb. 20. The Paralympic Winter Games will be held from March 4-13.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Tickets to the Winter Games will not be available to the public, only being distributed to specific groups of spectators invited by the organizers of the event, the International Olympic Committee announced Monday. Millions of people are under lockdown in a bid to stymie multiple COVID-19 outbreaks in China.
In addition, Chinese officials warned athletes against speaking out in a way that violates Chinese law at the risk of facing penalties. “Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I’m sure will be protected and anything and any behavior or speeches that are against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment,” said Yang Shu, deputy director general of Beijing 2022’s International Relations Department, in a statement.
The United States and the United Kingdom, along with several other countries, have announced diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over what they contend are human rights abuses by the Chinese government.
Data from the World Health Organization‘s COVID-19 dashboard show China with 136,441 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 5,700 coronavirus-related deaths.
