ON SCREEN:
2014 WINTER OLYMPICS
CBC and other channels - Beginning Feb. 7
Going For Gold
After Almost Six Years On The Sidelines,
CBC Jumps Back Into The Olympic Spotlight
By Eric Kohanik
“It was, personally, tough to be out
for two Olympics,” Russell admits. “Although I went to Vancouver
and to London, it was in a much different role. We're so happy to be
back in the Olympic broadcasting business at CBC. We couldn't be more
excited.”
CBC once had a lengthy run of Olympic
coverage. Before the CTV/Rogers Olympic Consortium scooped up rights
to Winter 2010 and Summer 2012, CBC had billed itself as “Canada's
Olympic Network” since 1996, broadcasting the Winter Games in
Nagano (1998), Salt Lake City (2002) and Turin (2006) as well as the
Summer Games in Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and
Beijing (2008).
CBC unveiled its broadcast team for the
2014 Winter Games in Sochi at the network's headquarters in Toronto
back on Oct. 30 as it kicked off a 100-day countdown to the opening
ceremonies on Feb. 7. Chief news anchor Peter Mansbridge and Hockey
Night in Canada veteran Ron MacLean will cohost coverage of the
ceremonies from Sochi's Fisht Olympic Stadium. CBC's English-language
Olympic telecasts will then be split into four major dayparts.
Diana Swain and David Amber will
co-host Olympic Morning each day, while Russell will man the
anchor desk for Olympic Daytime. MacLean will take on evening
hosting duties on Olympic Primetime, while Andi Petrillo and
Andrew Change will co-host Olympic Overnight.
Time-zone differences will be a major
factor. Many live events will air during the mornings and afternoons
in Canada. And that will actually put Russell and his Olympic
Daytime telecasts into a “prime” spotlight.
“There's a lot going on in that
time slot and that's perfect,” Russell says. “We'll be moving
around from venue to venue in order to capture as many things as we
can that are going on, live.”
CBC's mainline TV coverage will be
supplemented by TSN, TSN2 and Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet One as
well as CBC News Network. Radio coverage will be divvied up between
CBC Radio and TSN Radio, while French-language TV coverage will be
split between Radio-Canada and RDS.
Meanwhile, online coverage at
cbc.ca/olympics will also offer a wide variety of video content. Most
notable among that will be live online streaming of Olympic
competitions.
There have been a lot of technological
and social-media innovations since the last time CBC was Canada's
official Olympic broadcaster. And Russell admits that will mean new
challenges.
“I mean, the last time we covered the
Olympics, in Beijing, I'm pretty sure that the iPad didn't
exist,” Russell jokes. “I'm also positive that Twitter was not a
factor, right? So, this immediacy is a challenge. And the
multi-platform situation is also a challenge.
“But I think it's something we've
concentrated on at CBC. The way we approach Sports Weekend is
now very much a multi-platform strategy. And that's the way Canadians
want to consume the Olympics. They need the information as it
happens.”
CBC has high ratings hopes for its
coverage in Sochi. No wonder. Canadians have always had a fondness
for the Winter Games.
“We have this feeling of being a
winter nation,” Russell muses. “We are able to race down the
mountains, to play on frozen ponds. So, yeah, these are Games that we
are comfortable with. And we are comfortable being at the head of the
class in the Winter Games.
“I think that's the way the country
is built. We are a country of extremes. Our geography lends itself to
playing outside in the winter, and to hockey and skiing and curling
and all of these things that are about us as Canadians. And so I
think it's only natural that, when it comes to the Winter Games, we
sit up and take notice.”
2014 Winter Olympics – CBC and other
channels – beginning Feb. 7
(First published in Channel Guide Magazine - February 2014.)
