[ Saturday ]
NBC Moves Olympics from Turin to Torino
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NBC, as a business unit of General Electric, was able to convince the International Olympic Committee to move the 2006 Winter Games from Turin to Torino, Italy.
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For the American television audience, and the rest of the English-speaking world, it was a move questioned by many visitors to the area, since most recognize Turin because of its religious significance...the Shroud of Turin. But after visiting the area, NBC head Dick Ebersol declared that the network would be broadcasting from Torino.
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It forced many American viewers to re-program their TiVos to record the Games, but many of the American news outlets decided that they would not alter their plans, and continue to report the Games from Turin.
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When asked how it might affect future television coverage of Olympic events, Ebersol said bluntly, "Our viewership was noticeably lower when we broadcast from Barcelona in 1992 instead of from Espana, so we made a strategic decision at that point. In the future, if the Games are ever held in Munich, I imagine that we would choose to move them to Munchen."
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In an apparent and costly mixup, many staffers for NBC got stuck with non-refundable tickets to the Games via Roma, when they intended to make connections in Rome.
MM [11:00]
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