NBC Stations Send 40-Person Team To Rio

The NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations is dispatching a team of nearly 40 anchors, reporters, photographers and producers to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to cover the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, the largest unit the station group has sent to an international event in recent history.

The team — representing 19 U.S. markets served by the NBC-owned stations and Telemundo Station Group — is charged with delivering distinctively local stories during the 17-day event, which starts Friday, Aug. 5 and concludes on Sunday, Aug. 21.

“With the majestic scenery, fascinating storylines and amazing competitions, Rio promises to be among the most closely watched Games ever,” said Valari Staab, president, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations. “We’re proud to bring our NBC and Telemundo viewers back home a localized and personalized perspective of this global event, and we know our team will do a great job.”

The NBCUniversal Owned Stations team has a dedicated location inside Olympic Park from which the local anchors and reporters will deliver live reports and updates on television, mobile, social and online platforms as well as digital out-of-home platforms, such as taxi cabs to their respective NBC or Telemundo stations each day.

The journalists will also have Dejero backpack units, giving them the flexibility to broadcast live from various locations to their viewers back home, including the picturesque Copacabana Beach.

NBC says its team in Rio offers a wide range of skills and Olympic experience: WNBC  New York’s Bruce Beck will be covering his seventh Olympic Games, KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth’s Brian Curtis his fifth Games and KNSD San Diego’s Steven Luke and WVIT Hartford’s Kevin Nathan their fourth Games, while KNBC Los Angeles’ morning anchor team, Whit Johnson and Daniella Guzman, are making their Olympic debut.

Additionally, WRC Washington’s longtime assignment manager, Charlie Bragale, will be heading to Rio as a Portuguese translator for his NBCUniversal colleagues as well as a live shot producer. While Bragale was born in the United States, his parents are Brazilian and he grew up speaking Portuguese and traveling to Brazil often.

Kika Bronger, a native of Brazil who now lives in Vermont and works as a photographer for NBCU’s regional news network NECN, will also work as a translator and photographer. As part of the group, the Telemundo stations are sending a four-person team to cover the games and Telemundo Puerto Rico is dispatching a three-person reporting team.

In collaboration with NBC Sports, the NBCUniversal stations team will also produce and deliver The Olympic Zone, a half-hour Olympic news magazine show to air on all of the NBC-owned stations. The Olympic Zone will highlight local U.S. athletes, preview prime time coverage and explore the unique stories of host country, Brazil and will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 4, at 7:30 p.m. ET and air nightly Monday to Saturday through Aug. 20 (excluding the night of the Opening Ceremony on Aug. 5).

Viewers can sign up to receive daily Olympic newsletters on the stations’ websites and through mobile and web apps, where they will also find medal counts, photo galleries, athlete bios and information on the day’s key competitions of local interest and how they can watch them across all platforms, including a livestream option.

Additionally, all platforms will also feature “Rivals in Rio,” which will track the performance of the various U.S. colleges based on how their athletes and alumni are doing during the Games.
NBCUniversal will deliver more than 6,000 hours of coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games across its linear and digital platforms. The Rio Games are the 15th Olympic Games presented by NBCUniversal and the ninth consecutive.