Accessibility is Priority for NBCUniversal’s 2022 Winter Olympic Games

2022 olympics logo and medals
Feb
2
2022

Today marks the first day of coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, with the opening ceremony set to take place on Friday. In its 18th year of covering the Olympic Games (12th consecutive total and sixth straight Winter Games), NBCUniversal has been preparing to present over 2,800 hours of coverage over the next two and a half weeks across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, NBCOlympics.com, and the NBC Sports app.

“Ensuring that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are available to be enjoyed by the widest possible U.S. audience is core to our mission,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “For our coverage of the Beijing Games, providing an unprecedented number of hours of accessibility for a Winter Olympics is another important step in accomplishing that goal.”

The Winter Games coverage is also gearing up to be the most accessible to viewers of all abilities than ever before. NBCUniversal will provide closed captioning for all Olympic and Paralympic events across its networks and closed captioning for all of its digital livestreams for viewers who are Deaf or hard of hearing, just like the network provided for last summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Viewers who are blind or visually impaired will be able to access audio description services, in which broadcast audio is interspersed with skilled voices describing Olympic and Paralympic scenes and context. NBCUniversal is also encouraging viewers to share their experiences and feedback with closed captioning or audio description by engaging with the #NBCOlympicsA11y and #NBCParalympicsA11y hashtags.

“The Olympic and Paralympic Games are an opportunity for us all to be inspired by the extraordinary achievements of the world’s best athletes,” said Tom Wlodkowski, Vice President of Accessibility at Comcast. “It is an honor to partner with our colleagues at NBC Olympics to deliver our most inclusive Olympic and Paralympic viewing experience ever, and to share those stories of resilience and sportsmanship with the widest possible audience.”

For the first time for a Winter Olympics, NBC Sports is also providing live broadcasts in 4K HDR in the United States, which will be carried by certain distributors including Comcast, to capture the excitement of the competition with stunning and unparalleled visuals.

As the world continues to battle the COVID pandemic, the 2022 Winter Olympics is sure to be a bright spot that will bring together millions of people around the world to watch winter athletic competition at its finest, including ice hockey, speed skating, alpine skiing, and many other thrilling sporting events. NBCUniversal stands ready to provide the entertainment, stories, and comfort that audiences need right now.