NBC Sports will not send its descriptors to Beijing

The US TV Network’s senior vice president of communications, Greg Hughes, confirmed the information to USA TODAY, Wednesday.

Teams of writers, including snowboarders, will be covering events from our studios in Stamford, Connecticut due to COVID-19 concerns.He told the American newspaper.

We will still have a large presence on the ground in Beijing, and our coverage of all high-quality sports will be as usual. Our plans change every day, as with most of the media covering the OlympicsMr. Hughes added.

Apart from the snowboarding, alpine skiing and snowboarding teams describing, all the other teams, according to the original plan, were based in Stamford. The US network had used a similar strategy for the Tokyo Games last summer. However, descriptors were sent to Japan to introduce the most popular sports, such as swimming and gymnastics.

The meteoric spread of the Omicron variant and the growing concerns of travelers to Beijing persuaded the US network to review its coverage plans for the Winter Games.

As reported by CBC (A new window) Earlier in the week, screening tests used by Chinese authorities were more sensitive than those used in Canada, in particular. Thus, athletes and media representatives have a much greater chance of testing positive upon arrival in Beijing, even if they test negative upon departure.

The situation is already causing serious problems for the Radio Canada and Canadian Olympic Committee teams, Martin Leclerc reported in his column on Tuesday.

We’ll have more staff here [à Stamford] Than in the host cityMolly Solomon, President and Executive Producer, NBC.

With the changing circumstances related to COVID-19 and China’s zero-tolerance policy, this has added a level of complexity. We need to make sure that we can deliver a high-quality experience to American viewers. That’s why we separate the two cities.

Figure skating analyst Todd Richards said the events of the past week, when access for many to Beijing was complicated, had a direct bearing on NBC’s decision.

I think they were afraid that if someone tested positive for COVID-19, the Chinese government would lock them up completely. NBC has no control and wants to know more about the situationRichards summarized.