Consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in Omicron cases: the group NBCUniversal, the exclusive holder of Games broadcast rights for the United States, has decided to reduce the number of its special correspondents in China for the Beijing Games. According to a spokesperson for the channel, cited by USA Today, it is now certain that the commentary teams will remain in the United States. All events will be commented remotely, including figure skating, from the studios of NBC Sports in Stamford, Connecticut. Originally, NBCUniversal had planned to send its teams of figure skating, alpine skiing and snowboarding commentators to Beijing, as the audiovisual group had done at the Tokyo Games for swimming and gymnastics. But the new wave of the pandemic led management to change its plans. NBC will be present in China, but only with reporting teams. The number of people assigned to cover the Games will, for the first time, be greater in Stamford than in Beijing. As for the presenter of the channel's broadcasts dedicated to the 2022 Winter Games, Mike Tirico, he will travel to China for the opening ceremony, Friday February 4, then for the first days of the Games. But he will return to the United States in time for the American football Super Bowl on February 13 in Los Angeles, also broadcast on NBC
