The final night of NBC’s 2018 Winter Olympic primetime television broadcast featured female athletes more than male athletes.
The February 25, 2018 coverage centered on PyeongChang highlights, with 14 different men’s events, 11 women’s events, and 3 mixed pairs events (figure skating, ice dancing, and curling).
The distribution of NBC’s Olympic coverage on Sunday night was 58.8% for women’s events, while men’s and mixed pair events received 30.7% and 10.5% of the broadcast respectively.
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When mixed pair events are excluded, the percentages were 65.7% for women and 34.3% for men.
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A 2018 Winter Games final report has been posted on FiveRingTV.com.
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* The percentage of primetime devoted to men’s, women’s and mixed sex sports was calculated by a single researcher, utilizing a stopwatch and DVD time codes, measuring (to the millisecond) the total amount of time devoted to each event. Any time spent at the actual athletic site, on a profile about an athlete, promos about a specific athlete or sport, and host commentary about a specific sport or athlete was recorded. Split screens combining commercials and live coverage are included in the calculation, but commercial breaks are not included. The NBC broadcast network East Coast feed was used for this calculation. Olympic coverage on cable networks and live streaming was not included. Network overruns beyond 11:00pm up to the break for local news are included within this calculation.
Olympic Television: Broadcasting the Biggest Show on Earth contains a detailed 20-year examination of how male and female athletes have been covered within primetime Olympic broadcasts. The book also has analyses of how race/ethnicity and nationality impact Olympic coverage, interviews with NBC personnel about the content and production of Olympic broadcasts, and an overview of Olympic television history. Published by Routledge, it is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats at Amazon.com, the Routledge website, The Bookstore Plus, and other outlets.