J
Joseph_Gallant
Guest
I'm pretty sure I have around my house magazines that have broadcast schedules for some prior Winter Olympics. With the 2006 Winter Games in Turin/Torino to begin within a few weeks, I am going to post network broadcast schedules from those prior Winter Games that I can find around my house.
The first schedule I will post is ABC's broadcast schedule for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. You'll remember the '80 Winter Games for the "Miracle On Ice", where the U.S. men's hockey team, not expected to win a mdeal despite a home-ice advantage, stunned the world and won six of the seven games (they tied Sweden in thier first game after scoring the game-tying goal in the final minutes) to take home the Gold.
This schedule was published in "Lake Placid 1980: The Complete Handbook Of The Olympic Winter Games", edited by Zander Hollander and published in September, 1979 by Signet/New American Library. The schedule below was ABC's original broadcast schedule; two changes were made to that schedule and will be noted below.
All times were Eastern.
Tuesday, February 12th, 1980: 9-11 P.M. (Olympic Preview)
Wednesday, February 13th: 2-4 P.M. (Live Broadcast of Opening Ceremonies)
and 9-11 P.M. (Rebroadcast of Opening Ceremonies)
Thursday, February 14th: 8:30-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Friday, February 15th: 8:30-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Saturday, February 16th; 1-3:30 P.M., 9-11 P.M., and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Sunday, February 17th: 1-3:30 P.M., 8-11 P.M., and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Monday, February 18th: 9-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Tuesday, February 19th: 8-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Wednesday, February 20th: 9-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Thursday, February 21st: 8-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Friday, February 22nd: 9-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Saturday, February 23rd: 12:30-3:30 P.M., 8-11 P.M., and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Sunday, February 24th: 12 Noon-6 P.M., and 8-11 P.M. (the latter a Live Broadcast of the Closing Ceremonies)
Although ABC scheduled 50 1/2 hours of coverage from Lake Placid (and eventually broadcast 51 hours; see below), it was still much more television coverage than any previous Winter Olympics. I think ABC broadcast some 37 or 38 hours from Innsbruck in 1976.
As I mentioned above, there were two changes made to the above schedule. The first was a few weeks after the book was printed. The Lake Placid Organizing committee decided to move the start time of the first of the two hockey games on the final day of the Olympics (February 24th) from 12 Noon to 11 A.M., and ABC's daytime broadcast schedule for that day was adjusted, so coverage was seen from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. and again from 3 to 6 P.M., both Eastern time.
The second change to ABC's broadcast schedule came during the Games. Once the U.S./Soviet Union matchup in hockey was set for February 22nd, ABC expanded that night's prime-time show from 9 to 11 P.M. EST to 8:30-11 P.M. EST in order to show the game in full (However, it was NOT broadcast live--it was seen on a three-and-a-half hour tape-delay).
By the way, although the game was on tape (as was the men's slalom ski race, which was edited down to two ten-minute segments and shown between periods of the U.S./U.S.S.R. hockey game), studio host Jim McKay was live, and I recall he opened that evening's prime-time broadcast by noting that there was "a lot of excitment here in Lake Placid. Tonight, we're going to show you the big hockey games between the United States and Russia in it's entirety, a game that ended just about an hour ago. It's possible you may already have heard what happened. Let's watch the game, as called earlier this evening by our Al Micheals and former Montreal Canadiens all-star goaltender Ken Dryden...".
After the tape of the game was shown, there was enough time for McKay to come back to close the prime-time broadcast by saying something to the effect of "The game you just watched was taped earlier this evening. The scene you're now watching in the streets of Lake Placid is live, and it's fans who have been celebrating all evening what has to be the biggest upset in the history of sport. Teenagers are singing 'God Bless America'! When was the last time we heard teenagers sing that?? Congratulations to Team U.S.A., and join us Sunday at 11 A.M. Eastern when they take on Finland for the Gold, live here on ABC!".
By the way, only three of the seven team U.S.A. hockey games during the 1980 Winter Olympics were shown in their entirety by ABC: The Norway game (live on February 16th), the Russia game (on a 3 1/2-hour tape delay February 22nd) and the Finland game (live on February 24th). I think the Finland game may even have been shown live on the West Coast, where it would have aired live at 8 A.M. PST. Maybe someone in California can answer that question for me.
Despite being shown on tape, the U.S./Russia hockey game was one of the highest-rated television programs of the entire 1979/80 television season. I'm tempted to say that Super Bowl XIV and the season finale of "Dallas" where J.R. got shot were the only two television programs during the 1979/80 season that drew more viewers than the U.S./Russian Olympic hockey game.
One other note: ABC broadcast the Opening Ceremonies twice on February 13th, 1980; once live in the afternoon, the second time that night in prime-time. That's how Canada's CBC will handle coverage of the Opening Ceremonies this February 10th from Turin/Torino; why can't NBC do the same??
The first schedule I will post is ABC's broadcast schedule for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. You'll remember the '80 Winter Games for the "Miracle On Ice", where the U.S. men's hockey team, not expected to win a mdeal despite a home-ice advantage, stunned the world and won six of the seven games (they tied Sweden in thier first game after scoring the game-tying goal in the final minutes) to take home the Gold.
This schedule was published in "Lake Placid 1980: The Complete Handbook Of The Olympic Winter Games", edited by Zander Hollander and published in September, 1979 by Signet/New American Library. The schedule below was ABC's original broadcast schedule; two changes were made to that schedule and will be noted below.
All times were Eastern.
Tuesday, February 12th, 1980: 9-11 P.M. (Olympic Preview)
Wednesday, February 13th: 2-4 P.M. (Live Broadcast of Opening Ceremonies)
and 9-11 P.M. (Rebroadcast of Opening Ceremonies)
Thursday, February 14th: 8:30-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Friday, February 15th: 8:30-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Saturday, February 16th; 1-3:30 P.M., 9-11 P.M., and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Sunday, February 17th: 1-3:30 P.M., 8-11 P.M., and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Monday, February 18th: 9-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Tuesday, February 19th: 8-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Wednesday, February 20th: 9-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Thursday, February 21st: 8-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Friday, February 22nd: 9-11 P.M. and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Saturday, February 23rd: 12:30-3:30 P.M., 8-11 P.M., and 11:30-11:45 P.M.
Sunday, February 24th: 12 Noon-6 P.M., and 8-11 P.M. (the latter a Live Broadcast of the Closing Ceremonies)
Although ABC scheduled 50 1/2 hours of coverage from Lake Placid (and eventually broadcast 51 hours; see below), it was still much more television coverage than any previous Winter Olympics. I think ABC broadcast some 37 or 38 hours from Innsbruck in 1976.
As I mentioned above, there were two changes made to the above schedule. The first was a few weeks after the book was printed. The Lake Placid Organizing committee decided to move the start time of the first of the two hockey games on the final day of the Olympics (February 24th) from 12 Noon to 11 A.M., and ABC's daytime broadcast schedule for that day was adjusted, so coverage was seen from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. and again from 3 to 6 P.M., both Eastern time.
The second change to ABC's broadcast schedule came during the Games. Once the U.S./Soviet Union matchup in hockey was set for February 22nd, ABC expanded that night's prime-time show from 9 to 11 P.M. EST to 8:30-11 P.M. EST in order to show the game in full (However, it was NOT broadcast live--it was seen on a three-and-a-half hour tape-delay).
By the way, although the game was on tape (as was the men's slalom ski race, which was edited down to two ten-minute segments and shown between periods of the U.S./U.S.S.R. hockey game), studio host Jim McKay was live, and I recall he opened that evening's prime-time broadcast by noting that there was "a lot of excitment here in Lake Placid. Tonight, we're going to show you the big hockey games between the United States and Russia in it's entirety, a game that ended just about an hour ago. It's possible you may already have heard what happened. Let's watch the game, as called earlier this evening by our Al Micheals and former Montreal Canadiens all-star goaltender Ken Dryden...".
After the tape of the game was shown, there was enough time for McKay to come back to close the prime-time broadcast by saying something to the effect of "The game you just watched was taped earlier this evening. The scene you're now watching in the streets of Lake Placid is live, and it's fans who have been celebrating all evening what has to be the biggest upset in the history of sport. Teenagers are singing 'God Bless America'! When was the last time we heard teenagers sing that?? Congratulations to Team U.S.A., and join us Sunday at 11 A.M. Eastern when they take on Finland for the Gold, live here on ABC!".
By the way, only three of the seven team U.S.A. hockey games during the 1980 Winter Olympics were shown in their entirety by ABC: The Norway game (live on February 16th), the Russia game (on a 3 1/2-hour tape delay February 22nd) and the Finland game (live on February 24th). I think the Finland game may even have been shown live on the West Coast, where it would have aired live at 8 A.M. PST. Maybe someone in California can answer that question for me.
Despite being shown on tape, the U.S./Russia hockey game was one of the highest-rated television programs of the entire 1979/80 television season. I'm tempted to say that Super Bowl XIV and the season finale of "Dallas" where J.R. got shot were the only two television programs during the 1979/80 season that drew more viewers than the U.S./Russian Olympic hockey game.
One other note: ABC broadcast the Opening Ceremonies twice on February 13th, 1980; once live in the afternoon, the second time that night in prime-time. That's how Canada's CBC will handle coverage of the Opening Ceremonies this February 10th from Turin/Torino; why can't NBC do the same??
