Danielle Solzman
The Opening Ceremony is the main attraction as the Winter Olympics officially kick off after two days of programming from Beijing.
While the Biden Administration is boycotting the Beijing games diplomatically because of what’s happening in China, the White House portico was displaying red, white, and blue colors on Thursday night. Personally, I believe the Beijing games should not be happening because of the human rights issues in China. Either that or Team USA should have boycotted the event. Of course, I would have said the exact same thing about the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Tonight the White House is lit up in red, white, and blue in support of all the Olympians and Paralympians proudly representing our country. Go Team USA! pic.twitter.com/tegcrcCoqs
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 4, 2022
NBCUniversal will provide unprecedented full-day coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing, China on Friday, Feb. 4. The day will culminate on NBC and Peacock in what is always one of the most popular nights of the Olympics with an enhanced primetime presentation of the Opening Ceremony at 8 p.m. ET.
The day begins on NBC and Peacock with the network’s first-ever live morning broadcast of the Winter Games Opening Ceremony at 6:30 a.m. ET, followed by a special edition of TODAY with reaction and athlete interviews and then NBC’s first-ever Olympic Daytime show on the opening Friday of the Winter Games.
Award-winning journalist and co-anchor of TODAY Savannah Guthrie will join NBC Olympics’ primetime host Mike Tirico to host the Opening Ceremony. Guthrie hosts her second Opening Ceremony, while Tirico handles his third after the pair worked together on the Tokyo Olympics.
NBC Olympics’ bobsled, luge, and skeleton reporter Lewis Johnson and figure skating and short track speed skating reporter Andrea Joyce will serve as reporters for the Opening Ceremony. Johnson provides reports at the Opening Ceremony for the third time (Tokyo last summer, Salt Lake in 2002) and it will mark the first Opening Ceremony assignment for Joyce.
Andy Browne, the Editorial Director of Bloomberg New Economy Forum, and Jing Tsu, the John M. Schiff Professor of East Asian Studies & Comparative Literature at Yale University and author of Kingdom of Characters — a book about the politics of the Chinese language, will contribute to coverage of the Opening Ceremony and provide a broader context of what the U.S. audience is watching in the opening days of the Games.
NBC Olympics correspondents Steve Kornacki, NBC News’ celebrated national political correspondent, and Lindsey Vonn, a three-time Olympic medal winning skier for the U.S., will also offer commentary on the broadcast.
2018 Olympic gold medalist John Shuster (curling) and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Bowe (speed skating) will serve as Team USA flag bearers during the 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony at the National Stadium. Three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor (bobsled) was selected as flagbearer by a vote of the U.S. Olympic team athletes but will be unable to participate in the Opening Ceremony due to a positive Covid-19 test. Bowe will serve as flagbearer on her behalf.
The NBC and Peacock primetime broadcast, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, will feature:
- Performances, pageantry and the Parade of Athletes
- Extensive coverage of Team USA, including athlete interviews with Johnson and Joyce
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson introducing Team USA in an opening film titled “I Dare You” which tells the story of how young athletes dare to pursue the fastest, highest, most high-stakes events on snow and ice
In order to provide viewers with the opportunity to share this historic experience with people from around the world as it happens, the 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony will also be broadcast live across all time zones starting at 6:30 a.m. ET/3:30 a.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. This marks the first time NBC Olympics will broadcast a Winter Games Opening Ceremony live in the morning.
OPENING CEREMONY PROGRAMMING ON NBC AND PEACOCK – FEB. 4, 2022
All Times ET
| 6:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. | Live Opening Ceremony Coverage |
| 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. | Special Edition of TODAY |
| Noon – 3 p.m. | Beijing Olympics Daytime |
| 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Primetime Opening Ceremony |
All Times PT
| 3:30 a.m. – 6 a.m. | Live Opening Ceremony Coverage |
| 6 a.m. – 7 a.m. | Local News |
| 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. | Special Edition of TODAY |
| 9 a.m. – Noon | Beijing Olympics Daytime |
| 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Primetime Opening Ceremony |
| 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Primetime O.C. Encore |
Two-time gold medalist Jamie Anderson seeks her third straight gold medal in women’s slopestyle snowboarding and will compete in qualifying live at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5
The women’s short program portion of the figure skating team event is expected to be led by 2018 Olympian Karen Chen and will be presented Saturday live in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. 2018 Olympians Bryce Bennett and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, and 2014 Olympian Travis Ganong, are expected to headline the U.S. contingent in the men’s alpine skiing downhill event Saturday live in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
The 2018 gold medal-winning U.S. women’s ice hockey team continues its gold medal defense in opening round play against the Russian Olympic Committee Saturday live at 8:10 a.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock. The team, featuring 13 players from the 2018 Olympic team, including Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hilary Knight, and Brianna Decker, began Olympic competition with a 5-2 victory against Finland earlier today.
The women’s snowboarding slopestyle final, which is expected to include medal contender Jamie Anderson, will be presented Saturday live at 8:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock (encore at Midnight ET on NBC). In men’s snowboarding, 2018 Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard will headline American contenders in slopestyle qualifying Saturday live at 11:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 (DAY 0)
NBC
6:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Opening Ceremony (LIVE)
Noon – 3 p.m.
Olympics Preview Show
8 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Opening Ceremony
USA NETWORK
2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Figure Skating – Men’s Short Program Team Event
Figure Skating – Rhythm Dance Team Event
Figure Skating – Pairs’ Short Program Team Event
Mixed Doubles Curling – U.S. vs. Sweden
8 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Mixed Doubles Curling – Switzerland vs. Sweden (LIVE)
10 p.m. – 11:50 p.m.
Women’s Snowboard – Slopestyle Qualifying (LIVE)
11:50 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.
Women’s Ice Hockey – Canada vs. Finland (LIVE)
1:30 a.m. – 2:25 a.m.
Men’s Ski Jumping – Individual Normal Hill Qualifying (LIVE)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5 (DAY 1)
NBC
2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Women’s Speed Skating – 3000m
Men’s Luge – First & Second Runs
Women’s Cross-Country Skiing – Skiathlon
Men’s Freestyle Skiing – Moguls Qualifying
Women’s Ski Jumping – Normal Hill Final
8 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Figure Skating – Team Event (LIVE)
Women’s Short Program
Men’s Free Skate
Men’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill Run (LIVE)
Short Track – Mixed Relay Final
8:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. PT
Men’s Snowboard – Slopestyle Qualifying (LIVE)
12 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.
Women’s Snowboard – Slopestyle Final
Men’s Freestyle Skiing – Moguls Final
USA NETWORK
2:45 a.m. – 7:55 a.m.
Men’s Freestyle Skiing – Moguls Final (LIVE)
Men’s Freestyle Skiing – Moguls Qualifying (LIVE)
Women’s Speed Skating – 3000m (LIVE)
Women’s Cross-Country Skiing – Skiathlon (LIVE)
Men’s Ski Jumping – Individual Normal Hill Qualifying
8:10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Women’s Ice Hockey – U.S. vs. Russian Olympic Committee (LIVE)
10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Short Track – Mixed Relay Final
Short Track – Women’s 500m Qualifying
Short Track – Men’s 1000m Qualifying
Men’s Luge – First & Second Runs
Biathlon – Mixed Relay
Women’s Ski Jumping – Normal Hill Final
5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Women’s Ice Hockey – U.S. vs. Russian Olympic Committee
7:30 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Women’s Snowboard – Slopestyle Final (LIVE)
Men’s Snowboard – Slopestyle Qualifying (LIVE)
Men’s Luge – First & Second Runs
Biathlon – Mixed Relay
CNBC
4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Mixed Doubles Curling – U.S. vs. China
Mixed Doubles Curling – U.S. vs. Canada
8 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Mixed Doubles Curling – U.S. vs. Czech Republic (LIVE)
The Beijing Olympics run February 2-20, 2022 and will be broadcast across the NBC broadcast, cable, and digital family of networks.
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