CBC to use similar setup for Beijing after most Tokyo announcers worked remotely

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This article was published 30/01/2022 (1708 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The CBC will turn to a familiar playbook for its upcoming coverage of the Beijing Olympics.

Almost all of the network’s announcers and analysts worked from Canada during last summer’s Tokyo Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The broadcaster will again have its crews call the action remotely during the Feb. 4-20 Winter Games.

Chris Wilson, executive director of CBC Sports and Olympics, said that in the early days of planning, the CBC hoped to have broadcasters at hockey, curling and some mountain events.

However, as pandemic challenges continued, the network looked at what on-site positions were essential and made the necessary adjustments.

“We think that sports audiences in general have grown pretty accustomed to hearing (remote) commentary … they’ve come to at least accept it during these pandemic conditions,” Wilson said.

Rights-holders from other countries have similar plans for remote coverage. The CBC is planning 23 hours of daily coverage throughout the Games on multiple platforms, including its website, traditional TV broadcasts, CBC Gem and the CBC Sports app.

Beijing is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone, so Canadian viewers will get to catch the start of each day’s action in the late afternoon or evening.

Scott Russell will anchor “Olympic Games PrimeTime” and Andi Petrillo will host “Olympic Games Morning.” Andrew Chang and Perdita Felicien will host “Beijing Today,” which will look at top storylines and provide event previews and athlete profiles.

“Personally I do think that these Olympics might be coming at an amazing time for our country to be able to unite around something positive and unite around our athletes,” Wilson said in a recent interview.

“And just have a moment where we can have some escape and stay up late together and wake up early together and have something really positive to cheer for.”

The CBC did have a few commentators at swimming and athletic events last summer among the approximately 130 CBC/Radio-Canada staffers on site in Tokyo. The network also had 18 reporters at those Games covering a variety of competitions.

This time around, the numbers are slightly lower.

Wilson estimated about 120 staffers will be in Beijing with many more working on Games coverage from Canada. Staffers who have had a positive COVID-19 test result within 30 days of scheduled departure won’t make the trip.

“Obviously there’s fewer venues and fewer sports so we don’t need as many field reporting crews, so we’ve cut that number down,” Wilson said from Toronto. “But (there will be) between 10 and 12 field reporting crews in all three venue zones.

“So we can deploy them based on the events of the day to try to make sure that all the biggest moments we’re there to cover directly and not just through the feeds.”

Partners TSN and Sportsnet will also provide coverage although neither network will send reporters to Beijing.

Games-related personnel will be in a “closed loop” bubble while in the city. Like it was in Tokyo, Wilson said, health and safety for staff will remain a top priority.

“The rest really does take care of itself because they know how to spot a great story,” he said. “They know how to tell it across multiple levels back to Canadians and just bring that coverage that I hope Canadians are yearning for in the middle of February in the middle of a pandemic.

“So I think the biggest challenge starts with keeping our team in a good place physically and mentally, and after that, I’m very confident for everything else that can take place.”

The opening ceremony at the Winter Games is set for Friday at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest. Competition in a few events will actually begin Wednesday.

The CBC is also the rightsholder for the March 4-13 Beijing Paralympics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2022.

Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.