U.S. Olympic viewers who have long clamored to view the opening ceremony live when it hasn’t been in North America will finally get their wish.
NBC plans to air the opening ceremony from the Tokyo Olympics live on Friday, July 23. With Tokyo 13 hours ahead of New York and 16 ahead of Los Angeles, the opening ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. in Japan, which is 7 a.m. ET and 4 a.m. PT.
Molly Solomon, the executive producer and president of NBC Olympics, said the global significance of gathering in Tokyo during the time of the coronavirus pandemic as well as changing viewing habits, were the main factors in deciding to air the opening live in the morning for the first time.