NBC: Americans had 'record' access to Olympics coverage

Even though some online coverage of the Winter Olympics required subscriptions, NBC chief executive officer Jeffrey Zucker said viewers had access to more coverage than in any prior Winter Olympics.

Zucker's letter, sent to Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) office March 31, was in response to a pointed letter sent by the senator back in February. Sen Kohl said he was "concerned" NBC had appeared to restrict online access to Olympics content to only those viewers who subscribe to cable, satellite or other pay TV service with whom NBC has partnered. Zucker said NBC spent close to $1 billion covering the Vancouver Games. In an attempt to recoup those costs, NBC had three ways to offer coverage. More than 190 hours of programming were available on NBC's free, over-the-air network stations, with additional coverage on NBC's national cable networks (USA, CNBC, MSNBC). NBC supplemented its coverage on NBCOlympics.com, where ad-supported video content was available as well as long-form content available only to subscribers who had paid to receive additional Olympics coverage via the NBC Universal cable networks. After a certain time period, that subscription-required content was made available to everyone, Zucker said.