‘Nightly’ heads outside 1A for select segments during Olympics coverage

“NBC Nightly News” began its 2022 Winter Olympics coverage from a custom built Asian inspired outdoor “studio” Feb. 4, 2022 outside of Studio 1A, which it shares with morning show “Today.”

The structure was in place earlier in the week, but it did not make an appearance on Friday’s “Today,” which aired a truncated version in select time zones due to live coverage of the opening ceremony covering its normal time.

For “Nightly,” anchor Lester Holt bundled up and did the first block and last block from the plaza, making use of the geometric wood tone and red Asian inspired structure the network built for the occasion.

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“Today” stared using the structure Monday, Feb. 7, 2022.

The structure appears to be inspired by a variety of Chinese architectural, art and craftsmanship and its bold lines and right angles has some similarities the Chidori structure the network built on its outdoor rooftop studio in Japan for its coverage of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021.

Amidst the structure is a large open space, reminiscent of a gateway or entry, that’s been filled with a seamless 4.8mm pixel pitch LED from Neoti in the middle, starting as a dynamic background element.

This video wall was used as an OTS element behind Holt, similar to how the freestanding flat one inside of Studio 1A is used to introduce multiple stories.

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The camera left side of the structure behind Holt has the”Today” logo, so he was strategically placed to stand in front of it, mostly blocking it from view. The opposite side features the logo of the network’s streamer Peacock, which was left visible on “Nightly.” 

Producers also opted for a view of the Rockefeller Center skating rink with the text “91 countries” added under the skatings using computer graphics, making it appears as if the text was “written” on the ice.

In addition, the video panels inside the studio were also used during Holt’s intro to coverage at the top of the show, showing photos of the torch lighting ceremony.

Normally, the “Nightly” anchor travels to the host country for at least a week of coverage, but coronavirus concerns kept Holt and the crew home this year.

“Nightly” did not modify its normal opening animation this year, something it has done in almost for almost every Olympics in recent memory.

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