BBC Sport is set to offer winter sports fans its most comprehensive coverage of a Winter Olympics Games ever as it showcases Sochi 2014.
Beginning on February 7 and running for 17 days, this will be the 15th Winter Olympics to be broadcast by the corporation.
TV, radio, online and mobile coverage will combine to give audiences extensive access to live action, key moments, highlights, interviews and analysis throughout the Games.
Over 200 hours of network TV coverage is set to be delivered to audiences, alongside regular live updates on Radio 5 live, plus there will be up to six online streams covering all events live to ensure fans don’t miss a single moment.
Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine and Jonathan Edwards will anchor BBC Two and BBC Two HD’s live coverage direct from Sochi every day during the Games, starting at 7.00am and running through to 7.00pm.
A daily highlights programme rounding up the all the key action will then follow on most days from 7.00pm to 8.00pm (weekend schedules may vary), presented by Clare Balding.
Reporters Sir Matthew Pinsent, Jason Mohammad, Nick Hope and Ollie Williams will bring all the news, interviews and behind-the-scenes updates throughout the games.
The BBC’s Sochi 2014 presenting trio of Balding, Irvine and Edwards will be joined by a world-class team of commentators, pundits and analysts.
These will be led by 2010 Olympic skeleton bobsleigh gold medallist Amy Williams, who makes her Winter Olympics broadcasting debut having joined the Ski Sunday presenting team earlier this year.
Williams will be joining Paul Dickenson and Colin Bryce to offer expert insight across the skeleton and luge events.
Over on the slopes, five-time Olympian and Ski Sunday presenter Graham Bell will be joined by Matt Chilton and former British Olympian Emma Carrick-Anderson to oversee the alpine skiing.
Bell’s fellow Ski Sunday host Ed Leigh brings his excitable commentary style to all the snowboarding and freestyle skiing action alongside and Tim Warwood.
Former Olympian short track speed skater Wilf O’Reilly teams up with Hugh Porter to bring all the speed skating action, which will feature Great Britain’s Elise Christie.
Olympic Gold medallist and British skating icon Robin Cousins covers all the figure skating action along side Sue Barker.
Former world champion curler Jackie Lockhart and Steve Cram will be bring all the drama from the curling featuring Team GB’s Eve Muirhead and David Murdoch in the women and men’s events, while British Ice Hockey league veteran and current Cardiff Devils coach Brent Pope will be rink-side with Seth Bennett.
The gruelling biathlon, cross country, Nordic combined and ski jumping events will be brought to life by Patrick Winterton and Rob Walker.
As in London 2012, BBC Sport will offer extensive digital coverage of the Games, allowing viewers to chose the live sport they want to watch, as well as catch up on all the drama across various devices.
The BBC will offer up to six live streams covering every event, which are all available to watch across four screens – PC, tablet, mobile and connected TV.
Sports fans can also keep up with live text commentary, news, reviews, features, analysis and interviews direct from the Games on the BBC Sport website, mobile website and BBC Sport app.
Precise details of coverage to be shown via the BBC’s Red Button service will be confirmed at a later date.
The BBC will be covering every Winter Olympics between now and 2020, including the Summer Games in Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020), plus the Winter Games in Pyeongchang (2018).
Commenting on the BBC’s comprehensive output from Sochi 2014, Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, says: “The Sochi Winter Olympics kicks off a huge year of major events for BBC Sport in outstanding style.
“The extensive coverage across TV, radio, digital and online, coupled with our superb presenting line-up, offers audiences the unparalleled coverage of a major sporting event that they expect from us.
“I’m delighted that we are once again able to bring every moment live to audiences, building on the success of our coverage of the Summer Games in London.”
As well as the Games themselves, there will also be extensive programming across all platforms in the run up to Sochi 2014, featuring Great Britain’s potential medal prospects.
Olympic magazine programme ‘Inspire: The Olympic Journey’, hosted by Gabby Logan, will continue to celebrate the biggest names, the rising stars and the unsung heroes of winter Olympic sport.
Ski Sunday returns for a new series on Sunday, December 15, with presenters Graham Bell and Ed Leigh, featuring the thrills and excitement of the men’s and women’s 2013/14 alpine tour.
The BBC Sport website will also continue to bring the latest news and updates on winter sport and Team GB in the run up to Sochi 2014.
In addition to extensive TV coverage, all of Team GB’s medal moments will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 5 live.
In Sochi for 5 live will be Chris Mitchell, Eleanor Oldroyd and Will Perry, who will present all the main events and races live and as they happen throughout the day across 5 live’s daytime schedules.
As well as the big Team GB moments, the presentation team will be joined by other BBC experts to deliver all the latest news, interviews and reaction from the tournament.
A daily podcast will also be available for audiences to download at the end of each day at bbc.co.uk/5live to take away to catch up.
In addition, BBC Radio 5 live will also bring live reports of the key moments from the 11th Winter Paralympic Games to be staged from March 7-16.
Jamie Broughton will be live from Russia reporting on ParalympicsGB’s medal prospects in alpine skiing and wheelchair curling as well as reporting on the tournament’s biathlon, cross-country skiing and ice sledge hockey events.
Channel 4 has exclusive UK TV rights to the Sochi Winter Paralympics and will be announcing details of its daily coverage in due course.
