Jan 20, 2022 - Sports

ESPN won't send news personnel to Beijing Olympics due to COVID

Ivana Saric

espn mic — Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

ESPN announced Thursday that it will not be sending news personnel to the Beijing Olympics due to concerns about COVID-19 and related pandemic restrictions.

What they're saying: "The safety of our employees is of utmost importance to us,” Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, event and studio production & executive editor, said in the press release.

“With the pandemic continuing to be a global threat, and with the COVID-related on-site restrictions in place for the Olympics that would make coverage very challenging, we felt that keeping our people home was the best decision for us.”

State of play: The network will instead "focus on covering the Games remotely," per the press release.

ESPN had originally planned to send four reporters to China, who will now join the network's remote coverage efforts.

The big picture: An NBC Sports spokesperson confirmed to Axios on Wednesday that announcers for the Beijing Games will be calling events from NBC's Stamford, Connecticut, facility "due to COVID concerns."

The Beijing Olympics open in 15 days.

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ESPN won't send news personnel to Beijing Olympics due to COVID

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