NBC Will Broadcast 2018 Winter Olympics from South Korea Live in All Time Zones

NBC announced Wednesday that it will broadcast the 2018 Winter Olympics from Pyeongchang, South Korea, live across all time zones.

According to SI.com, the 2018 Winter Games will kick off with the opening ceremony on Feb. 9, 2018.

NBC Olympics Production and Programming President Jim Bell said the following regarding the decision to go live:

"

Nothing brings America together for two weeks like the Olympics, and that communal experience will now be shared across the country at the same time, both on television and streaming online. That means social media won't be ahead of the action in any time zone, and as a result, none of our viewers will have to wait for anything. This is exciting news for the audience, the advertisers, and our affiliates alike.

"

In previous Olympic Games, NBC eschewed airing big events live in favor of showing them as part of a prime-time broadcast later in the night.

Pyeongchang is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Time.