American Hellenic Institute

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AHI Sends Letter to Head of NBCUniversal, On-air Retraction Requested
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Georgea Polizos
August 12, 2016—No. 38 (202) 785-8430

AHI Sends Letter to Head of NBCUniversal, On-air Retraction Requested

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) sent a letter to NBCUniversal CEO Stephen Burke requesting the network to issue an on-air retraction because of the historical inaccuracies reported by its commentators during the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad held August 5, 2016.  The August 10 letter also raised the geopolitical implications of NBC’s reference of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as “Macedonia” during its coverage.

In an August 9 statement, AHI President Nick Larigakis said, “We are incensed NBC would convey such historical misinformation to its worldwide audience.  We are also disappointed that NBC would ignore the International Olympic Committee and reference FYROM as ‘Macedonia’ thus wading the network and the Olympic Games, which are meant to be apolitical, into geopolitics.  The essence of the Olympic Spirit is for nations to come together devoid of political tension.  In one fell swoop, NBC, a neutral third party, stoked tension by ignoring the IOC’s proper recognition of FYROM thereby evoking a sensitive issue with, of all nations, Greece, which founded the Olympic Games.”  

Larigakis continues to urge the community to contact NBC until the matter is addressed by the network.

Contact NBC Universal

30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
(212) 664-4444
https://www.nbc.com/contact-us
Twitter: @NBCOlympics
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The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public policy center and think tank that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

 

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For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos at (202) 785-8430 or atpr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org and follow us on Twitter @TheAHIinDC.