Figure skating slotted for mornings at Pyeongchang Olympics

Figure skating events at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be held in the mornings to coincide with U.S. prime-time television.

With the 14-hour time difference, American viewers in Eastern time zones will be able to watch all the high-profile figure skating events at night, a move that reportedly has been influenced Olympic broadcaster NBC.

The Pyeongchang organizing committee confirmed the report first published by Kyodo News in Japan.

"The International Olympic Committee and international sports federations are currently in talks about the competition schedules," the organizing committee said. "At present figure skating is assigned to the morning session, and if it is deemed alright, the current schedule is likely to go ahead."

This isn't the first time NBC, which paid $7.75 billion for all Summer and Winter Olympics until 2032, has pushed to have a high-profile sport into its prime-time slot.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, all swimming finals were placed in the morning so NBC could televise Michael Phelps' unprecedented chase of eight gold medals in prime time, which he would go on to accomplish.