The Paley Center for Media has debuted a new exhibit dedicated to preserving the history of the Olympic Games. The U.S. Olympic Archive, presented by Paley Center trustee and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation chairman Gordon Crawford, features more than 1,300 hours of live broadcast recordings of past Olympic tournaments.
Dating back to the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, the historic collection offers full-length programming as originally aired on American television, packed with announcer commentary and occasional commercial breaks. Visitors will be able to view the entire broadcast of each annual Olympic Games as opposed to cut footage of individual performances.
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In partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee, the Paley Center for Media gives exclusive viewing access to past-televised footage that has long been buried since live broadcast. Memorable feats, such as the United States’ “Miracle on Ice” win against the Soviet Union in 1980, can now be relived and preserved for future generations with the advent of the U.S. Olympic digital archive.
“The Paley Center for Media is the country’s premier archive of television history, and I’m thrilled that this collection of U.S. Olympic broadcasts will now have a home at the Paley Center,” Crawford said in a statement. “The public will always have access to this shared cultural history.”
