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The CBC's and NBC's primetime broadcasts of the 2014 Winter Olympics were analyzed to determine differences between the media treatment of home nation and foreign athletes. The CBC results showed that Canadian athletes represented 48.5% of total athlete mentions and constituted all of the top 20 most-mentioned athletes. NBC results showed that American athletes represented 43.9% of their total mentions and 65% of the top 20 most-mentioned athletes. The CBC was more likely to attribute Canadian athletic successes to commitment and intelligence, and non-Canadian successes to strength. The CBC was more likely to discuss the emotions and background of non-Canadians and make neutral/other comments about Canadians. NBC was more likely to attribute American failures to experience. Comparisons between the networks revealed 30 significant differences in the manner of depicting home athletes compared to athletes from other nations.

A population of NBC’s primetime coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics (64 hours) was analyzed to determine differences between the media treatment of U.S. and non-U.S. Olympians. Results showed that U.S. athletes were highlighted at three to four times to rate their successes would suggest. In addition, American athletes were more likely to be depicted as succeeding because of their intellect, commitment, and consonance while non-American athletes were more likely to be depicted as failing because they lacked the strength and skill of other athletes. From a personality/physicality standpoint, American athletes received enhanced comments about their outgoing/extroverted nature while non-American athletes received more comments about the size and parts of their bodies. Ramifications for framing theory and Olympic nationalism research are articulated.

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