Why the 2016 Rio Olympics closing ceremony won't be aired live

Despite a minor time zone difference, the U.S. broadcast will still be delayed

Typically the Olympics are delayed because of a massive time zone difference. For example, the Eastern time zone is 12 hours behind Beijing and five hours behind London.

But fortunately for American viewers, the time zone in Rio de Janeiro is just an hour ahead of Eastern time, which allowed most event to be aired live without issues.

So why is the closing ceremony delayed?

The 2016 Rio Olympics closing ceremony will begin Sunday in Rio at 7 p.m. ET, but --just like the opening ceremony -- will not be aired until 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Viewers in Mountain time will see the broadcast at 7 p.m.

The Rio Olympics closing ceremony will be delayed in the U.S. USATSI

NBC's explained that the opening ceremony delay was a way to "curate" the coverage to provide proper context -- presumably the same reason the closing ceremony will follow suit.

"We think it's important to give context to the show," said NBC Sports chair Mark Lazarus before the start of the Rio Games. "These opening ceremonies will be a celebration of Brazilian culture, of Rio, of the pageantry, of the excitement, of the flair this beautiful nation has. We think it's important that we are able to put that in context for the viewer so that it's not just a flash of color."

More skeptical critics, however, think the network's main motivation is to have these broadcasts fall entirely within prime time viewing hours.

Regardless, you won't be seeing Sunday's closing ceremony live.