Rio balks at NBC request to alter parade

Seeking to maximize its prime-time audience for the Olympics, US television network NBC tried but failed to change the order of the teams in the opening ceremony parade, Brazilian organizers said on Wednesday.

NBC wanted the nations to parade in English alphabetical order instead of in Portuguese, which would have put the US near the end of the Aug 5 ceremony instead of the beginning.

The US, which is accustomed to parading just before the finale, is called 'Estados Unidos' in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil.