Medvedev said 'no' to time change

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MOSCOW, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev discouraged reinstating daylight saving time even though lucrative broadcast rights for the Olympics are at stake.

While he was president, Medvedev decided Russia should abandon daylight saving time, meaning that during the winter many people wake up, go to school and work and return home, all in the dark, The New York Times reported Friday.

If daylight time is not reinstated, the airing of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics would be off by at least an additional hour compared to the rest of the world. This is a particularly significant difference for much of the rest of Europe, which would be either 2 or 3 hours behind Russia during the Games, the report said.

The closer the two times, the better for broadcast rights in Europe worth billions of dollars if the Games are broadcast during prime time, the Times reported.

"The government finds a new correction of time in the current period unadvisable," Medvedev said, preferring to preserve the change he made in 2011.

The International Olympic Committee said it has not officially asked President Vladimir Putin to reinstate daylight saving time, but did ask Russia's Olympics planning team to consider the issue.