CTV is set to shift its top U.S. series to its A channels as the Olympic flame flickers round-the-clock on its main network from Feb. 12-28.

Mike Cosentino, SVP of program scheduling at CTV, says converging the current CTV and A schedules was made easier as rival U.S. networks blinked and pulled some top shows from their schedules during the Games, or will air repeats, to avoid NBC’s Olympics buzzsaw.

That allowed CTV to avoid repeats of popular series and stay with simulcasts of Lost, American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy on the A’s, to retain viewer loyalty during the Vancouver Games.

‘It’s not as problematic as it could have been,’ Cosentino says.

CTV is already spared airing NBC series it owns during the Olympics. That opened up slots for other network series on the A’s to resolve conflicts. For example, the A’s air Castle on Monday nights at 10 p.m., which conflicts with a simulcast of CSI: Miami on Mondays in the same timeslot.

But with Gossip Girl off the air on CW during the Olympics, returning March 8, Castle will temporarily move to its Sunday 7 p.m. slot on A.

Elsewhere, Private Practice will shift from Thursdays at 10 p.m. on CTV to Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on the A’s, for a two-day pre-release as it fills a slot vacated during the Olympics’ by NBC’s Law & Order: SVU.

CTV will shift its entire lineup to the A’s on Wednesday nights, including powerhouse hits Criminals Minds and American Idol, as A fare like America’s Next Top Model is off the air until March.

CTV shows will also feature on the A’s Thursday nights, including CSI and Grey’s Anatomy. Programmers avoided a conflict between Grey’s and Fox’s Fringe on A while the latter is on hiatus during the Olympics. Fox is replacing Fringe starting Feb. 11 with Past Life, which the A’s will air Friday night at 10 p.m. out of simulcast.

ABC’s Flash Forward is also on a scheduling break, returning March 4, while The Mentalist will replace Private Practice at 10 p.m. Thursdays.

Beginning March 1, CTV and A will return to their regular schedules. Cosentino says both nets will promote the two-week plan so A viewers can settle back into the normal schedule post-Olympics.

CTV will also stream its popular shows online post-broadcast during the Games in case viewers require catch-up.