NBC Previews the Broadband Olympics

While there won’t be any router relay races, NBC Universal is planning to provide around-the-clock live coverage via three screens – TV, the PC and the handheld device ¬ of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

At a presentation Wednesday at NXTcomm, NBC Universal Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Bob Wright gave the packed audience more than a sneak peak at its content distribution plans for the popular, but often far-flung event.

“New for the Olympics is 2,400 hours of live coverage which includes more than 1,000 hours of live streaming media (covering 24 separate sports) over 17 days,” Wright said. Much of the streamed content will be accessible via a dedicated Web site.

“We’re going for multiplatform coverage,” said Wright, noting that live coverage of the event is challenging when it is hosted in a city located numerous time zones away from Eastern Standard Time. In the past, viewers have complained that their favorite events start too late at night and/or too early in the morning for live viewing, which has hurt TV ratings.

The top content executive is keenly aware that next year’s event could be a perfect fit for time-shifting technologies and video-on-demand.

NBC Universal will show live TV coverage over a series of its traditional network channels throughout the day and evening for those hard-core fans willing to modify their viewing schedule to accommodate an event held half way around the globe.

Wright did not deeply detail the wireless element of the company’s coverage plan for the Olympics, but played a sort of a video promo for its coverage strategy for the crowd.

And while it look as though the content company will have the 17-day event covered, Wright didn’t discuss advertising models for video accessible via the PC or mobile device.

NBC Universal www.nbcuni.com

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