STAMFORD, CONN.—Many athletes are likely to set new records during competition at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but NBC Olympics plans to set its own high mark in terms of streaming. The broadcaster has announced that it will stream 4,500 hours of content, including live streaming of all competition; TV simul-stream coverage of nine TV networks; streaming to connected TVs; two apps, two digital-only programs, and an active news desk.
“Our goal is to provide ready access to every second of every event through our digital platforms,” said Rick Cordella, senior vice president and general manager, digital media, of NBC Sports Group.
NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will offer live-event and TV simul-stream coverage of all 34 sports for authenticated pay TV subscribers via TV Everywhere. Streaming will be available through desktops, mobile devices, tablets and connected TVs.
Streaming of coverage from all nine NBCUniversal Olympic networks will also be available. These include NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, NBC Universo and USA Network. If an event is not television on one of these networks, it will be available online, per NBC Olympics.
Additional features include concurrent streams of events that have multiple fields of action, like gymnastics and track and field; temporary pass to allow 30 minutes of streaming prior to authentication on the first visit, and five minutes subsequently; video-on-demand coverage; Spanish-language option for most English-language streams; and closed-captioning in English.
NBC Olympics will also have the “NBC Olympics: Rio News & Results” app. In addition to its namesake, the app will feature video highlights, TV listings, medal standings, dedicated sections for each sport, Team USA and international athlete bios, and the “Primetime Companion” feature, which serves as a second-screen tool for NBC’s primetime coverage.
There will also be a pair of digital only offerings. “Gold Zone” curates coverage of live events depending on importance (i.e. gold medal, overtimes). “Daily Dismount” offers daily post-event coverage of gymnastics. “Ever Wonder” is a social-focused, short-form video series NBC Sports Digital will offer on the curiosities of the Olympics. A digital news desk will also be available with hosts Julie Donaldson and Jenna Corrado.
As previously announced, NBC Olympics will also offer virtual reality coverage of the Games through Samsung VR gear.
NBC Olympics streaming is powered by its Playmaker Media service.
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio will take place from Aug. 5-21.
Read more about how broadcasters are covering the Rio Games at our Live@TheRioOlympics social media hub.
