On the Opening Ceremonies

This post is late due to the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics that aired last night in the United States. NBC has done an impressive job integrating tech into the Olympics and this post will highlight a few of the ways they are doing that.

First up we have the Olympics apps. NBC created two separate apps, NBC Olympics and NBC Olympics Live Extra. If a viewer is subscribed to a cable provider on a plan that includes CNBC and MSNBC, the Live Extra app allows live streaming of to an iOS or Android device. NBC Olympics, on the other hand, is a companion device for the Olympic broadcasts and includes articles, videos and social features for viewers. NBC Olympics is an attempt to capture the "second screen" dynamic that content providers have been trying to find for some time now. As I have not had the opportunity to fully test the app (the viewing party I attended did not watch the broadcast in real time), I will not provide a review, but I did enjoy the various news related aspects.

Second, NBC pushed social media venues, especially Twitter, by having Twitter handles and hashtags on screen frequently. While not reaching the level the NBA has (Twitter handles on the banners in front of the scorer's table) or the Oscars (Twitter info in the bottom right corner of the screen) the information was up often enough for user's to see it frequently and use it. Again I was unable to follow the conversation in real time, but this type of strategy seems to lead to cohesive buzz surrounding the event over social media outlets.

The most exciting of NBCs tech strategy is it's live broadcasts over the web. While still requiring a cable subscription, it is a step forward in moving all of our entertainment to a webcast format that will allow access to live events and television from anywhere.

 

Andrew

Finished:
The Dragon's Path, Daniel Abraham