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Post by Skaggs on Jan 10, 2006 20:28:02 GMT -5
NBC ANNOUNCES UNPRECEDENTED COVERAGE OF THE 2006 TORINO OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES[/b]
(scroll down a while to see HD info in yellow)
Most Winter Olympics Coverage in History:
416 Hours on NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC,
NBC HD, Universal HD and NBCOlympics.com
Costas, Lampley Lead Talented Announce Team Including Best Olympic Figure Skating Broadcast Team Ever Assembled Featuring Button, Hamilton and Sale & Pelletier
NEW YORK - Jan. 10, 2006 - NBC Universal's unprecedented coverage of the Torino Olympic Winter Games features the most coverage - including the most live coverage - across the most platforms of any Winter Olympics in history when the XX Olympic Winter Games from Torino, Italy commence one month from today, Feb. 10-26. The Networks of NBC Universal, NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC HD and Universal HD will provide 416 total hours of coverage, an increase over the 375.5 hours of coverage on NBC, CNBC and MSNBC from Salt Lake, the previous record for a Winter Games. The Torino coverage will include the most live coverage ever of a Winter Games, despite the six-hour time difference between the U.S. East Coast and Italy, and will feature the most high definition coverage in Olympic television history. Over the 17 days of the Torino Games the Networks of NBC Universal will average 24.5 hours of Olympic coverage per day. The announcement was made today by thingy Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer of NBC's Olympic coverage.
Seventeen-time Emmy Award winner Bob Costas returns as primetime host for the Torino Winter Games, his seventh with NBC Sports and his sixth as primetime host. Costas has won the Emmy Award for each Olympics he has served as primetime host. Jim Lampley will work his 13th Olympics, surpassing ABC's legendary Jim McKay with the most-ever Olympic broadcast assignments for any television commentator. He will anchor NBC's daytime and late night Olympic telecasts in his sixth Olympics with NBC.
For the first time, legendary skating analyst thingy Button joins NBC Universal's Winter Games coverage, co-hosting the newest addition to the NBC Olympic schedule, "Olympic Ice," a unique show on USA Network providing a daily all-access pass inside the Olympic Winter Games' most popular sport - figure skating.
"I am thrilled that we have expanded our Olympic coverage and have assembled the best collection of winter sports broadcasters to tell the many great stories that are expected to unfold in Torino." Ebersol said. "Fortunately our company has continued to grow and create new platforms in which we can bring the Olympics to the viewer, so we can tell as many of these stories as possible."
NBC's Olympic broadcast team has won a combined 19 Olympic medals (11 gold, three silver, five bronze). The NBC Olympic figure skating team alone has won six (five gold and one bronze).
NBCOlympics.com, America's online home of the Torino Games, will provide live results, up-to-the-minute TV listings, breaking news, feature stories and a video intensive digital media experience never before offered by an American television network.
Following are programming and production details by network:
NBC
The NBC network schedule is divided into three dayparts: daytime, primetime and late night, totaling 182.5 hours of coverage (121.5 original hours) over 17 days. Network primetime coverage, hosted by Costas, begins on Friday, Feb. 10 with the Opening Ceremony, and will feature the Winter Games' marquee sports, including figure skating, alpine skiing, speed skating, short track, snowboarding, ski jumping and freestyle skiing. All of the biggest athletes will compete in primetime, including Salt Lake short track star Apolo Anton Ohno, snowboarding champions Shaun White and Lindsay Jacobellis, 2005 alpine skiing world champions Daron Rahlves and Bode Miller and the stars of the Winter Olympics' most popular sport - figure skating.
Tom Hammond will host all of NBC's figure skating coverage with analysts Scott Hamilton, Button and Sandra Bezic and reporter Andrea Joyce. Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist who has earned the moniker "Skate God" in skating circles, will provide analysis for the men's and ladies' competition. Button, the distinguished skating analyst and two-time Olympic gold medalist, will provide analysis for the pairs competition with Bezic, a former Canadian pairs champion and Emmy Award-winning skating choreographer. Button won his first Olympic gold medal in St. Moritz in 1948. His involvement in the Olympics and the sport of figure skating spans seven decades.
"Torino will be the 16th Winter Olympics that I have either competed in, commented on, witnessed or been involved in - and it will be one of the most enjoyable for me because I'll have the chance every night to talk about, or laugh with, or cry over, or marvel at the present state of figure skating," said Button. "My role will be to talk about what's going on in Torino, what's not going on and, most important, what should be going on. It will be the best theatre in town. I wouldn't miss it for anything."
Hamilton and Bezic will provide analysis for the men's and ladies' competition. Tracy Wilson, 1988 Olympic ice dancing bronze medalist, rejoins NBC as analyst alongside Bezic for the ice dancing competition, which will include the top USA duo, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, who won the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships and could become the first Americans to win a medal in this event since 1976. Belbin, who was born in Canada and did not expect to be able to represent the USA in 2006, became a U.S. citizen on December 31, just 41 days before the Opening Ceremony.
Dan Hicks will provide play-by-play on speed skating alongside 1994 Olympic gold medalist Dan Jansen with Melissa Stark reporting.
Ted Robinson provides play-by-play at short track speed skating with two-time U.S. Olympian Dan Weinstein as analyst and reporter Lesley Visser making her NBC debut in her fourth Olympic broadcast assignment.
Julie Foudy, 1996 Olympic gold medalist as the captain and 17-year veteran of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, makes her Winter Olympic debut as a Sports Desk reporter.
Other Sportsdesk reporters include: Lester Holt, co-anchor of NBC's "Today" Weekend Edition, and anchor at MSNBC; award-winning Los Angeles Times investigative journalist Alan Abrahamson; longtime NBC News correspondent Bob Hager; NBC News correspondent Kevin Corke, and NBC News counter-terrorism analyst Roger Cressey.
In addition to the extensive primetime coverage, NBC will also provide daily daytime and late night programming, hosted by Lampley, from Torino. The daytime show will air from 4-5 p.m. ET on weekdays, with special expanded coverage on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 20, and weekends, featuring live coverage. The always-entertaining Olympic late night show will blend additional competition, medal ceremonies, musical performances and, on weekdays, special Olympic editions of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
NBC UNIVERSAL CABLE: USA, MSNBC, CNBC
The extended family of NBC Universal cable networks will present a total of 233.5 hours on USA, MSNBC and CNBC, more than 75 percent of which is live coverage, an increase from the 207 hours on CNBC and MSNBC from Salt Lake. Over 16 days of the Torino Games, the cable networks of NBC Universal will average 14 hours of Olympic coverage per day.
All 54 games of both the men's and women's hockey tournaments will be seen live on the networks of NBC Universal. This will mark the first time in U.S. television history that the entire Olympic women's tournament will be televised. All Team USA hockey games and the gold medal games, both men's and women's, will be broadcast commercial-free and in their entirety. The women's gold medal game will air live on President's Day, Monday, Feb. 20, on NBC. The men's gold medal game will air live on the final day of Olympic competition, Sunday, Feb. 26, on NBC.
"Our hockey coverage is a fan's dream come true, every U.S. game will be seen commercial free and in its entirety," Ebersol said. "Die-hard fans should mark their calendars for Wednesday, Feb. 22. It will be the single greatest day in hockey - all of the game's biggest stars will compete in the men's quarterfinals as the world's eight best teams all face off."
Bill Clement, the former NHL All-Star and "NHL on NBC" host, will host hockey coverage on USA, MSNBC and CNBC, his fourth Olympic broadcast assignment and third for NBC. Ray Ferraro, an 18-year NHL veteran and "NHL on NBC" studio analyst, will provide analysis alongside Clement for men's games. Cammi Granato, a 1998 Olympic gold medalist and 2002 Olympic silver medalist, will work with Clement for women's games. Ferraro and Granato were married in 2004.
Mike Emrick (play-by-play), John Davidson (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (reporter) will comprise the lead men's Olympic broadcast team. Emrick will pair with AJ Mleczko, a 1998 Olympic gold medalist and 2002 Olympic silver medalist, as the lead team on women's games, with McGuire reporting.
Fred Roggin, the sports director at KNBC, will work his fourth Olympics for NBC as host of curling on CNBC's weekday coverage and MSNBC's weekend shows.
A total of 26 curling matches, with 15 matches shown live, will be seen on the NBC Universal cable networks with the highly entertaining team of play-by-play announcer Don Chevrier, analyst Don Duguid and reporter Elfi Schlegel reprising their roles from Salt Lake. Chevrier and Duguid earned critical praise and a cult following as ambassadors of the curiously mesmerizing sport during the Salt Lake Games.
USA NETWORK
USA Network, available in 89 million homes, is the cable home of the U.S. Olympic Team featuring live Olympic coverage in the mornings and afternoons with 101.5 hours of predominantly live coverage of Team USA in the Winter Games' two team sports: ice hockey and curling. All Team USA hockey games, both men's and women's, will be seen live, the majority on USA Network. USA Network will also feature a live curling match 11 of the 12 days of the Olympic curling tournament and live Nordic events. In total, 22 Olympic medals will be determined on USA Network.
Bill Macatee will serve as studio host for USA Network's Winter Olympic coverage.
"OLYMPIC ICE"
The newest addition to the NBC Olympic schedule is "Olympic Ice," a unique programming concept on USA Network providing a daily all-access pass inside the Olympic Winter Games' most popular sport - figure skating. The one-hour program, dedicated to an entertaining mix of breaking news, in-depth analysis and exclusive athlete interviews, will provide the most comprehensive coverage ever of the sport. The show will utilize the unparalleled experience of NBC's skating experts and the unique resources of NBC's production team to provide viewers an inside look into the world of Olympic figure skating. "Olympic Ice" launches the day of the Opening Ceremony, Friday, Feb. 10 and airs nightly through the Games' figure skating competition, 6-7 p.m. ET, on USA Network.
"Olympic Ice" will be hosted by Mary Carillo, her eighth Olympic assignment and fifth with NBC, with Button and Hamilton alternating as co-hosts. Jamie Sale and David Pelletier will serve as analysts on "Olympic Ice."
Sale and Pelletier were at the center of the 2002 Salt Lake judging scandal that eventually led to their shared gold medal, with the Russian pair Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, and a new judging system for the sport. As millions of Americans watched Sale and Pelletier skate in the final, there was a public outcry following the decision to award the gold medal to the Russian pair. Following the investigation that uncovered the judging scandal that shook the integrity of the sport and became headline news around the globe, Sale and Pelletier were ultimately awarded a shared gold medal with the Russian skaters in a ceremony seen by 64 million Americans in primetime. The Canadian pair emerged from the Games with millions of fans around the world for the grace they demonstrated both on and off the ice during the scandal. The week following the Salt Lake Games the pair simultaneously graced the covers of both Newsweek and Time magazines. Sale and Pelletier were married in Dec. 2005.
"Figure skating is a sport with its own subculture filled with behind-the-scenes intrigue, fashion, glamour and tremendous drama," said Ebersol. "'Olympic Ice,' is a unique program with an incredible roster of talent, that will give viewers and the legions of loyal figure skating fans an unprecedented, all-access pass behind the scenes of skating's biggest stage."
MSNBC
MSNBC, available in 85 million homes, will provide 71 hours of Olympic coverage from Torino highlighted by 24 live hockey games, including quarterfinal, semifinal and medal round competition. On weekdays, MSNBC will be "The Hockey Channel" with all day live coverage of the men's and women's tournaments. MSNBC will also provide extensive curling coverage including medal round games. During the 2002 Salt Lake Games, MSNBC nearly quadrupled its rating to a 1.1/793,000 (from a .3/182,000 in Feb. 2001) for its Olympic coverage.
CNBC:
CNBC, available in 88 million homes, will be home to 61 hours of Winter Games coverage from 5-8 p.m. ET on weekdays following the "Closing Bell" and featuring curling, the "cult hit" of the Winter Olympics. CNBC will provide extensive live hockey coverage on weekends. During CNBC's live Olympic coverage during the 2002 Salt Lake Games, the network almost tripled its normal delivery to a 1.0 cable rating/837,000 HH (from a .4/293,000 during Feb. 2001).
NBC HD
The Torino Games will feature the most high definition coverage in Olympic television history. For the first time, Olympic HD viewers will see a simulcast of the analog broadcast - same time, same broadcasters, same graphics - but in High Definition and in 5.1 surround sound.
Figure skating, hockey, long and short track speed skating, ski jumping, freestyle aerials and moguls, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will all be broadcast in 1080i high definition because those venues in Torino are wired for high definition coverage by the host broadcaster. From those venues where the host broadcaster is unable to provide a high definition signal, a 16:9 signal will be upconverted by NBC.
Your local NBC affiliate's digital channel will carry the high definition simulcast of the network coverage.
UNIVERSAL HD
Since USA, MSNBC and CNBC, like most cable networks, do not have high definition platforms, Universal HD, NBC Universal's high definition cable network, will carry a live simulcast of much of the cable coverage, featuring Olympic hockey like it has never been seen before.[/color]
TELEMUNDO
Telemundo, NBC Universal's Spanish-language network, will provide regular news updates, including a late night Olympic highlight show from Torino following NBC's Olympic late night show. Jessi Losada and Edgar Lopez will host Telemundo's Olympic highlight show with Leti Coo and Mara Montero reporting.
NBCOLYMPICS.COM
NBCOlympics.com, America's online home of the Torino Games, will provide live results, up-to-the-minute TV listings, breaking news, feature stories and a video intensive digital media experience never before offered by an American television network. NBCOlympics.com also will track performances of hometown Olympic athletes and cover local interest stories through 213 unique "Olympic Zones," Olympic sites produced in partnership with NBC affiliates. In addition to local programming information, the Olympic Zones will offer a multimedia experience including video from reporters in Torino. Through a new partnership, NBCOlympics.com will also be offered to the millions of monthly visitors to ESPN.com.
"For each of the past three Olympics NBCOlympics.com has redefined online event coverage," said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. "Through compelling video, up to-the-minute searchable schedules and listings, live results, blogs, athlete profiles, games and much more, we'll take fans closer to the athletes and games than ever before."
The site will feature extensive video including the runs and routines of all top athletes and produce highlight packages of the action for key games. NBCOlympics.com will be the only U.S.-based web site providing real-time, comprehensive results searchable by day, sport, event and athlete.
The Interactive Viewers Guide, traditionally one of the most trafficked portions of the site, will be even more important with the expanded coverage. Viewers will be able to sort the listings by sport, network, day and time, as well as search by keywords such as athlete, team or country. The TV listings will reflect the most up-to-date programming information. Site visitors who enter their zip code will receive localized listings that reflect the exact programming available from their local NBC affiliate, including digital affiliate channel locations for high-definition viewing or NBC Universal cable stations.
NBCOlympics.com will offer comprehensive blogs bringing the Olympic Games to site visitors. The blogs will draw upon NBC's Olympic commentators, producers, researchers and more, for the best news, photos, videos and information from the Games. Jacob Serino, friend/RV driver/chef/European sidekick of U.S. Salt Lake gold medalist Bode Miller, will blog for NBCOlympics.com through the Games as his friend Bode looks to capture alpine skiing gold in Torino. Also blogging for the site will be Olympic gold medalists and NBC commentators Picabo Street, Scott Hamilton, Dan Jansen, Cammi Granato, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
NBC began its online coverage of the Olympic Games in 1996 during the Atlanta Olympics. That Internet presence was dramatically increased in 2000 during NBC's Sydney Games coverage and again in Salt Lake in 2002 where the NBC web site became one of the web's most trafficked and critically acclaimed sports Internet sites. During the Athens Games, NBCOlympics.com earned critical acclaim and attracted 13.8 million unduplicated visitors, smashing the previous record for Summer Olympics Web site traffic. The 13.8 million visitors on average spent nearly 10 minutes on the site. More than seven million people turned to the NBCOlympics.com site for their television listings.
VIDEO ON DEMAND
For the first time ever, NBC Universal will make Olympic video available Free On Demand during the Games. VOD content will feature more than 12 hours of coverage including daily 10-minute highlight videos and ten one-hour figure skating programs on participating cable and satellite systems, recapping the previous day's competition. Before the Games begin, free On Demand video will feature 21 programs, each approximately five minutes in length, including previews of many of the U.S. athletes expected to compete in Torino.
TV GUIDE CHANNEL
TV Guide Channel is providing both analog and digital navigation tools. TV Guide Channel, available in 80 Million homes, will feature Olympic previews and content that guides viewers to the multiple platform coverage throughout the day and night and an interactive program guide navigable directly from the menu screen in 7 million digital cable homes.
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Check NBCOlympics.com and NBCUMV.com and for detailed listings and additional programming information. Listings updates will be available on NBCOlympics.com during the Games.
A complete list of NBC commentators for the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games follows:
HOSTS
Bob Costas - NBC Primetime Host
Jim Lampley - NBC Daytime Host - NBC Late Night Host
Bill Clement - USA, MSNBC & CNBC Hockey Host
Bill Macatee - USA Network Host
Fred Roggin - USA, CNBC & MSNBC Curling Host
Mary Carillo - USA Network "Olympic Ice" Host
thingy Button - USA Network "Olympic Ice" Co-Host
Scott Hamilton - USA Network "Olympic Ice" Co-Host
COMMENTATORS:
ALPINE SKIING
Play-by-Play: Tim Ryan
Analyst: Todd Brooker
Reporters: Stever Porino, Lewis Johnson
BIATHLON
Play-by-Play: Len Berman
Analyst: Chad Salmela
BOBSLED
Play-by-Play: Bob Papa
Analysts: Carol Lewis, John Morgan
Reporter: Bob Neumier
CROSS COUNTRY
Play-by-Play: Al Trautwig
Analyst: Paul Robbins
Reporter: Dwight Stones
CURLING
Play-by-Play: Don Chevrier
Analyst: Don Duguid
Reporter: Elfi Schlegel
FIGURE SKATING
Play-by-Play: Tom Hammond
Analysts:, Scott Hamilton (men's, ladies), thingy Button (pairs), Sandra Bezic (men's, ladies, pairs, ice dancing), Tracy Wilson (ice dancing)
Reporter: Andrea Joyce
FREESTYLE SKIING
Play-by-Play: Steve Podborski
Analyst: Trace Worthington
Reporter: Robbie Floyd
MEN'S HOCKEY
Play-by-Play: Mike Emrick, Kenny Albert, Dave Strader
Analysts: John Davidson, Brian Hayward, Peter McNab
Reporters: Pierre McGuire, Joe Micheletti
WOMEN'S HOCKEY
Play-by-Play: Mike Emrick, Kenny Albert, Dave Strader
Analysts: AJ Mleczko, Joe Micheletti, Peter McNab
Reporter: Pierre McGuire
LUGE
Play-by-play: Bob Papa
Analyst: Duncan Kennedy
Reporter: Bob Neumeier
SHORT TRACK
Play-by-Play: Ted Robinson
Analyst: Dan Weinstein
Reporter: Lesley Visser
SKELETON
Play-by-Play: Bob Papa
Analysts: Carol Lewis, John Morgan
Reporter: Bob Neumeier
SKI JUMPING
Play-by-Play: Matt Vasgersian
Analyst: Jeff Hastings
Reporter: Tim Daggett
SNOWBOARDING
Play-by-Play: Pat Parnell
Analyst: Todd Richards
Reporter: Tina Dixon
SPEED SKATING
Play-by-Play: Dan Hicks
Analyst: Dan Jansen
Reporter: Melissa Stark
SPORTS DESK REPORTERS
Julie Foudy
Lester Holt
Alan Abrahamson
Bob Hager
Roger Cressey
Kevin Corke
Lindsay Czarniak
Otis Livingston
Craig Hummer
TELEMUNDO
Hosts: Jessi Losada, Edgar Lopez
Reporters: Leti Coo, Mara Montero
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Post by dkennedy on Jan 11, 2006 5:28:24 GMT -5
NBC U Sets Olympics Lineup
January 10, 2006
Multichannel News Release
With USA Network taking a prominent role, NBC Universal will combine to present 416 hours of coverage of the XX Winter Olympic Games from Turin, Italy, next month.
NBC, MSNBC, CNBC NBC HD and Universal HD will also provide images and commentary Feb. 10-26.
The programmer’s total is up from the 375.5 hours NBC, CNBC and MSNBC offered from the 2002 Games, held in Salt Lake City.
All told, cable services USA (101.5 hours), CNBC (61 hours) and MSNBC (71 hours) will combine for 233.5 hours -- 14 hours daily -- more than 75% of which will be live, according to NBC U officials. Four years ago, MSNBC and CNBC offered 207 hours from Salt Lake.
For its part, the “Peacock” will present 182.5 hours (121.5 original hours) in daytime, primetime and late-night over the 17 days.
USA will serve as the cable home of the U.S. Olympics Team, with live coverage in the mornings and afternoons. Much of its action will focus on hockey, curling and Nordic events.
Moreover, USA will air a new program, Olympic Ice, described as an all-access pass inside the figure-skating competition. The show, scheduled from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. (EST) daily, will serve up breaking news, analysis and athlete interviews.
On weekdays, MSNBC will be "The Hockey Channel" with all-day live coverage of the men's and women's tournaments. MSNBC will also provide extensive curling coverage including medal-round games.
During the 2002 Salt Lake Games, MSNBC nearly quadrupled its rating to a 1.1 household rating and 793,000-household average, compared with 0.3/182,000 marks the previous February.
CNBC’s coverage will feature curling and air weekdays from 5 p.m.-8 p.m., following Closing Bell. CNBC will also provide extensive live hockey coverage on weekends.
During CNBC's live Olympic coverage during the 2002 Salt Lake Games, the network almost tripled its normal delivery to a 1.0 cable rating/837,000 from a 0.4/293,000 during February 2001.
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Post by dkennedy on Jan 11, 2006 9:16:33 GMT -5
NBC's Broadcast Of The 2006 Torino Winter Games To Be Infused With Dolby Digital Surround Sound
January 11, 2006
Broadcastbuyer.tv News Release
NBC and Universal HD plan to broadcast the Torino Olympic Winter Games in February 2006 in HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound throughout the US.
NBC will use Dolby E technology to transport the multichannel audio signal from Torino to its New York and Los Angeles broadcast centers. Millions of US viewers with HDTV receivers and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio systems will experience the full excitement of the games as if they were sitting in the front row.
Dolby has long been a supporter of NBC's broadcasts of the Summer and Winter Games. For the coming games, Dolby will provide multiple encoders and decoders for NBC's use at individual venues, at the International Broadcast Centre in Torino, and at NBC's US broadcast centers. A Dolby engineer will be on-site in Italy to support the equipment installation and to provide expertise in multichannel audio mixing and encoding throughout the events.
"Dolby Digital 5.1 with the high-definition video will provide our HDTV viewers with the most dramatic broadcast experience possible," said Dave Mazza, Senior Vice President, Engineering, NBC Olympics. "We also really appreciate the support we get from Dolby to make sure things sound the best they can and run smoothly throughout the entire production."
"From the drama of the Opening Ceremony to the grinding of skates on the ice, Dolby Digital 5.1 will allow viewers to feel close to the action in Italy, even while sitting at home in their living rooms," said Tom Daily, Marketing Director, Dolby Laboratories.
NBC will broadcast all events produced in high-definition video with Dolby Digital 5.1. These events include the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey, ski jumping, aerials, freestyle skiing, and much more. These events will be produced with 5.1 channels of audio at the venue. Engineers then will encode the program into Dolby E for transmission from Torino to the US. NBC HDTV affiliates throughout the country will receive the multichannel audio signal from the network and perform the final encoding into Dolby Digital 5.1 for broadcast to viewers.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio will also be available on the Universal HD cable network. Viewers of NBC's standard analog service, as well as of the cable networks USA, MSNBC, and CNBC, will also enjoy surround sound in the Dolby Pro Logic II format.
Dolby Digital delivers mono, stereo, or up to 5.1 discrete channels of surround sound: Left, Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, and Low-Frequency Effects (LFE). Dolby Digital is the audio standard for North American digital television and digital cable systems. It is an optional audio format for most digital video broadcast (DVB) applications worldwide, including North American DBS systems. Dolby E is a compression technology designed for network distribution of up to eight channels of audio, plus metadata, in the space of two traditional audio channels.
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Post by dkennedy on Jan 20, 2006 7:56:30 GMT -5
A Winter Olympics Tailor Made For The HDTV Couch Potato
NBC devises a way to televise Games 24.5 hours a day
January 20, 2006
By David Bauder, Associated
Pasadena, Calif. — There aren't enough hours in the day to watch all the Winter Olympics coverage that NBC and its cable partners are serving up.
Seriously.
Even if you want to watch someone hurtling headfirst down a mountain or actually know what the biathlon is, it's impossible to see it all live. NBC's planned 416 hours of coverage (including the broadcast network and cable outlets) from Turin, Italy, averages out to 24.5 hours a day.
“We are reinventing the clock,” said David Neal, executive producer of NBC Sports.
The Winter Games open Feb. 10 and competition stretches for 16 days after that. NBC executives are privately trying to downplay ratings expectations, given that Olympics on U.S. snow and ice — like Salt Lake City in 2002 — tend to draw more interest. But they're hoping a strong United States team will spike the TV turnout.
“The thing that our viewers will immediately notice each day is the strength of the U.S. Olympics team,” Neal said. “It's the most accomplished Winter Olympics team that the U.S. has ever fielded.”
It's not like NBC is going to wrap itself in a flag and ignore accomplishments of foreign athletes, but it helps if there are more competitions with a national rooting interest, he said.
For the winter Olympics to really take off for NBC, it requires some kind of story, some personalities that intrigue viewers. Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan won't be around this time, but Michelle Kwan is continuing her quest for skating gold.
And American skier Bode Miller introduced himself to the world away from snow-covered mountains with his “60 Minutes” interview on CBS admitting he has skied after drinking.
“I'm waiting for my thank-you card from my good friend (NBC sports boss) thingy Ebersol for picking out a star for the Olympics and promoting him so well,” joked CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus.
NBC's prime-time coverage will feature high-profile sports like figure skating, skiing and snowboarding. And, because Turin is six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, those competitions will be taped instead of shown live earlier in the day.
That's an increasing risk in a wired world — even NBC's Olympics Web site will provide up-to-the-minute results — but Neal said research shows viewers want to watch those sports when it's most convenient to them.
NBC has assembled a veteran, familiar announcing corps, led by prime-time host Bob Costas. Daytime and late-night host Jim Lampley is working his 13th Olympics, surpassing the record set by ABC's Jim McKay.
New to NBC's team is longtime skating analyst thingy Button, a 1948 gold medal winner. He'll join Tim Hammond, Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic and Andrea Joyce in talking over the skating competition.
During the figure-skating competition, the USA Network will air a one-hour show at 6 p.m. EST called “Olympic Ice,” providing news, analysis and interviews on the sport.
USA, MSNBC and CNBC will provide many hours of coverage — USA and MSNBC during the day and CNBC for three hours in the early evening after the stock market closes.
“For the first time in the Winter Games, every session of every sport will have at least some coverage,” Neal said.
That includes, for diehards, a numbing 26 curling matches — 15 of them shown live.
All 54 games of the men's and women's hockey games will be shown live, mostly on the cable networks. All games involving the U.S. teams will be shown commercial-free. Gold medal games for the men and women will be shown on NBC.
The Spanish-language Telemundo will offer Olympics news updates and a late-night highlights show. NBC's digital channel will offer a high-definition simulcast of the NBC coverage, although not of anything on USA, MSNBC or CNBC.
NBC promises relatively few new technological twists. A yellow line, similar to those shown to mark the first down on football games, will be used in ski jumping to show the mark an individual skier needs to win a gold medal.
The network has also improved its virtual graphics that allow it to superimpose the image of another skier racing down the mountain next to a competitor, to show how their runs compare to each other, Neal said.
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Post by dkennedy on Feb 3, 2006 4:58:24 GMT -5
Time Warner Gets Interactive for Olympics
February 2, 2006
By Matt Stump, Multichannel News
About 700,000-800,000 Time Warner Cable digital-cable subscribers in seven markets will be able to track medal counts and view extensive TV listings, biographical information on Olympic Games athletes and other information through their remote controls when the winter Olympics begin next Friday in Torino, Italy.
The trove of constantly updated information will be delivered through an interactive service created by NBC, Time Warner and software supplier Biap Systems Inc.
The Olympic service can be used by subscribers to Time Warner Cable systems in San Antonio, El Paso, Waco, Corpus Christi and Austin, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; and Green Bay, Wis. Biap software is already installed in digital set-top boxes in those seven markets.
For the Olympics, Biap created a software agent that uses the public Internet to ping a central NBC server in New York and downloads up-to-the minute medal-count information and TV listings to the local Biap servers in the seven Time Warner systems.
Gilman said the MSO and NBC will promote the applications in those seven markets to drive usage, and viewer response could dictate whether they expand interactivity for the 2008 Summer Games. “It’s an important first step,” she added.
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Post by dkennedy on Feb 6, 2006 5:14:22 GMT -5
Olympian Effort by TV Guide, NBC
February 6, 2006
Multichannel News Release
Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. and NBC have signed an integrated programming and marketing agreement across multiple platforms for the Winter Olympic Games, which will play out in Torino, Italy, Feb. 10-26.
In addition to extensive coverage in TV Guide’s Feb. 6 issue, other elements that will be on display this month include: TV Guide Channel will incorporate comprehensive tune-in information for Games coverage into its centerpiece segment, Watch This; the network’s on-screen scrolling program listings will showcase a dedicated Olympics area; NBC on-air touts will direct viewers to TV Guide for tune-in data; and TV Guide Interactive, the network’s interactive programming guide, which is available in 14 million digital-cable homes, will feature an NBC Olympics icon that viewers can click on to obtain the most-updated programming information.
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Post by dkennedy on Feb 6, 2006 6:13:57 GMT -5
NBC U’s Olympic Game Plan
Torino Games To Get 416 Hours of Television, Internet Coverage
February 6, 2006
By Matt Stump, Multichannel News
When NBC Universal kicks off 416 hours of multiple-network Winter Olympics coverage from Torino, Italy, this week, the on-demand, interactive TV and broadband platforms won’t be left behind.
In addition to live and taped programming on broadcast and cable outlets NBC, USA Network, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC HD and Universal HD, NBC U is producing a great deal of fare for those alternate platforms.
NBC Olympic Coverage
VOD: A daily 10-minute video highlight show plus 10 one-hour programs on figure skating.
ITV: Medal counts, expanded TV listings, Team USA highlights, athlete biographies.
Broadband: Video highlights of top five finishers from individual events, plus highlights from team events.
Source: NBC Universal
10-MINUTE DAILY FEEDS
During the Games, NBC U will provide a daily, 10-minute video highlight of the previous day’s events for its cable affiliates’ on-demand platforms.
There will also be 10 one-hour on-demand programs about figure skating the day after NBC’s primetime coverage of the event.
Prior to the Games, NBC U produced 21 five-minute vignettes on Olympic athletes for on-demand distribution.
The interactive-TV programming — available to DirecTV Inc., Dish Network and Time Warner Cable customers — will allow viewers to track medal counts, access deeper TV listings, follow Team USA and see biographical information on Olympic athletes.
On the Web, NBC U will offer video of the top five finishers from individual events, plus highlights from team competitions after those events appear on NBC U’s broadcast and cable outlets.
The on-demand offering is built around the big ratings magnet: figure skating. “Figure skating is perhaps the most popular Olympic sport,” said Gary Zenkel, president of Olympics.
NBC will take large portions of the 10 nights of figure-skating coverage and package them into a one-hour highlight reel and place it on VOD servers the next day. “We believe there is an enormous appetite for figure skating coverage,” Zenkel said.
ON-DEMAND CHECKLIST
DirecTV, Dish, Time Warner, Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc. have signed up for the in-Games on-demand package, and discussions continue with other cable distributors, Zenkel said.
At the moment, Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, Insight Communications Co., DirecTV, Dish and several smaller cable outlets have taken the free on-demand, pre-Olympics material.
“There will be slight variations across” the DirecTV, Dish and Time Warner offerings, Zenkel said.
DirecTV and Dish subscribers will access the ITV content through multiscreen mosaic portals, which will let them see events across all six NBC U channels at once.
Zenkel said there will be plenty of video on nbcolympics.com, but only after the events appear on the TV networks.
The six-hour time delay between Torino and the East Coast means events shown during primetime hours will have been completed before they air on U.S. television.
“It’s a platform where viewers can relive the great moments they might have missed,” Zenkel said, of the 213 online Olympic “zones” NBC U has created.
NBC also will supply ESPN.com with a two-minute highlights package each day.
OLYMPIC NAVIGATION
Another key feature will be the interactive program guide, he said. “We’ve worked closely with TV Guide Channel as well as many MSOs to create and offer an Olympic TV navigation platform,” Zenkel said.
There will be a digital interactive guide available in about 40 million homes with detailed TV listings, while an analog version of TV Guide Interactive will be on another 80 million TV sets.
The guides will help viewers stay abreast of the program schedule and possible scheduling changes, Zenkel said. Similar TV listings will be available online, updated as events change, he said.
Zenkel promises that some part of every competition will see TV time, as part of the network’s 416 hours of coverage. There will be 24.5 hours each day of HDTV coverage across the channels. In addition to the main NBC HD feed, Universal HD will carry live HD simulcasts of coverage from USA, MSNBC and CNBC, including Olympic ice hockey.
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