NBC announced two significant technology partnerships with Microsoft and Wavexpress today to provide 2008 Olympics coverage over the web. The new initiatives embody a natural evolution for Olympics coverage considering the times—but they're available only to users of Vista or Silverlight.
Powered by Wavexpress' TVTonic Internet video service and client, NBC Olympics on the Go will allow owners of Media-Center-capable Windows Vista PCs (that's Home Premium and Ultimate) to download "up-to-HD" coverage on a sport-by-sport basis. Users can chose from a number of channels in Wavexpress' TVTonic client that NBC's coverage of the Beijing Games will be categorized into, and the NBC Olympics on the Go client will be able to access event coverage roughly 12 hours after an event ends. Ars Technica confirmed with Wavexpress that users will not be able to keep downloaded coverage indefinitely, though videos will remain playable at least for the duration of the games.
In addition to going Vista-only for this downloadable Olympics coverage, NBC will be cross-promoting the MSN brand on NBCOlympics.com and featuring Olympics coverage prominently on MSN.com. As Bill Gates announced at CES back in January, all video at the NBC Olympics site requires Silverlight, Microsoft's rich web application and video streaming technology that competes with Adobe's market-dominant Flash. Microsoft's been pushing Silverlight pretty hard lately, and if a lot of consumers don't have a reason to install it yet, the Beijing Games in August should be a good a reason as any.
"Over the past 20 years, we have continually expanded our coverage of the Olympics to new platforms as they have become available, and the Beijing Games will mark another milestone," said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics, in a press release. "By teaming up with MSN and Microsoft, we can give both the core fan and casual consumer of the Olympic Games an amazing online experience, combining high-quality video with the storytelling and analysis that we're known for. We chose to partner with MSN and Microsoft," Zenkel continues, "because technologies such as Silverlight help us deliver the kind of next-generation online viewing experience that will change the way the Olympics is experienced for millions of fans in 2008."
Providing summer Olympics coverage in a downloadable format like this is a natural evolution for NBC. For the 2004 Olympics, all the buzz was about the sheer amount of coverage NBC would be broadcasting (over 1,200 hours in total), as well as the introduction of over 300 hours of HD coverage from NBC and its affiliates. With NBC Olympics on the Go, consumers will have a convenient new option for bringing Olympics video footage with them, though the coverage will be sandboxed to PCs—and then just the ones running compatible versions of Vista.
As far as portable media players are concerned, "We are not addressing portable players with this service," Wavexpress told Ars Technica. "NBC has other distribution outlets for other platforms and types of experiences." NBC has yet to make any announcements for those hoping to bring 2008 Olympics footage in something more portable like an iPod, Zune, or PlaysForSure-compatible device.
