NBC to live-stream all sports from London Olympics
Major policy shift reverses network's emphasis on prime-time TV ratings over Web viewers, The New York Times notes.
NBC is taking a big step with this summer's Olympics that is sure to please Internet viewers.
Reversing an earlier policy, the network is expected to formally announce tomorrow that all 32 sports at the Olympic Games in London will be streamed live at NBCOlympics.com, The New York Times reports.
"Whatever is on schedule that day, if cameras are on it, we'll stream it," Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media, told the paper. "The hot topic is always, 'Why don't you show all your sports live?' We wanted to take care of that."
The move represents a major about-face for the TV network. During the 2008 Games in Beijing, it was NBC's intention to ensure high TV ratings by not making high-profile events available on the Internet until after they had been seen on TV. That sometimes meant events weren't available on either TV or the Web until hours later, after the results had been widely reported. During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, only hockey and curling were streamed live.
However, to preserve some of its prime-time punch, NBC won't archive the events on the Internet until after they have aired on TV. That means you either catch it live on the Internet or you wait until NBC broadcasts the event on TV.