From NBC, this announcement that cable and satellite TV subscribers can now verify to gain access to the 3,500 hours of live streaming at NBCOlympics.com. Unlike the difficult process for March Madness, this process is much simpler. All you have to do is click on your cable or satellite provider, use your existing online credentials to sign in and you’re all set.
March Madness seemed to take 20 minutes to get in. NBCOlympics has streamlined the process to authenticate.
Here’s the press release from NBC describing what you have to do to log in and ensure you’ll be able to watch the world feeds of all the Olympic sports.
CABLE, SATELLITE & TELCO CUSTOMERS CAN VERIFY SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW TO ACCESS 3,500 HOURS OF LIVE STREAM OLYMPIC CONTENT THIS SUMMER
Olympic Live Stream content available exclusively at NBCOlympics.com and via NBC Olympics’ mobile and tablet Apps
Customers can also access 14.5 hours of U.S. Olympic Team Trials coverageNEW YORK – June 27, 2012 – The nation’s more than 100 million cable, satellite and telco customers can access 3,500 hours of Olympic live stream content this summer at no additional charge by verifying their video subscriptions now at NBC Olympics Live Extra, the exclusive home of Olympic live stream content at NBCOlympics.com. By verifying now, multi-channel customers can also access 14.5 hours of coverage of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials online. Cable, satellite and telco customers can verify their mobile and tablet devices when the NBC Olympics Live Extra App launches in mid-July.
“NBC Olympics Live Extra will provide cable, satellite and telco customers with access to unprecedented Olympic content via digital, mobile and tablet devices. We have been working closely with our multi-channel partners since the Vancouver Games to develop and deploy the most seamless verification process for their subscribers,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “The Olympics truly represents the ultimate opportunity for the cable/satellite/telco industry to demonstrate the value of TV Everywhere.”
HOW IT WORKS
In order to access more than 3,500 hours of live Olympic programming this summer at NBCOlympics.com, existing cable, satellite and telco customers should follow these verification procedures (note: customers must subscribe to a video tier that includes both CNBC and MSNBC):
1. Go to NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra
2. Click the “Click Here & Get Ready” button
3. Select your cable, satellite or telco provider
4. Enter the username and password that corresponds with your account
5. You are signed in throughout the Games on that device!
Customers with multiple devices should repeat the procedure on each device. There is no additional charge for this service and a customer’s subscription will not be affected. Mobile and tablet users can verify their status when the NBC Olympics Live Extra App is launched in mid-July. For customers who do not have a username and password, they should contact their cable, satellite or telco provider to create one. More information about the process, including contact information for cable, satellite and telco providers, can be found at:
www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help.
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
NBCUniversal and the cable/satellite/telco industry are partnering on a first-of-its-kind marketing campaign to educate customers about the verification process. Click here to watch a video with NBCUniversal on-air personality Carson Daly that explains how to verify (www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help). The spot began airing on cable, satellite and telco systems across the country in mid-June and will continue until the Olympics begin. It will also air as part of NBCUniversal’s Olympic cross-channel marketing efforts and on NBCOlympics.com.
All cable, satellite and telco systems were supplied with digital banners, designed e-mails, bill stuffers and additional communication tools to inform their customers about verification. A sweepstakes with a trip to the London Olympics as a grand prize was also created as an incentive to encourage customers to verify.
There has never been a campaign of this scale dedicated solely to verification.
WHAT’S NEW
Since the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, NBC Olympics has worked with the cable/satellite/telco industry to improve the verification process with innovative technology. Below are some of the new features designed to provide a more seamless experience for the industry’s customers:
- · Cross-Domain Verification: Customers who have already verified their subscriptions with Adobe Pass will not have to re-verify those subscriptions. Their device will recognize their verification credentials and will provide immediate access to NBC Olympics Live Extra’s live stream content.
- In-Home Detection: Some cable, satellite and telco customers will not have to verify their at-home devices because their providers are employing In-Home Detection, which recognizes IP addresses, cross-references their IP address with their cable accounts and automatically verifies their video subscriptions.
- Longer Verification Window: Customers can verify now because NBC Olympics and the cable/satellite/telco industry extended the verification window to 60 days. As long as customers click “remember me” when verifying, they only need to verify on a device once for the entirety of the Games.
- Temporary Pass: For customers who want to watch a live stream event but are having trouble verifying their subscription, a temporary one-time-only pass will be extended for four hours during the Olympic Games. This four-hour pass will allow customers the ability to watch the event they want and verify their subscription at a later time.
NBCOLYMPICS.COM
NBCOlympics.com will live stream every Olympic competition event and sport for the first time ever. In all, the site will live stream more than 3,500 total programming hours, including the awarding of all 302 medals. By comparison, NBCOlympics.com live streamed 25 sports and 2,200 hours for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The vast majority of live streaming will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers. The site will also feature rewinds of all event coverage, a steady stream of athlete profiles, event highlights, a tour of London as the host city, and more.
In another first, NBCOlympics.com will provide multiple concurrent streams for select sports, such as gymnastics (each apparatus), track & field (each event), and tennis (up to five courts). For example, during a session of track & field, instead of viewing only a single feed that moves from event to event, a user can choose to watch a stream dedicated to a specific event, such as the long jump or javelin.
That will do it.
