NBC is our Olympic network here in the States and whether you like their coverage is another story. But as the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver are fast approaching, NBC is going to be making a big promotional push when the 100 day mark to the Olympics hits next week. Yes, the Olympics are just over 3 months away. Here’s NBC Sports’ press release on their plans on the big push that begins on November 4.
NBC UNIVERSAL’S “COUNTDOWN TO VANCOUVER” BEGINS NOVEMBER 4Initiative Begins 100 Days from Vancouver Olympic Winter Games and includes Programming, Primetime Roadblock, Web Launch & Show Debut
Nightly Program and More Than 1,200 Hours of Coverage on Universal Sports Follows Athletes in Pursuit of Olympics
NEW YORK, October 26, 2009 -- On Wednesday Nov. 4, the date that marks 100 days from the Feb. 12 Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, NBC Universal will launch its "Countdown to Vancouver," an all-encompassing initiative that features Olympic-themed programming and promotion across all of the NBC Universal networks, more than 1,250 original hours of pre-Olympic winter sport competition, the launch of the Vancouver version of NBCOlympics.com and, for the first-time ever, a nightly show that follows Olympic hopefuls as they compete and prepare for the Vancouver Games.
"This initiative is a key element in building momentum towards the Vancouver Games," said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. "The 'Countdown to Vancouver' will live and breathe on Universal Sports with more than 1,200 hours of Olympic sport coverage and a nightly show leading up to the Games that gives Americans the opportunity to follow their U.S. athletes as they prepare to live their dreams of being Olympians."
The "Countdown to Vancouver" begins Nov. 4 when the Today show features Olympic athletes and demonstrations. The nightly show at 10 p.m. ET, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon will all feature Olympic athletes during the 100 days leading to the start of the Vancouver Games. MSNBC, CNBC and The Weather Channel will also feature Olympic-related content in the 100 days of the "Countdown to Vancouver." NBC's 235 stations and affiliates will feature Olympic stories and promotion for the "Countdown to Vancouver."
PRIMETIME ROADBLOCK: In the 8 p.m. ET/PT hour on Nov. 4, there will be a "Countdown to Vancouver" primetime roadblock across all NBC Universal networks featuring Vancouver Olympic hopefuls Apolo Ohno (short track speed skating), Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing), Shaun White (snowboarding), Gretchen Bleiler (snowboarding) and Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto (figure skating) in a one-minute Vancouver Winter Olympics promotional spot set to the music of Matisyahu's "One Day."
"COUNTDOWN" INCLUDES 1,250 HRS OF WINTER OLYMPIC SPORTS: The "Countdown to Vancouver" includes an unprecedented 1,250 original hours of pre-Olympic competition on NBC Sports, Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com, including, for the first time ever, the entire World Cup skiing, speedskating, short track speedskating, snowboarding, bobsled, luge and skeleton seasons as well as key competition in ski jumping, freestyle skiing and cross country skiing and the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series on Universal Sports and the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in primetime on NBC Sports. This will allow viewers to follow the stories of the world's greatest winter athletes as they compete for the honor of representing their country at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. The "Countdown to Vancouver" on NBC Sports and Universal Sports will follow the athletes whose stories will captivate America during NBC's live coverage of the Vancouver Games in February, as they travel the world competing in International competition in advance of the Vancouver Games.
The 100 days of the "Countdown to Vancouver" features U.S. Olympic stars scheduled to compete in numerous competitions broadcast on NBC Sports and Universal Sports including two-time world champion Vonn (alpine skiing) competing in 14 events; five-time Olympic medalist Ohno (short track speed skating) competes in six events; Olympic gold medalist Shani Davis (speed skating) competes seven times; and Olympic gold medalist White (snowboarding) three times, world champion Evan Lysacek (figure skating) and Olympic silver medalists Belbin & Agosto (figure skating) compete in five events. For a detailed schedule of all the events go to: UniversalSports.com/Schedule.
UNIVERSAL SPORTS' "COUNTDOWN TO VANCOUVER": The "Countdown to Vancouver" show on Universal Sports, now available in 56 million homes, will debut on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/PT with a one-hour Vancouver Olympics preview show. Vignettes highlighting Olympic hopefuls will continue each day and, starting Dec. 1, Universal Sports will present a nightly show that will continue through Feb. 12, 2010, the day of the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver. "Countdown to Vancouver" will originate from Universal Sports' Los Angeles studio and will include Winter Olympic sport news and highlights, as well as analysis, features, interviews and guests from the world of Olympic sport.
The program, "Countdown to Vancouver" will air on Universal Sports each night at 8 p.m. ET starting Dec. 1 to provide highlights of the more than 1,250 hours of Winter Olympic sport coverage in the "Countdown to Vancouver" on NBC Sports, Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com.
NBCOLYMPICS.COM: Throughout the 100 Days, NBCOlympics.com and UniversalSports.com will feature a "Countdown to Vancouver" clock in addition to content that builds on NBC Olympics ground-breaking digital success from the Beijing Games which MediaWeek Magazine called "a sweeping success" and the Los Angeles Times said "re-wrote rules for media in the future" when more than 50 million fans used its mobile, VOD, and online platforms. For Vancouver, Olympics fans will again find the most comprehensive round-the-clock coverage on-line and on mobile.
NBCOlympics.com on MSN, will again be powered by Microsoft's Silverlight technology to present H-D quality video and offer DVR-style controls and enhanced navigation. Other site features include photo slideshows with "deep zoom" functionality and more than 200 "local" Olympic websites providing localized coverage of athletes from a user's hometown.
Winter Olympic fans will be connected to the Games like never before, with features like "Olympic Pulse," spotlighting tweets and blogs from athletes and NBC experts and social tools integrated within the video player. The mobile platforms will be significantly enhanced, including targeted alerts as well as a custom smartphone application, and users will be able to embed an NBC Olympics widget.
And coming up starting in December, I’ll be posting some videos of
past Winter Olympics TV coverage.
