NBC Marks One Year to the 2016 Rio Olympics

NBCUNIVERSAL CELEBRATES ONE YEAR OUT FROM 2016 RIO OLYMPICS ON AUGUST 5

Company-Wide “Road Block” of 60-Second Olympic Promotional Announcement to Air across 18 NBCU TV Networks This Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT
50+ NBCU Websites to Stream Promo, Display Banner Ads or Produce Olympic Editorial Content
TODAY and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt Correspondents Will Report Live from Rio

Stamford, Conn. – August 3, 2015 – This Wednesday, August 5, marks one year out from the start of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. NBCUniversal will celebrate the occasion with a host of promotional and editorial initiatives that span the company’s unprecedented portfolio of broadcast, cable, digital, regional, local, radio, and theme park assets.

“This will be the most extensive one-year-out marketing effort ever for an Olympic Games,” said John Miller, CMO, NBC Sports Group, and Chair, NBCUniversal Marketing Council. “We will use NBCUniversal’s far-reaching media platforms on August 5 to light the torch for our 2016 Olympic Games marketing efforts. Although the Games are a year off, this is a fun way to begin the process of raising awareness for what promises to be a spectacular Olympics in one of the world’s most spectacular cities.”

Following is a rundown of some of the one-year-out initiatives being executed across NBCUniversal on August 5:

NBCUNIVERSAL

Road Block: At 8 p.m. ET/PT, NBCUniversal will execute a promotional “road block” by showing a 60-second Olympic announcement across all of its 18 broadcast and cable networks, including NBC, Telemundo, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, and others.

Digital Content: With more than 50 websites at its disposal, NBCUniversal will digitally display one-year-out promotional and editorial content. Most websites will stream the 60-second Olympic promo, display banner advertising, and/or dedicate editorial content consistent with the site’s brand. See below for NBCSports.com’s plans.

Social Media: Numerous NBCUniversal social media accounts will spread one-year-out messages across the most popular social media destinations, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many more. The hashtag #RoadToRio will be used across the NBCU social portfolio.

E-Blast: NBCUniversal will blast a one-year-out email to numerous constituents, including broadcast and cable affiliates, advertisers, and consumers.

Affiliates: Olympic beach balls were sent to NBC affiliates to allow their local morning news anchors to preview the upcoming celebration that will air on TODAY (see below). The affiliates will also run short promotional announcements, Olympic editorial coverage, and social media content.

Theme Parks: NBCUniversal theme parks — Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort — will both run the 60-second Olympic spot on the large screens at their Universal CityWalk locations.

USOC: NBCUniversal will work in coordination with the United States Olympic Committee, which also has an extensive one-year-out promotional plan. The USOC will also utilize NBC Sports’ 60-second Olympic promo.

NBC SPORTS GROUP

Golf Channel: With golf’s return to the Olympics after a more than 100-year absence, Golf Channel will celebrate one-year-out with an extended Morning Drive (7-11 a.m. ET), which will feature a live press conference at 9 a.m. ET from the PGA TOUR’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational focusing on the sport’s return to the Games. Interviews and a roundtable discussion moderated by Morning Drive co-host Gary Williams will follow, with several PGA TOUR players participating, including Matt Kuchar (United States), Anirban Lahiri (India), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Henrik Stenson (Sweden), as well as LPGA Tour players expected to qualify and represent their country. Golf Central (6-7 p.m. ET) will take an in-depth look at the Olympic golf course and qualifying process, and will include an interview and dedicated feature on Gil Hanse, the Rio Olympic golf course architect.

NBC Sports Digital: NBC Sports Digital will devote extensive coverage to the one-year-out celebration with video, pictures, graphics and long-form stories. NBCSports.com’s OlympicTalk will publish stories on the possibility that this could be the curtain call for both Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt; on emerging athletes; the top five showdowns to watch; and which athletes and teams have already qualified for the Games.

NBC SportsWorld, NBC Sports Digital’s website for long-form content, will publish a story on Vanderlei Cordeirode Lima, the Brazilian bronze marathon medalist at the 2004 Athens Games who was attacked a few miles from the finish line by a spectator. NBCSports.com writer Nick Zaccardi connected with Cordeiro de Lima about the incident, being awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship, and about his home country hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.

In addition, the holding page for NBCOlympics.com will host the 60-second Olympic spot that will air across all 18 NBCUniversal television networks. The site will activate a Rio-specific re-launch in 2016.

NBC Sports Regional Networks: NBC Sports Group’s 10 regional sports networks, which reach 43 million homes nationwide, will participate in the NBCUniversal “road block” and air the 60-second Olympic promo.

NBC Sports Radio: Numerous NBC Sports Radio programs will cover the one-year-out celebration with athlete and NBC Sports commentator interviews. An audio promotional announcement is currently running across the network.

NBC NEWS

NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Miguel Almaguer will report live from Rio as he tours the Olympic Park and numerous venues.