Sochi

NBC scores with huge online numbers for Olympic hockey, even with cable restrictions

February 21, 2014 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

The combination of some must-see competition — U.S. vs. Canada in ice hockey — led NBC’s Olympic online efforts to a couple days of record-setting numbers in terms of overall viewers. Friday’s men’s semifinal game will go down as one of those watershed moments in online sports viewing, with NBC reporting more than 2.1 million unique users of the network’s “Live Extra” online video. Friday’s totals followed Thursday’s 1.2 million online viewers of the women’s gold medal game between the same two countries.

While several factors probably contributed to the perfect storm of viewership on Friday morning — an important game, during the least important day in the U.S. work week — what makes the more-than-a-Super-Bowl total even more impressive is the fact that if you were watching the game, you almost certainly had a cable TV contract to allow access. While we give credit to NBC for its achievement, we can only wonder how big the online number could have been if NBC had opened up its Olympic online coverage to all viewers, not just those with cable validation.

In the wake of this week’s blockbuster $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook, it’s worthwhile to ask whether or not broadcasters are being too old school when it comes to monetization models for big events like the Olympics. I don’t know the answer to this, but how much money could NBC potentially reap if it tried a WhatsApp pricing model — say, $1 for all Olympic streaming coverage — instead of restricting it to current cable customers? Here’s another idea: How about a streaming channel that shows the prime time coverage, without commercials, without blabbering hosts, available at hours children can watch? Anyone else out there like me who would gladly pay an extra $5 for something like that? Of course, then NBC’s prime time numbers would fall even further than they have already.

So yes, cheer for the massive online numbers. But the fact that just about every big event keeps setting new mobile/online viewer “records” should be a message that there is possibly a bigger untapped audience out there, maybe even far larger than the conventional TV/cable audience. Remember, at the last Olympics WhatsApp barely existed. The current model of sports-content distribution reminds me more of the cellular carriers’ approach to text messaging (remember 10 cents a message?) than WhatsApp’s version. And it’s pretty clear who’s winning that battle. It’s not the team who never saw the competition coming because they played by different rules.

NBC sets online Olympic viewing record

February 18, 2014 by Greg Quick 1 Comment

NBC made a great deal of noise prior to the current Winter Olympics in Sochi talking about how easy it was going to be to watch events live via digital platforms as long as you subscribed to one of its broadcast partners cable or satellite package.

Then after the events started to occur a news blackout apparently went into effect, the network touted its broadcast viewership numbers, which initially were very impressive, but completely ignored the digital data.

I have yet to see a detailed breakdown but they are now providing some numbers that show that the effort to provide different types of viewer access to the Olympics, no real surprise.

So far there has been a total of 5.7 million hours of video viewed across all of the supported digital platforms. Of that total 80 percent has been viewers watching events live. The remaining 20 percent were for fans watching exclusive highlights.

It is kind of surprising as to what, well with maybe one exception, were the top highlights viewed. No medal winners really. They are: 1. Russian speed skater Olga Graf’s wardrobe near-malfunction: 2.6 million views; 2. Russian Police Choir performs Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” in Opening Ceremony: 1.7 million; 3. Luger Shiva Keshavan falls off sled, completes run: 1.5 million.

The Olympics started with record setting broadcast viewership and it is remaining strong for the most part, but has shown signs of weakening, possibly because of all of the news about warm weather and melting snow. However solid events like last weekend’s USA vs. Russia hockey matchup continue to be record setters.

Of course NBC has other concerns at the game as well. Talk has started as to who will replace Bob Costas as host in the future. As you probably know Costas missed some time behind the mike due to a very bad case of red eye. I may be in the minority here but I really do not care too much who is manning the booth for highlights and human interest stories — I just want to see competition.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, Olympics Tagged With: NBC Sports, online video, Sochi, Winter Olympics

NBC’s own Twitter feed ‘spoils’ its live online video stream during Sochi super-G

February 16, 2014 by Paul Kapustka 8 Comments

Screen shot of NBC live stream video with Twitter window to right (click for larger image).

Even though American skiers Andrew Weibrecht and Bode Miller were fast enough to win medals in the super-G Sunday in Russia, it was Twitter outpacing NBC to the finish line during the broadcaster’s live streaming coverage from the Sochi Olympics.

If you were up late in the U.S. watching the live online coverage via NBC’s Live Extra service, you could also see a window with “experts” Twitter feeds to the right of the video screen. As the super-G progressed, and as racers challenged Miller’s once-leading time, you could see race results being tweeted before they were shown via the “live” video. The spoiler effect got some Twitter users and live-stream watchers angry, and they took out their frustrations on the reporters whose tweets were being shown in NBC’s official window.

Uh, no RT @ops1994 you'r tweets are coming in faster then the video feed just wait 1 min to tweet

— Alan Abrahamson (@alanabrahamson) February 16, 2014

In a very unofficial review yours truly has noticed that NBC is jamming a lot more commercial breaks into the online streams than they did at the start of the games — the first night of action I watched online (men’s DH) had very few commercials breaks. The super-G coverage on Sunday/Saturday, however, had numerous commercial inserts, many right before racers were about to ski. There were also some buffering and streaming hiccups, which may be a result of my own connection and not NBC’s fault. Maybe it’s hard to blame NBC for the lure of trying to pump more advertising in; according to NBC press releases that come along almost daily now, the live streams are extremely popular and will probably become more so as the big-ticket events like men’s hockey and women’s figure skating get seriously underway.

Viewers expressing frustration at Twitter feed outpacing video

But at some point during the super-G, because of the ads or because of physics, the Twitter feed on NBC’s page got well ahead of the event, and I had to resort to the full-screen option to keep the Twitter feed from playing spoiler. While we have messages and emails out to the reporters/tweeters and NBC to try and figure out the particulars, we can pretty much guess what happened — NBC probably had no buffer or filter in place at all, and the speed of 140 characters is going to beat video bits (which need encoding to traverse the interwebs) every time.

It is most likely an early-days problem of trying to do something ambitious like live stream every event, an undertaking NBC should be commended for. But with all the resources at its disposal and all its social media savvy, NBC should have forseen this kind of glitch. In this age of reporters tweeting from events there is always the problem of Twitter moving faster than even official broadcasts — but you rarely see a network spoil its own show with official Tweets that move faster than its own “live” video.

For us here at MSR it’s a glitch we can live with, since efforts to stymie the speed of Twitter are as futile as they are worthless. The easy solution will be to restrict or delay the Twitter feed, which will cripple the instant-feedback usefulness of Twitter. More live Twitter and more live video is what we say. But the glitch is also evidence that the desire to blend video and social media on the same viewing page may not always produce the results you are looking for. Maybe better design is the answer?

And sorry if we are playing spoiler for NBC’s prime time show later Sunday but hey, two medals in one race is pretty big news for the U.S. Ski Team, and what a killer effort from the old man Bode. And tying for a bronze — well that’s just a pretty Bode result too. And here’s an Instagram to show the proud teammates posing with the flag after their second- and third-place finishes.

Filed Under: Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, Olympics, Twitter, Xfinity Tagged With: Bode Miller, Live Extra, Live Streaming, Mobile Sports Report, NBC Sports, Olympics, Olympics online, Paul Kapustka, Sochi, super-G Olympics, Twitter

NBC offers (limited) free live streaming as part of huge Winter Olympics online effort

February 6, 2014 by Greg Quick 1 Comment

NBC has a pair of apps that enable live streaming of the XXII Winter Olympics games that will start today and has worked to smooth the way for users with a temporary free pass that will enable them to watch the games prior to proper verifications.

The free viewing time is a bonus one that diminishes the more it is used, but it should be plenty of time for a viewer to go through the verification process while not missing an event, or at least part of an event. Unverified viewers will initially start with a one-time 30-minute temporary pass the first time they start streaming a live event. After that it is just a courtesy, really just showing you what you are missing by allowing 5 minutes of viewing per day for unverified users.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE MAIN NBC OLYMPICS SITE

Campbell Foster, director of product marketing for Adobe Primetime, the infrastructure software being used by NBC for the Olympics online streaming, said that the free verification trials are designed to simply help people watch more sports, faster.

“When you don’t require the [verification] login, the engagement rate is 3x,” Foster said in a phone interview. He also noted that even many paying subscribers either aren’t aware they even have a cable contract password, and if they are aware, many don’t know it. The grace periods, he said, lets people start watching action online while they look up their subscription records, instead of reversing that process.

Two apps: One for live coverage, one for highlights

If you want to watch the games online from a mobile device, here is the official explanation from NBC about which app you want — NBC Sports Live Extra, or NBC Olympics Highlights and Results:

“For the first time ever, the NBC Sports Live Extra app will live stream every Winter Olympics competition. In all, the app will live stream more than 1,000 total programming hours, including all 15 sports, the awarding of all 98 medal events and exclusive event rewinds. NBC Sports Live Extra will also live stream the Olympic content that airs on NBC and the four NBCU cable channels carrying coverage of the Sochi Games — NBCSN, MSNBC, CNBC and USA Network. The app will also feature full event replays, exclusive highlights, events schedules, TV listings, and customizable event alerts.”

And:

“The NBC Olympics Highlights and Results app is the exclusive home for NBC Olympics’ award-winning coverage, including short-form highlights, television and streaming schedules, and NBCOlympics.com columns. The NBC Olympics Highlights and Results app provides real-time official event results, medal winners, interesting facts, team rosters and bios on Team USA Olympians for the most comprehensive coverage of the Sochi Games.” You can find both apps via your respective device app store.

The games, which run from Feb. 6 to the 23, are being used by NBC, in part, of a larger effort to push the idea of TV Everywhere, something that includes mobile digital devices such as smartphones and tablets.

NBC Olympics has, in conjunction with its partners in the cable/satellite/telco industry, enhanced the verification process and added new features in recent days as the games approached. There is now In-Home Verification started on Feb. 6 that enables auto-verification of devices by customers of Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Cox Communications, Cablevision’s Optimum TV and Midcontinent Communications (Midco). It is able to do this because it has the ability to recognize customers’ IP addresses and cross-references those addresses with subscriber accounts.

“If you are using a device on the home network that is the same as your paid TV subscription, you won’t have to log in,” said Adobe’s Foster. “It’s just part of NBC Sports setting the vanguard for a better user experience.”

A second and very interesting feature is the addition of cross domain verification. What this does is accept the registration of customers that had previously verified their subscriptions with Adobe Pass on NBCUniversal network websites and applications.

Overall NBC will be streaming all competition from the 15 sports that are at this Winter Olympics, a total of 98 events. They will be available from either NBCOlympics.com or via the NBC Sports Live Extra app.
To verify follow these simple steps:

1. Go to NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra
2. Click the “Verify Now” button or the “sign in” link
3. Select your cable, satellite or telco provider
4. Enter the username and password that corresponds with your account
5. Upon verification of your subscription to an Olympics-eligible package, you will be signed in throughout the Games on that device. (You must validate each device once)

Additional reporting by Paul Kapustka.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Cisco, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports Tagged With: Cisco, live Olympic events online, live Olympics online, NBC, NBC Sports online, Olympics streaming, Olympics streaming video, Sochi, Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics online

First vote from Sochi is a solid Nyet

February 5, 2014 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

The early results are in from the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the vote is bad for the home team. No you have not missed any events, yet, but rather what you have missed is what looks like are some world class foul ups.

So far most of the complaints have come from journalists, with a few but increasing number of athletes also chiming in. Normally I do not pay much attention to the reporters since some seem to make a living on complaining. Peter King complaining about the good weather at the recent Super Bowl, which apparently ruined his chance to complain about the bad weather, is a good example.

First there is the growing fear of terrorism, something that has gained ground due to some recent bombings in the region. The huge security presence has not allayed that fear to any large degree. The Sherman Report talked to a number of veteran Olympic journalists and it seems to be one of their greatest concerns.

Then there are the more mundane issues mostly around the state of the facilities. I imagine that at most Olympics there are always a few details that get overlooked. However I do think having a hotel room with no door knob on your room door, running water or the ability to flush toilet paper in the toilet falls into that category. More than one person has reported that it appears that during the day when they are absent their rooms are used by the hotel staff for other purposes.

However there have been a huge number of pretty funny tweets on the subject, including people willing to trade light bulbs for a door knob and another saying that the hotel staff recommended not drinking the water because it was poisonous. Then there is the great pillow shortage as well.

I suspect once the events kick off no one will have time for complains as most reporters cover multiple events in a day and as long as the event remains safe this will be the last we hear about hotels with no lobbies, at least until after the closing ceremonies. Still do you think this is what Putin had in mind when he won the Olympics and proclaimed that Russia is ready for the Olympics?

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Humor, Kissing Suzy Kolber, Olympics, Outdoor Activities Tagged With: Sochi, Winter Olympics

Variety of apps to support the Sochi Olympics

February 3, 2014 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

NBC’s broadcast of the Olympics should be boon to its online and streaming viewership, even though this is something that the network has made available for some time. As with many apps and capabilities users often only discover them when looking for specific tool or event.

There are a surprising number of apps available for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics that will be held in Sochi starting later this week. They range from simple calendars to one that will be showing live events.

Actually this is probably not surprising but then it’s hard to say why you would want something aside from the one that is available from NBC Sports, the official broadcaster of the games. Aside from the fact that the app, NBC Sports Live Extra, is from the broadcaster it was hardly just conceived for the Olympics.

The app also provides live sports events that air on NBC, NBC Sports Network and the Golf Channel so that over the course there will be IndyCar, the PGA Tour, Premier League Soccer and the NHL to name just a few.

We have already mentioned most of the features of the app as it pertains to the Olympics but it’s good to mention that there will be 1,000 hours of live streaming video with some replay on demand capabilities. It is free to use with select caveats.

However if you are looking for different functionality there are plenty of options starting with the U.S. Olympic team’s official app. It details who has made the team, links to athletes’ social media and an up-to-date following of how they do.

Another general purpose sports app, this one with a more international flavor, which will have a special focus on the Winter Olympics, is BBC Sports. It will have live coverage of events at the games and can be used to follow a wide range of International sports.

An interested app is the Sochi 2014 WOW (Wireless Olympics Works) that comes from Samsung Electronics, one of the major sponsors. The app is customizable so that a user can have it focus on their specific interests. Not too surprising is that it is also optimized for Samsung devices.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, BBC, English Premier Soccer League, Golf, Golf Channel, Indy 500, iOS, iTunes, Kindle, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, NHL, Olympics, PGA, Samsung, Smartphone, Soccer, Social Media, Stanley Cup Tagged With: BBC, Live sports via mobile, NBC, Samsung, Sochi, Winter Olympics

NBC scores with huge online numbers for Olympic hockey, even with cable restrictions

NBC sets online Olympic viewing record

NBC’s own Twitter feed ‘spoils’ its live online video stream during Sochi super-G

NBC offers (limited) free live streaming as part of huge Winter Olympics online effort

First vote from Sochi is a solid Nyet

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