SVG IP Production Forum: NBC Olympics President Zenkel Details Launch of the Olympic Channel
04/03/2017
The IOC launched The Olympic Channel as a worldwide digital platform following Rio 2016 and already offers live and original content to partners throughout the world. However, this summer, NBC, the USOC, and the IOC will launch a year-round linear cable channel focused on Olympic-sport programming with an emphasis on U.S. athletes. The dramatic move, announced in December, becomes all that more intriguing because many in the industry predict the imminent the death of niche cable networks.
NBC Sports' Gary Zenkel: We expect sponsors to be a bit more engaged knowing there is a television distribution platform for all of this content.
Who launches a cable channel in this environment? The answer is, we are going to, Gary Zenkel, president, NBC Olympics and Business, NBC Sports Group, said at SVG's IP Production Forum in Stamford on Wednesday. Strategically for us, in this highly fragmented world, breaking through the fragmentation and individually personalized viewing today and getting people excited about the Olympic Games is harder. So having a vehicle we could utilize to continue to talk about the athletes and the stories that really resonated and then begin to introduce those who are going to be introduced on the Olympic stage, we thought this was an opportunity we should take advantage of.
During his opening keynote conversation, Zenkel revealed that NBC had entered its last cycle of negotiations with large MVPDs with The Olympic Channel as part of the NBC bundle. Although Zenkel declined to reveal the specific number of homes NBC Sports expects to have at the launch of The Olympic Channel this summer (the specific date yet to be announced), he is confident that it will have a sizable subscriber base.
Leaning into a pretty stiff headwind, we went into distribution cycle for NBC and came out the other side at the end of last year with very good results, he said. When we launch this channel [this summer], we will have a very credible tens of millions of homes.
Why Launch a Cable Channel Now?
Although much of the hot-stove conversation around the media industry has centered on the death of cable over the past two years, Zenkel believes a linear cable network is key to the success of The Olympic Channel platform in the U.S.
This is a way to get clearly in front of an audience, said Zenkel. When you are living in the densely populated digital forest, it's not simple to get attention of the audience. When you are a cable channel working with MVPDs and using our promotion muscle, we think we can direct people there. We expect sponsors to be a bit more engaged knowing there is a television distribution platform for all of this content.
NBC Sports' Gary Zenkel (right) in conversation with SVG Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services, Ken Kerschbaumer
However, Zenkel stressed that The Olympic Channel effort is about much more than just a single cable network. Besides the channel, additional coverage of Olympic sports programs will appear exclusively on other NBCU platforms, including NBC, NBCSN, and NBC Sports Digital outlets.
Thinking of this as a single channel is really a misrepresentation, said Zenkel. It's not single channel; it's really a distribution system across NBC networks: the dedicated linear channel, the digital channel - web and app - and then promotional extensions to push out the content being created.
Original Content Is Key
The U.S.-facing cable channel will lean heavily on the stable of original content already being produced by the IOC and OBS (Olympics Broadcasting Services) for the global Olympic Channel. Currently, that channel has more than 25 series produced or currently in production, according to Zenkel, and that is just the first wave of content. This content, along with NBC Olympics' archive and consistent flow of fresh content, will support the live event programming on the U.S. version.
What the IOC is doing in their investment in this endeavor is commissioning the production of a tremendous amount of original content produced by great producers around the world, Zenkel explained. We, through the partnership, will be given access to all that content and take advantage of a lot of the content we have produced. We can intermingle that with a lot of the event coverage.
Looking Ahead to PyeongChang
Following soon after The Olympic Channel debuts, NBCU's coverage of The 2018 PyeongChang Olympics of the Winter Games, which begin Feb. 9, will have no shortage of outlets, given the Peacock's bevy of cable networks and digital outlets. As a result, The Olympic Channel will have little or no live event programming. Instead, Zenkel, noting that NBC is still working out the network's role for PyeongChang, sees The Olympic Channel potentially as a prime destination for viewers looking for deeper analysis of the games.
The live competition programming is more or less accounted for [on other NBCU networks], so the direction we are talking a lot about now is, The Olympic Channel becomes a place where we can talk to athletes, experts, coaches, our on-air talent through the course of the day, he said. It's a place to catch up and get a little more analysis. The afternoon in the U.S. will also be dark, so that's a place where people may drop in to The Olympic Channel, get caught up, and get excited about what's coming up that evening. That's the direction we're headed, but we are not locked into that.
LINK: | http://www.sportsvideo.org/2017/03/03/svg-ip-production-forum-nbc-olym... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
01/05/2024
Roku to Offer NBC Olympics Zone
NEW YORK NBCUniversal and Roku are teaming up to offer the NBC Olympic Zone on Roku, a new destination on the Roku Home Screen Menu. The dedicated channel wil...
01/05/2024
U.K.'s Freely Officially Launches
Freely the new streaming service backed by Britain's leading broadcasters BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 is now available through the next generation of ...
01/05/2024
Study: FAST Channel Growth Accelerates
NEW YORK A new report on free, ad-supported streaming channels indicates that their growth continues to accelerate, with the number of channels hours views and ...
01/05/2024
VuWall Unveils New Capabilities For VuStream 150 Video Encoder
MONTREAL VuWall has enhanced its VuStream 150 H.264 video encoder with new features and capabilities, including support for HDMI signals at resolutions up to 38...
01/05/2024
Samsung TV Plus Announces New High-Profile FAST Channels for Sports
NEW YORK At the IAB NewFronts 2024, Samsung Ads announced a new lineup of premium sports, music, family and entertainment content on its leading FAST service Sa...
01/05/2024
WAPA TV Celebrates 70th Anniversary As #1 Station in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO WAPA TV has announced that it will be celebrating its 70th anniversary on May 1 as the number 1 broadcasters on the island....
01/05/2024
Diamond Sports Group Renews Its Distribution Deal with Cox
SOUTHPORT, Conn. & ATLANTA Diamond Sports Group and Cox Communications have reached a multi-year renewal of their distribution agreement for the continued carri...
01/05/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery Networks Dropped by Fubo
As the NBA playoffs heat up on TNT, Warner Bros. Discovery and FuboTV have been unable to reach a new distribution deal. That impasse forced the vMVPD to drop T...
01/05/2024
Time for NAB Reality Check
Time for NAB Reality Check Andy Marken April 30, 2024 0 Comments Above image source - Allegiant, Summit Entertainment Great leaders don't seek...
01/05/2024
Dream Street Productions Switches Live Corporate Events with ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO
Dream Street Productions Switches Live Corporate Events with ATEM Television Stu...
01/05/2024
lodie Ichter Joins Light Iron as Senior Colorist
lodie Ichter Joins Light Iron as Senior Colorist Brie Clayton April 30, 2024 0 Comments Acclaimed colorist brings global expertise on high-profile pro...
30/04/2024
The Anchor of Our Work at the Native Lab: A Dispatch from Adam Piron
By Adam Piron In anticipation of this edition of the Indigenous Program's Native Lab, it actually dawned on me that this will be our lab's tenth year i...
30/04/2024
Launch of SBS South Asian channel and SBS Spice, a new English language offering for younger South Asian Australians
Launch of SBS South Asian channel and SBS Spice, a new English language offering...
30/04/2024
lodie Ichter Joins Light Iron as Senior Colorist
LOS ANGELES (April 30, 2024) Light Iron, the post-production creative-services division of Panavision, is excited to announce that lodie Ichter has joined th...
30/04/2024
Breadth of Support
Now streaming on Netflix, Good Grief marks the feature-film directorial debut of Daniel Levy, well known as the co-creator and costar of the series Schitt's...
30/04/2024
PBS Masterpiece Sets Third TV Adaptation Of The Forsyte Saga'
The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy's sweeping portrait of a wealthy British family in 1880s London, is getting its third TV adaptation in less than 60 years....
30/04/2024
Clear-Coms Eclipse HX and Agent-IC Technology Illuminate Coverage of Solar Eclipse
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/04/2024
Plex Partners with T-Mobile To Grow Connected TV Reach
CAMPBELL, Calif. Streaming media company Plex and T-Mobile will work together to expand T-Mobile's connected TV (CTV) inventory and advance the connection b...
30/04/2024
Roku, iSpot Launch Expanded Streaming Audience Measurement Partnership
SAN JOSE, Calif. & BELLEVUE, Wash. Roku, Inc. has announced an expanded measurement partnership with iSpot.tv, the cross-platform TV measurement company....
30/04/2024
Paramount+ Subs Hit 71M as Revenue Grew by 51% YoY
NEW YORK As Paramount Global wrestled with management turmoil and ongoing negotiations for a proposed merger with Skydance, the company managed to report improv...
30/04/2024
Cobalt Digital Receives Trifecta of Awards at NAB 2024
Cobalt Digital Receives Trifecta of Awards at NAB 2024 Company adds two 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year awards and one Best of Show from TV Tech to long list...
30/04/2024
arkonas BLADE runner IP Audio Engine Receives Best of Sho...
arkona technologies GmbH, provider of IP core infrastructure solutions for top-tier broadcast productions, has announced that its BLADE//runner IP Audio Engine ...
30/04/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
OpenDrives, Inc., the global provider of software-defined media workflow solutions and data management capabilities, announced today that it has joined the glob...
30/04/2024
dandb group unveils SustainSymphony a ground-breaking clo...
The first norm conform sustainability service dedicated to the needs of the events industry Easy-to-use, intuitive platform for venues, event organisers and su...
30/04/2024
Dejero Smart Blending Technology opens new opportunities...
Dejero GateWay enables Stream7 to create independent internet connectivity at any venue or location, including UK teaching hospital for live streaming of surgic...
30/04/2024
farmerswife and Cirkus to Showcase Cutting-Edge Solutions...
Excitement is building as farmerswife, a leading software provider for resource scheduling, project management, and team collaboration in the media industry, ha...
30/04/2024
XL8 Clears SOC 2 Type II Audit Enhancing Data Security
XL8, a leading deep-tech startup specializing in AI-powered machine translation technology, proudly announces the successful completion of a System and Organiza...
30/04/2024
CABSAT 2024 - Leader and PHABRIX to showcase latest Test...
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, has announced that it will exhibit at CABSAT, which takes place this year from 21-23 May 2024 at the...
30/04/2024
MRMC Debuts Cinebot Max Camera Robot at NAB 2024
MRMC Debuts Cinebot Max Camera Robot at NAB 2024 Brie Clayton April 30, 2024 0 Comments Expands its range of live-action, motion-control camera robots...
30/04/2024
Next Jazz Legacy Announces 2024 Cohort of Women and Nonbinary Awardees
Next Jazz Legacy Announces 2024 Cohort of Women and Nonbinary Awardees The program was created by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender J...
30/04/2024
SES Announces Acqusition of Intelsat for $3.1B
European telecom satellite company SES announced today that it is acquiring rival Intelsat for $3.1 billion. The deal, unanimously approved by both companies...
30/04/2024
Bakish Out at Paramount
Bob Bakish, chief executive of Paramount stepped down on Monday, effective immediately. Bakish, who was a staunch ally of Shari Redstone, controlling shareholde...
30/04/2024
Hotspring unveils Slapshot ML-driven rotoscoping solution
Hotspring said the breakthrough had been achieved through the acceleration of machine learning technology By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 30, 2024 Ho...
30/04/2024
SES to acquire Intelsat in $3.1 billion deal
Speaking about the deal, Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES, said: it will bring value-added, efficient, and reliable offerings for both companies media customers By Je...
30/04/2024
Bob Bakish officially out at Paramount, new Office of the CEO finalising long-term plan'
Paramount said the Office of the CEO is working with its board to develop a comp...
30/04/2024
Gray Television Using NextGen TV to Roll Out Advanced Features Like HDR
LOUISVILLE, Ky. In another sign that broadcasters are finally using NextGen TV broadcasts to offer viewers new features instead of simply simulcasting existing ...
30/04/2024
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame To Honor Blaise Labbe
OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame will induct Blaise Labbe, a group news director for Sinclair Broadcast Group, May 2 at the 54th Anniversary I...
30/04/2024
Cox Media Group, Dish Ink New Multi-Year Agreement
ATLANTA and ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Cox Media Group and Dish have ended a dispute over retransmission fees that lasted nearly a year and a half with a new multi-year ...
30/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision Taps LTN for IP-Based Distribution
Video transport solution provider LTN has announced that it is working with TelevisaUnivision to help the Spanish-language media giant migrate to IP-based video...
30/04/2024
NBC KXAS and Telemundo KXTX Used Clear-Com Solutions for Eclipse Coverage
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has released details about how it played a pivotal role in the seamless coverage of the recent solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 by NBC K...
30/04/2024
Scripps Appoints Seth Walters To Steer CTV Sales Strategy
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company is adding Seth Walters to its sales leadership team as head of CTV sales, effective April 29....
30/04/2024
Durham Bulls Saturday Game, First Sellout of 2024 Season
The force was strong at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Saturday night, April 27, 2024, as the night netted the ballpark's first official sellout crowd of...
30/04/2024
NewFront Life Is a Cabaret for LGBTQ+ Network Revry
Revry, a network celebrating queer culture. said its second annual NewFront presentation will be a cabaret-type spectacle showcasing the spirit of the LGBTQ+ co...
30/04/2024
FETV Viewers Say Howdy' as Wyatt Earp' Joins Lineup
Family Entertainment Television (FETV) said that the Western series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp will be joining the network's afternoon lineup startin...
30/04/2024
Bob Bakish Departing Paramount, According to Reports
Bob Bakish, president and CEO of Paramount Global, will depart the company as Paramount explores a merger, according to numerous published reports. The reports ...
30/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Zola's meeting with Faith takes a nasty turn
Tonight on House of Zwide: Zola's meeting with Faith takes a nasty turnDon't miss Tuesday, 30 April's riveting episode of South African soapie House...
30/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Nhlamulo officially earns an award for lies and deceit
Tonight on Scandal: Nhlamulo officially earns an award for lies and deceitDon't miss Tuesday, 30 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scanda...
30/04/2024
RT All Ireland Drama Festival Schools Playwright Competition 2024 Winner Announced
Congratulations to Amelia O'Donnell from Loreto College, St Stephen's Gr...