Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From PyeongChang: As Streaming Numbers Soar, Connected Devices are the Breakout Star for NBC Olympics

23/02/2018

Live From PyeongChang: As Streaming Numbers Soar, Connected Devices are the Breakout Star for NBC Olympics Enhanced Viewing Experience adds informative, interactive touch to digital device UI By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, February 22, 2018 - 2:39 pm

Print This Story

Despite the worries regarding the dramatic time zone shift coming into these Winter Games [PyeongChang is a full 15 hours ahead of EST], NBC Olympics in the U.S. has blown its streaming numbers out of the water.

For the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app have already tripled the amount of live streaming events it saw at the 2014 Sochi Games.

In numbers reported by NBC Sports (which it attributes to Adobe Analytics), viewers logged a whopping 1.31 billion live streaming minutes on NBCOlympics.com and through the NBC Sports app as of February 18. That number already tripled the same total metric from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and with more than a week to spare. In addition, there was 11.6 million uniques as of the same date, which is up 174% from Sochi (4.3 million).

Things are going well. But outside of the natural growth in usership of authenticated live streaming apps over the past four years, what's the deal? In the eyes of execs at NBC Olympics, the key reason for the explosion in digital viewers is Connected TV. Devices like Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire none of which, mind you, even existed during the last Winter Olympic Games are providing an easy to navigate environment and a lean-back experience on one's home television screen.

We've been blown away by Connected, says Rick Cordella, EVP and GM, Digital Media for NBC Sports Group. Historically, the Olympics have seen our primetime' audience come in around noon on a weekday when everyone's taking their lunch break. Now it's shifted with Connected TVs where we are mirroring what [linear] TV is seeing. So, our peaks are at night in primetime, they're on Saturday and Sundays, and we have a large number of people streaming tape-delayed coverage on NBCSN, which has never happened before.

Rick Cordella, EVP and GM, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group says connected TV device usage has been a boon to this Olympics' streaming numbers.

Cordella noted that the app experience on a phone or laptop is great for viewing on the go but tends to deliver shorter use times. Through the Connected TV devices, users are more likely to throw an event on their big screen and consume content for longer stretches.

If you think about the different platforms: desktop and mobile, he says, you seek out content. You know it's there, you know what you want to watch, you want to go find it, you watch it, and you're done. Now we're seeing the sort of lean back experience of TV with all the connected devices. Like I mentioned, we had a few hundred thousand people watching NBC's taped coverage on a Sunday afternoon. We're saying wow, never seen that before.' That's been the big change.

Delivering the Experience

For all of its international rightsholding broadcasters, the IOC's host broadcaster, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) produces a white label version of a live streaming app that can be taken and directly delivered to consumers. Major broadcasters like NBC Sports, however, choose instead to take OBS's package of APIs (application programming interface) and SDKs (software-development kits) in order to plug the live streaming video and event data directly into its own existing app. The obvious benefit of that is that many viewers may already have the NBC Sports app on their device and the network wins with the branding and exposure that comes with pushing new users to a primary app. Plus, the friction to get a user to download a new app for a two-week event is tremendously high and a broadcaster loses all of that valuable user data when the event is over with a one-off white label app.

A big thing for us was the Super Bowl was just three days prior [to the start of the Olympics], says Cordella. So you have all these new people coming in and downloading the [NBC Sports] app. We obviously had an enormous audience for the Super Bowl and we actually have seen a pretty good crossover of that audience back with us at the Olympics. I think it really benefited us having that happening just three days in advance.

On the backend, NBC Olympics' live streaming experience is a product of NBC Sports' Playmaker Media and its technology partner iStreamPlanet. More than 75 staffers work through the night in Stamford, CT at NBC Sports' facility to support and QC the technology of the live streaming product.

Plus, the Olympics aren't happening in a silo for NBC Sports. It's other properties, including the NFL, NHL, and Premier League, all continue to test the infrastructure's capabilities on a nightly basis.

It's all still powered by the same technology stack, says Eric Black, Chief Technology Officer of NBC Sports Digital and Playmaker Media. Its really just a balance of volume and, frankly, overnights since our staff is largely here [in Stamford] from 8 p.m. ET on. The volume and the concurrency of what we're doing is pretty on-par with what we see on most of our weekends. The difference is its every night for 17 straight nights. That's where the challenges lie.

Enhancing the Experience

Users may have noticed a few new enhancements to this Olympics' streaming experience. NBC Sports is calling it Enhanced Viewing Experience as the network leverages its archived media assets and data feeds coming in from OBS to provide a more informative and interactive UI.

During the Primetime Show viewers are welcomed with a slate of information, including a rundown of the events and athletes to be featured that night. Chr
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2018/02/22/live-from-pyeongchang-as-stream...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

03/02/2026

Cobalt Targets Need for Multiple Video Feeds with openGear 9905MPx Multi-Channel Processor

9905MPx Card features unprecedented level of density with four independent signa...

03/02/2026

Cobalt Wins Three 2021 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards

Champaign, IL - November 15, 2021 - Cobalt Digital, announced today that three of its products have received 2021 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. Cobalt, ...

03/02/2026

LOG4J Does Not Affect Cobalt Digital Products

Cobalt is pleased to confirm that Log4j vulnerability does NOT affect ANY Cobalt products including the HPF-9000 frame. Given the recent concerns regarding wi...

03/02/2026

Cobalt Digital's Launch of +UDX-Dante-1616 Introduces First License-based 12G-SDI Bridge to Dante Audio

Software-based embedding and de-embedding solution will be highlighted at NAB 20...

03/02/2026

Cobalt to Show New Line-up of EO/OE 12G Mini-Convertor BBG Boxes at NAB

Series developed to fill an industry need. Champaign, IL April 13, 2022 Cobalt Digital will introduce a new series of BlueBox Group (BBG) EO/OE 12G mini...

03/02/2026

Cobalt Takes Home Four Awards from NAB 2022

Company receives Best in Shows from Next TV and TVB Europe, and two Product of the Year awards from NAB Champaign, IL - May 6, 2022 - Cobalt Digital Inc. head...

03/02/2026

Cobalt to Participate in Several Events in and Around IBC 2022

IBC Stand 10.B44Journalists: Click to visit Cobalt Dr. Ciro Noronha, CTO, tapped as a panelist and speaker by many - and then there's the party! Amsterda...

03/02/2026

Company Announces Changes in Sales and Engineering Team Just in Time for IBC

IBC Stand 10.B44Journalists: Click to visit Cobalt Growth Drives Cobalt Digital to Promote Dr. Ciro Noronha to CTO, and Appoint Anthony Tan as Director of Sale...

03/02/2026

Cobalt Targets Top Trends at NAB NY with Solutions that Support IP, 4K ST 2110, HDR, RIST, Dante and Internet Security.

IBC Stand 10.B44Journalists: Click to visit Cobalt Dr. Ciro Noronha, CTO, tappe...

03/02/2026

Cobalt is Bringing an Award-Winning Portfolio of New Products to CABSAT 2023

Manufacturer plans also include solutions that provide a path to the cloud and redundancy updatesCABSAT Stand S1-I42Journalists: Click to visit Cobalt Dubai - ...

03/02/2026

Cobalt Announces Presence at ANGA COM 2023

Award-Winning Product Portfolio is Being Presented on Smart Video Group Stand, and Company's Berend Blokzijl is Scheduled to Share RIST Insight on Innovatio...

03/02/2026

COBALT Announces an IBC Line-up that Features IP Products and Extends 12-G Support Options

NEW Location IBC Stand 10.F42 Same Hall, NEW StandJournalists: Click to visi...

03/02/2026

TVBEurope: Understanding the RIST series of Specifications

TVBEurope spoke with our very own Dr. Ciro Noronha about RIST and more.Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) is growing in popularity for contribution and d...

03/02/2026

IBC 2023: COBALT has 12G Covered with Multiple openGEAR Cards and New Form Factor Solutions

NEW Location IBC Stand 10.F42 Same Hall, NEW StandJournalists: Click to visi...

03/02/2026

Catch the COBALT WAVE of New Routers and Control Panels at IBC

NEW Location IBC Stand 10.F42 Same Hall, NEW StandJournalists: Click to visit CobaltCatch Cobalt's Blue WAVE of Innovation in a New LocationHighlights t...

03/02/2026

COBALT Scores Best of Show Awards at IBC 2023

Cobalt Digital Scores Best of Show Awards at IBC 2023 from TVB Europe and TV Technology Amsterdam, 2 October 2023 - Cobalt Digital has announced that it has w...

03/02/2026

COBALT DIGITAL at NAB New York 2023 Booth 1126

NAB NY Booth: 1126Cobalt Digital to Present New PACIFIC Ultra-Low Latency 4K HEVC Encoder / Decoder Platform at NAB NY 2023Cobalt's NAB NY Plans Have Live P...

03/02/2026

COBALT Announces Inter BEE Product Line-Up

Cobalt's Inter BEE Line-up Targets 4K 2110 Processing with INDIGO Option and Offers High-Density Routing Solutions with New WAVE SeriesNew Mini Converters a...

03/02/2026

NAB 2024 Preview - Booth SU4027

Cobalt Digital's NAB 2024 Plans Include a Simplified Path to ATSC 3.0 Other Highlights include Enhanced IP Multiviewers, Expanded Router and Control Panel ...

03/02/2026

COBALT Shows New openGear Solutions at NAB

Featuring a Simplified Path to ATSC 3.0, Significant Support for ST 2110, and a New DANTE Embedder/De-Embedder with Frame SyncWAVE family of routers and expande...

03/02/2026

COBALT DIGITAL Receives Trifecta of Awards at NAB

Company adds two 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year awards and one Best of Show from TV Tech to long list of accolades Las Vegas, NV - April 24, 2024 - Cobalt ...

03/02/2026

Josh D'Amaro Named Next CEO of The Walt Disney Company

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/02/2026

BeckTV and Ross Video Expand Ravens LED Display System fo...

BeckTV, a premier systems integrator for the broadcast media industry, and Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, have partnered once ...

03/02/2026

MeyerPro Helps Keep Microsoft Ignite Signals Live with AJ...

Audiovisual (AV) solutions provider MeyerPro has a long legacy of delivering exceptional live event productions. The Pacific Northwest-based outfit has served c...

03/02/2026

Riedel Connects Live Surgery and Medical Professionals at...

At the Vienna Interdisciplinary Symposium on Aortic Repair (VISAR), Riedel Communications' Managed Technology Division delivered a turnkey technical infrast...

03/02/2026

Limecraft Update 2026 Version 1 Adds Greater Control plus...

Limecraft today announced the release of Limecraft 2026.1, the first platform update of the year. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform that enables co...

03/02/2026

Nielsen To Launch Co-Viewing Pilot Program Beginning With Super Bowl

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/02/2026

PGA TOUR, DraftKings, ESPN Expand Betcast To 12 More Events

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/02/2026

IAB Launches Project Eidos To Modernize Ad, Marketing Measurement

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/02/2026

NBCUniversal and Roku Launch the NBC Winter Olympics Experience

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/02/2026

Berklee Alumni Recognized at the 2026 Grammy Awards

Berklee Alumni Recognized at the 2026 Grammy Awards Winners took home trophies in nine categories, including Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Songwriter o...

02/02/2026

SBS's High-Flying Drama The Airport Chaplain casts Hugo Weaving alongside The Pitt's breakout star Shabana Azeez

SBS's High-Flying Drama The Airport Chaplain casts Hugo Weaving alongside Th...

02/02/2026

CALL TO PARTICIPATE AT THE SERIES MANIA FORUM 2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), in partnership with the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), is calling for applications from experienced Sou...

02/02/2026

Inside the Avionics That Make Artemis II Possible: How L3Harris Units Drive the Space Launch System

Photo Credit: NASA. Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion Spacecraft rollou...

02/02/2026

ESPNs deal for NFL Network Gets Regulatory Approval

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/02/2026

Hewshott Entering New Era as Daniel Lee Transitions to G...

Hewshott, an industry leading global AV, IT, Theatre, and Acoustics consultancy firm has completed a global transition with current UK Managing Director, Daniel...

02/02/2026

Public Media Management Names LTN as Technology Partner f...

Public Media Management (PMM) today announced LTN as the technology partner for PMM Cloud, its new managed, cloud-based master control solution purpose-built fo...

02/02/2026

Big Academic Investments in Virtual Production Fuel Adoption

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/02/2026

Audiences Can Expect Seamless Viewing From Milan-Cortina

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/02/2026

NBC Olympics Will Take Audio to New Heights in Milan-Cortina

Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/02/2026

XR Acquires Telly Traffic to Bolster UK Advertising Opera...

XR, the leading platform powering advertising operations, today announced the acquisition of Telly Traffic, a UK-based business affairs specialist with nearly t...

02/02/2026

Big Blue Marble Becomes Launch Partner for the AWS Europe...

Big Blue Marble, a provider of broadcast-grade, cloud-native video solutions for broadcasters, service providers, and content owners, has become a launch partne...

02/02/2026

Mahindra launches XUV 7XO as Indias first vehicle with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, redefining the future of in-car...

February 2 2026, 20:30 (PST) Mahindra launches XUV 7XO as Indias first vehicle ...

02/02/2026

Bergerac S2 teaser released, ahead of return to U and U&DRAMA in Spring

Teaser available to view HERE Damien Molony as Jim Bergerac Ahead of the hotly anticipated return of Bergerac to U and U&DRAMA in the Spring, a teaser has bee...

02/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz reshapes mid-range market with new 44 GHz FPL spectrum analyzer and 40 MHz real-time analysis

Rohde & Schwarz reshapes mid-range market with new 44 GHz FPL spectrum analyzer ...