Fans of the upcoming Beijing Olympics will be able to access a widget that will help them access the schedule for their favorite sports, wherever they consume their media..
According to Sarah Hofstetter, vice president of emerging media for 360i, NBC's digital agency, the widget. referred to as the "results and schedules" widget, was designed by the networks' in-house digital media group. But the challenge then became getting the tool into the hands of fans. 360i is assisting with that, bringing the tools to the attention to, for example, fans of Kobe Bryant. Those bloggers should be interested in viewing the U.S. men's basketball contests, but need help finding out whether the telecast is on the broadcast network or one of its cable siblings, she noted.
The job of 360i is to figure out "where the potential audience is hanging out and reaching them," said Hofstetter. By providing the widget to multiple bloggers, fans don't have to go to "the mothership," NBC's Olympics web portal, she said, which will spread out the traffic.
The viral effort has already resulted in some pick-ups at such blogs as