NBC Olympics to Offer Temporary Streaming Pass for Rio

NBC Olympics said it will offer a temporary pass to consumers as NBCUniversal and its stable of networks prepare to deliver 4,500 hours of streaming coverage at NBCOlympics.com and via the NBC Sports app during the Summer Olympics from Rio.

Though full access to the TV Everywhere site and app will require MVPD credentials, NBC Olympics will provide a temporary pass that will offer 30 minutes of coverage prior to authentication on the first visit, and five minutes each subsequent day.

NBC Olympics noted that, for the first time, it will stream coverage of all nine NBCU Olympic networks (broadcast nets NBC and Telemundo; and cable channels Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, NBC Universo, and USA Network). If a competition event is not televised by one of those networks, coverage from it will be streamed online through NBC Olympics’ utilization of the feeds provided by the host broadcaster, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS).

Connected TVs are also being added to the streaming mix, as NBC Olympics will support authenticated access on Amazon Fire TV devices, the Apple TV, Chromecast adapter, Roku platform and Win10.  All OBS streams will also provide video overlays that provide synchronized data for streaming on desktops, mobile devices and tablets.

NBC Olympics will produce two digital-only programs -- Gold Zone with hosts  Andrew Siciliano and Tanith White; and Daily Dismount, with White, Jonathan Horton and Courtney Kupets) – and a social-focused, short-form video series called Ever Wonder, with hosts Julie Donaldson and Jenna Corrado.

NBC Olympics noted that Streaming will bepowered by Playmaker Media, the live and on-demand streaming service recently launched by NBC Sports Digital, in partnership with Adobe, Akamai, Microsoft, iStreamPlanet, and Comcast Wholesale.

NBC Olympics is also providing some next-day coverage of the games in 4K, and will also mix in 85 hours of virtual reality coverage from the event.