Countdown to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games

NBC has partnered again with Microsoft to create NBC Olympics on MSN, the most comprehensive source for round-the-clock on-line coverage of the upcoming Winter Olympics, featuring exclusive access to exciting competition video from Vancouver.

The site follows on the companies’ ground-breaking digital success from the Beijing Games which won a 2008 Sports Emmy. MediaWeek Magazine called it “a sweeping success” and the Los Angeles Times said it “re-wrote rules for media in the future”. More than 50 million fans used its mobile, VOD, and online platforms and watched over 600 million minutes of video.

NBC Olympics on MSN is live now and kicks into high gear on November 4, when the countdown to the Opening Ceremonies hits 100 days. In the weeks leading up to the games it will have full coverage of Winter Olympics news from Vancouver and from national teams as well as athlete bios, event schedules, and information about the sports and venues of the Vancouver Games.

Then once the Games begin on February 12, 2010, the site will be the only place to go online to watch competition video. It will be promoted via prominent links on the MSN homepage as well as the MSN Video homepage and across the MSN network. Additionally there will be a number of cool custom Olympics features in Bing, including Olympics Instant Answers in web search results, featured placement in Bing Video Search and enhanced browse functionality powered by Bing Visual Search and Bing Maps.

NBC Olympics on MSN will again be powered by Microsoft's Silverlight technology to present HD-quality video and offer DVR-style controls and enhanced navigation. Winter Olympic fans will be connected to the Games like never before, with features like “Olympic Pulse," spotlighting blogs and Tweets from athletes and NBC Olympic experts and social tools integrated within the video player. The mobile platforms will be significantly enhanced, including targeted alerts as well as a custom smartphone application, and integration into the MSN Mobile homepage.

There’s a lot more in the works from both NBC and Microsoft – stay tuned for further details in the coming weeks!

Geoff Fischer

SR. CHANNEL MANAGER, MSN SPORTS