305 replies to this topic

[Durban Sandshark]

That ever popular Beijing's Some Olympic TV Updates now has a Vancouver remix for all of us to enjoy!

Let's start with, who else?, our hosts from north of the US border. If you been reading the press release from a couple of years ago after CTVglobemedia obtained the Canadian Olympic TV rights, it was apparent how wide-ranging it will be from CTV to MTV Canada. Now in total that consortium will air an unprecedented (for Canada) 2100 hours from 11 TV outlets, 10 radio stations, and a devoted website. Far more than what the CBC aired for Torino--425 hours. 657 hours will naturally be live throughout Canada on TV and Internet. But the CTV-Rogers gang will air features that will make it like NBC North. On the ctvolympics.ca website, all of the qualifying rounds will air with 14 live feeds in HD with all of the athletes. As we get closer, I'm sure there's more innovation to be had from CTV. Read more from the Toronto Star.

Haven't yet heard much from NBC except, since it's in North America again, everything will be live like the Opening Ceremonies, and coverage will be at morning and night. Internet coverage will definitely be back at nbcolympics.com, though in what new features remains to be seen. I can definitely see HD (the US can't get left behind by Canada in that for the Olympics). How about slo-mo and various camera angles option? Multiple streaming live and on-demand (with commentary)? Any plans for podcastings? Will that Internet 12-hour embargo be in effect like it was with Beijing? Language options like Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, etc.? Since Vancouver's Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be seen live on prime time, how about leaving it alone from commercials? Surely it will be like that online and on-demand? We'll see...

[mr.x]

Great topic!

CTV's coverage is indeed massive, looking to be something like 5x bigger than what CBC provides even for the Summer Games. And I'm quite impressed by the quality and quantity of their pre-Games coverage promotions and advertising, it really looks like they're spending big money on this. If you ask me, it would seem that Beijing 2008 will be the last time CBC will be broadcasting the Olympics.

It would be a dream come true if CTV had commercial-free ceremonies.

And as for NBC, they're sending over a team of 5,000 people.


I believe Foxtel and Channel 6 from Australia will be sending a crew of 50 to broadcast the 2010 Games. Australians will get unprecedented coverage for the Winter Games, 24/7 coverage on 4 channels. Compare that to Channel 7's pathetic 4-hour prime time highlights show for Torino.

[Durban Sandshark]

To assure the French version of CTV's official Olympic website doesn't get ignored, here it is from RDS. Also a more accurate basic description about the CTV-Rogers consortium 2010 Olympic broadcast plans: 2400 hours among the media outlets (that's indeed massive for a Winter Olympics). Everything will be on-demand with features, full events, replays, highlights, and interviews like NBC did with Beijing. Both English and French versions of the 2010 website will be written by the Globe and Mail staff, at least a majority, with the French placing an emphasis on Olympic sports, athletes, and news of interest to them, and both will get phased over five times over the next year with fresher content up to the start of the Games. All of the 14 streams will be concurrent with a mosaic quad-screen mode, even director's cut interviews, exclusive pre- and post-Team Canada hockey coverage, and behind the scenes footage.
Broadcaster Magazine has greater details.

BTW, it's Channel 9 that will do the coverage with FOXTEL in Australia. Let's hope 9 will learn the lessons of 7 when it won't air so many damn commercials at least for the Summer version.

I expect Universal Sports, as it expands into other markets (not yet here in St. Louis), to be a full-fledged family member of NBC Olympic's 2010 coverage.

[YellowVest]

Live coverage of the Roof blowing up

[SpikeyT]

YAY! live coverage of the roof blowing up!!! whoooo hooooo.

You are a moron.

[Durban Sandshark]

Got additional news regarding CTVglobemedia and Rogers Media 2010 Vancouver partnership from Canadian Press;

--Vancouver's media team will involve a staff of 141 people (Calgary's amount of 45 in 1988, the last time it hosted a Winter Olympics)...Vancouver's hours from CTVglobemedia is 2100+ (maybe 2400) compared to Calgary's, also from CTV, 391
--a deal is in the works to get non-Quebec residents to have free cable access to RDS and TQS (a good thing, it should be permanent)
--more extensive and niche access coverage live and on-demand online and TV (every moment) with language reports in not just English and French but Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, Italian, Ojibway, and Portuguese (Spanish and Inuit should be included hopefully later)
--as part of making Canadian Winter Olympians household names in the Canadian public for Vancouver 2010, CTV has those already-mentioned promos profiling Jan Hudec, Melissa Hollingsworth, and Patrick Chan saying "Do You Belive?" with Donald Sutherland narrating. Well, look for that to total 125 in all in these vignettes.
--another thing: many of those athletes will appear in places like MuchMusic discussing things like their fave music artists and at Fashion TV on their shoes or clothes when traveling
--innovative visual graphics, which won't revealed and haven't even been seen and prominent on like ice hockey and alpine sports...but don't see them go too far like glowing pucks (like FOX did) for us Stateside residents who aren't as fervent with hockey than the Canadian

[Durban Sandshark]

Just got an update on the Aboriginal Canadian coverage. HD is no surprise. I would think and expect APTN will devote more hours toward the Aboriginal languages as opposed to granting more to English and French (a majority of APTN's programming is in English), despite having 10 hours daily of the fact both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will get aired in Aboriginal languages. But this is STILL taking shape.
APTN's Vancouver 2010 Diverse Olympic TV Coverage Plans

McDonald's Canada and Royal Canadian Mint secured their sponsorship spots for the CTVglobemedia-Rogers Olympic Consortium

[mr.x]

Thanks for the update! CTV's coverage whallops CBC's.

[Durban Sandshark]

mr.x, on Feb 24 2009, 07:11 PM, said:

Thanks for the update! CTV's coverage whallops CBC's.

It sure will from the looks of it.

Telemundo surely, I expect, will have an expansion of its Winter Olympic coverage in Vancouver from Torino when it was just daily highlights and not live-as-it-happens action or even the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. One it did that the English brethren didn't was air a Winter Olympic preview. Yes, it's very early for Telemundo's Vancouver plans. There have been some Latin/Hispanic Winter Olympians from the US recently like Jenny Rodriguez and Scott Gomez, and that's bound to expand more, so why not expand its coverage and market the likes of them? I just don't know exactly or even project how many hours it will air. Since it's in North America, I expect it will have live coverage. NBC will surely alert us to that and more.

[pax]

NBC also has a new network, Universal Sports, which shows only olympic, and international sports (and is still showing Beijing re-airings) and it wouldn't surprise me if they try for 24 hour coverage on the network.