London 2012 Olympic Media Updates

[Durban Sandshark]

I really like all of these CTV/TSN ads--these are already one of my favorite pre-Olympic ad campaigns, up there with NBC's "We Are One" series for the Barcelona Games.

I've been really surprised at the lack of ads and promos so far on NBC. In the Ebersol days, NBC used to start running Olympic promos up to a year in advance of the Games, yet so far I've seen very few ads. The only ones I've seen have been during other sporting events, and I haven't seen any during NBC's primetime shows, not even during The Voice or Smash. I know a lot of the same people are still in place, but I'm a little worried about the quality of NBC's broadcast without Ebersol running the show. The few NBC promos I've seen have looked a bit amateurish, and I would hope the ads and promos will start picking up this month with less than 4 months to go to the Olympics.

Really surprising indeed for NBC to not promote the hell out of the Olympics at this point, given the massive amount of money it paid for the US TV rights. Even the Olympic rings under the peacock didn't appear at the one-year mark to start the promotion. Perhaps Mark Lazarus' way of keeping things on the down low until we get closer like say May, if not the just-starting April and gradually let it cross over, so as not to start any public backlash. Besides, the US Olympic Team is far from complete and partly not to jinx them. When it's close to forming, we can expect the heavy promoting of US Olympians (but it's little harder now than it was in the past, as I alluded to in recent post here). That's for darn sure! Whenever NBC does the Olympics, the summer one especially, it always uses it as a vehicle for promoting big (heavily-promoted) upcoming shows later in the fall. Also, it's part of a sign that the Olympics does not have the same level of cache nationally that it still does outside our borders; for one thing, many of us now have immense competition of networks (not just the rival networks) on digital satelitte and the Internet.

By contrast, I too am a big fan of the CTV/TSN "Believe" promos--you probrably already figured that out. There's a color and an energy that is very well produced. If you noticed, Ellen Page narrates the promos where it's the people in the countries filmed--Canada, Jamaica, Britain, Portugal, Poland, Italy, The Philippines, China, and India--are the stars "believing" in the Olympic spirit and watching the action, and Gordon Pinsent narrates the ones featuring the Olympic hopefuls like Tom Daley, Alexandre Despatie, Mary Kom, and Priscilla Lopes-Schelip--though those athletes don't speak at all like in the Vancouver version and still puts an emphasis on the people watching, reacting, and, yes, "believing". We have yet to see the French ones for RDS and V, but we know they're coming. Perhaps they will come as RDS sets up its You Tube channel.

I know Canadian Sports advised me here not to read too much into these promos, but I can't resist in this case. If you ever paid any attention about Toronto, where CTV's and TSN's headquarters are as part of Bell Media, you instantly would know that it's a very multicultural city with just about everybody from all corners of the world reside in. This city reflects some of those cultures that have sizable populations shown in them: Portuguese (203,000 in the GTA), Chinese (537,000), Italian (470,000), Jamaicans (101,000), South Asians (684,000), a fast- rising Filipino population (172,000), British (1 million?), and Polish (100,000?). Of course, it's something that Canada, especially in Toronto, takes great pride in through all aspects of Canadian life. Might get the Toronto population numbers wrong though.

Speaking of the Canadian coverage, I expect CTV and V will continue the format from Vancouver. That is, give good live look-ins of events aired from the other participating networks and suggest people to go there for fuller coverage. Even more so then than in Vancouver. APTN's, OMNI's, and ATN's team of Olympic sportscasters, like with RDS/V's in Montreal, will more than likely stay in Winnipeg (for APTN) and Toronto for the London coverage. Unless OMNI, APTN, and ATN all each might want to send a reporter to London. I'm starting to think ATN would do it of the three because of the large South Asian population in London.

Did you know that the "We Are One" song dates back to the aborted Moscow 1980 NBC telecast and was brought back for Seoul, when NBC got the Olympic TV rights again and started using it leading up to its first commercial break for its Seoul Olympic preview--the one where the athletes are arriving in Seoul from the airport?

I sensed and hoped we are going to see more hours from NBC Sports Channel for the Olympics. In fact, I was hoping it will go to the 300 hour plateau. Far more than any of the NBCU networks ever did. Obviously, there's got to be some serious overlapping with the networks like it, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bravo. But that should be expected and not to be a problem at all, for there will be several events going on at once. We haven't got into the official, but expected, confirmation of the return of the Olympic Basketball and Soccer Channels. It will also go for VOD, something like with Amazon.com four years ago. With confirmation that all of the US women's soccer games are on it, it would mean we will see NBC Sports, and not MSNBC, open the coverage up with the pre-Opening Ceremony preliminary soccer games. I'm thinking 3am-6pm US CT for the time slots with a little more on weekends. Maybe it will be on all day except for at least two hours to allow time for NBC Sports news program and will allow tape-delayed events. This standing that NBC Sports as THE premier Olympic sports channel for London is all the more confirmed.

Not sure what Meredith Viera would bring for the NBC broadcast of the Opening Ceremony other than familiarity and on-air chemistry with Matt Lauer, who was in Beijing. I liked it that there was a third person--his name escapes me for right now--who was an expert in Chinese culture and history. We know Britain has an illustrious history itself but sometimes we can use an expert there too who knows about the subtle and unfamiliar things about it, even when the UK was ruling the world in all corners it seemed.

Ryan Seacrest in London???? NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he's going to be doing the Olympic concerts in London, okay. Other than that, keep him away! Some may say he's The Antichrist. But I certainly won't go that far.

[Durban Sandshark]

NOS in The Netherlands have their own Dutch Olympic preview show entitled Op Weg Naar Londen #OS12 (On The Way To London #OS12) on NOS's Op 3, on NOS ' youth-oriented and innovative TV channel Nederland 3, featuring Dutch hopefuls like BMX biker Jelle Van Gorkum and trampoliner Andrea (Rea) Lenders. Nederland 3 could be a part of the NOS' Olympic coverage for Londen on their programming plans. I know basketball could be a part of the roster, since a lot of young Dutch would like to see their NBA stars in action, for example. Even some soccer since it airs the UEFA Champions League. The Summer Olympics have been on Nederland 1 and Nederland 2. Was on Nederland 3 for Barcelona 1992. Of course, the Olympics will fall under the NOS Studio Sport banner.

Nederland Radio Audio of Rea Landers' 20 turns and leaps on the trampoline in 10 seconds during a training at Den Bosch:

http://nos.nl/op3/au...aat-het-om.html

Op Weg Naar Londen #OS12 website with videos of Van Gorkum and Lenders:

http://nos.nl/op3/ar...onden-os12.html

European Beach Volleyball Championships will be held this year in The Netherlands. Actually becoming very popular with the Dutch, whom you don't normally associate the sports with:

http://nos.nl/op3/au...ijke-sport.html

Don't look for the Dutch to be among those getting access to the London Olympics on You Tube like the Americans will:

http://translate.goo...%26prmd%3Dimvns

VRT in Belgium kicked off London plans in February with its start of Radio Olympia on VRT Radio 1 that featured the likes of IOC President from Belgium Dr. Jacques Rogge and several Belgian Olympians and legends live in Antwerp for a conversation in front of a live audience as they discuss the issues of the Olympics. Hosted by Ruth Joos and Dirk Gerlo.

http://muziekmuseum....ympia-voor.html

VRT selects Astra3 as its satelitte provider with many of the images from London sent by the EBU to Brussels

http://translate.goo...%26prmd%3Dimvns

[Durban Sandshark]

Contently Australia produced a series of animated TV promos for its third campaign with FOXTEL for its array of on-air and digital channels. In this case, they posess that typical irreverent sense of humour that Aussies are known for and making comparisions about Britain and London for perspective in the Olympic sports they discuss with the general orientation and interesting fun facts in these promos. In other words, something that you would see on a lighthearted kids' show. I'll give you two of my faves to start with on the promos that just hit.

Basketball

Swimming

[Durban Sandshark]

This one just hit from CTV. The Road To London 2012 promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ6I1wP-TS8

Ellen Page's Believe 2012: Jamaica, Italy, British Columbia promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9hudBqVGYQ

[Barcelona_'92]

Really surprising indeed for NBC to not promote the hell out of the Olympics at this point, given the massive amount of money it paid for the US TV rights. Even the Olympic rings under the peacock didn't appear at the one-year mark to start the promotion. Perhaps Mark Lazarus' way of keeping things on the down low until we get closer like say May, if not the just-starting April and gradually let it cross over, so as not to start any public backlash. Besides, the US Olympic Team is far from complete and partly not to jinx them. When it's close to forming, we can expect the heavy promoting of US Olympians (but it's little harder now than it was in the past, as I alluded to in recent post here). That's for darn sure! Whenever NBC does the Olympics, the summer one especially, it always uses it as a vehicle for promoting big (heavily-promoted) upcoming shows later in the fall. Also, it's part of a sign that the Olympics does not have the same level of cache nationally that it still does outside our borders; for one thing, many of us now have immense competition of networks (not just the rival networks) on digital satelitte and the Internet.

Did you know that the "We Are One" song dates back to the aborted Moscow 1980 NBC telecast and was brought back for Seoul, when NBC got the Olympic TV rights again and started using it leading up to its first commercial break for its Seoul Olympic preview--the one where the athletes are arriving in Seoul from the airport?

I think NBC is making a mistake by not promoting the Games more heavily. I think one of the reasons why the Beijing telecast was such a success (in addition to the live coverage) is because NBC starting promoting the Games on August 8th, 2007. They ran the "08-08-08" promos ad nauseum in the year before the Olympics, so it was almost impossible for people to miss that the Games were starting on August 8th. NBC did the same thing with their "2-12-10" promos for Vancouver. People do have short attention spans, but I think starting the promos a year before the Olympics reinforces to people that the Olympics is an important event and if nothing else serves as a reminder that they're coming up.

I had no idea that the "We Are One" song dates all the way back to 1980! I've tried for years to find a copy of that song, but I'm guessing it was written specifically for NBC and not released. Someone uploaded almost all of the promos on YouTube--it brings back great memories to watch them.

[Durban Sandshark]

I think NBC is making a mistake by not promoting the Games more heavily. I think one of the reasons why the Beijing telecast was such a success (in addition to the live coverage) is because NBC starting promoting the Games on August 8th, 2007. They ran the "08-08-08" promos ad nauseum in the year before the Olympics, so it was almost impossible for people to miss that the Games were starting on August 8th. NBC did the same thing with their "2-12-10" promos for Vancouver. People do have short attention spans, but I think starting the promos a year before the Olympics reinforces to people that the Olympics is an important event and if nothing else serves as a reminder that they're coming up.

I had no idea that the "We Are One" song dates all the way back to 1980! I've tried for years to find a copy of that song, but I'm guessing it was written specifically for NBC and not released. Someone uploaded almost all of the promos on YouTube--it brings back great memories to watch them.

I too think NBC is making a mistake in not promoting heavily at this point. The date slogans--08-08-08--are catchy. Possible but not as snappy with 07-27-12. Must have been specifically just for NBC as far as the song is concerned. I did see several of the 1992 Barcelona NBC promos with the "We Are One" song on You Tube after what you said earlier. A couple of them are missing like one for Janet Evans, Gail Deevers (specifcally talking about overcoming Graves' Disease in that one), and possibly Summer Sanders and Dave Johnson.

A correction is in order regarding ESPN Star Sports Asia's Olympic plans. It will not be 680 hours as previously reported. That's more the original and build-up Olympic programming from ESPN Star Sports Asia. It will be 13 channels across the realm. Try 3200 hours with 10 channels out of the 13 HD showing live action! All offered by SingTel's mio TV in Singapore. Gymnastics should be included among those channels as part of a combo. Undoubtably, the most comprehensive Olympic coverage ever in those 22 nations. Going to be a lot. More so than what ASTRO and ARENA ever supplied. Makes you wonder how will ESPN Latin America will deal with the Olympics themselves. I'd say very much the same. The nicely detailed ESPN Star Sports press release:

http://www.espnstar....ase/item774525/

Will SuperSport come up with its original Olympic programming in the leadup to the Olympics catering to the pan-sub-Saharan African market while importing some of the IOC/TWI material like ESPN Star Sports Asia is doing?

All advertising online and mobile media on NBC Universal, not just the Olympics that we will surely get, will come from Free Wheel as part of multiyear agreement:

http://www.marketwat...rsal-2012-04-02

[Barcelona_'92]

In the article about the NBC Sports Network coverage, it said that NBCSN will start to have the Olympic Rings in its logo on April 18th, which marks 100 days to London. Perhaps that's the date that the heavy promotion will start across all of the NBC networks.

[Durban Sandshark]

Perhaps NBC was waiting for Versus to truly become NBC Sports Network AND have it as its Olympic sports network before doing the Olympic rings appeared..

[Quaker2001]

In the article about the NBC Sports Network coverage, it said that NBCSN will start to have the Olympic Rings in its logo on April 18th, which marks 100 days to London. Perhaps that's the date that the heavy promotion will start across all of the NBC networks.

NBComcast has probably been so wrapped up in the re-launch of Versus/NBCSN that sinking its full efforts into Olympic promotion either wasn't possible or wasn't a priority. I think we'll start to see more once Olympics trials season gets in gear, although it is a little disappointing we don't have some sort of weekly program like MSNBC ran in 2008. Remains to be seen how the changeover from having the trials primarily on USA Network to NBCSN takes effect. And remember also that come June 30th, NBCSN gets to one of their bread-and-butter events in the Tour de France which is likely to take up a large portion of their programming schedule the first 3 weeks of July.

I sensed and hoped we are going to see more hours from NBC Sports Channel for the Olympics. In fact, I was hoping it will go to the 300 hour plateau. Far more than any of the NBCU networks ever did. Obviously, there's got to be some serious overlapping with the networks like it, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bravo. But that should be expected and not to be a problem at all, for there will be several events going on at once. We haven't got into the official, but expected, confirmation of the return of the Olympic Basketball and Soccer Channels. It will also go for VOD, something like with Amazon.com four years ago. With confirmation that all of the US women's soccer games are on it, it would mean we will see NBC Sports, and not MSNBC, open the coverage up with the pre-Opening Ceremony preliminary soccer games. I'm thinking 3am-6pm US CT for the time slots with a little more on weekends. Maybe it will be on all day except for at least two hours to allow time for NBC Sports news program and will allow tape-delayed events. This standing that NBC Sports as THE premier Olympic sports channel for London is all the more confirmed.

It was already announced that NBC Sports Network will be the main cable home during the Olympics, including most team USA games. Never was a doubt in my mind they'd take the preliminary soccer matches (wouldn't surprise me to see them cover more than 1 per day, especially with the schedule more nicely spread out than it has been in the past). We also saw in a previous article that the plan was for NBCSN to be on from 6am-8pm ET each day (that 8pm coincides with when primetime starts and I know for a fact it's 7pm on weekends). That would have meant around 225 hours of coverage, so I imagine they could have made the start time each day earlier. 300 hours means about 18 hours a day. 2am-8pm ET perhaps? That's what I had figured from the start, so I think that may be what we're looking at.

Not sure what Meredith Viera would bring for the NBC broadcast of the Opening Ceremony other than familiarity and on-air chemistry with Matt Lauer, who was in Beijing. I liked it that there was a third person--his name escapes me for right now--who was an expert in Chinese culture and history. We know Britain has an illustrious history itself but sometimes we can use an expert there too who knows about the subtle and unfamiliar things about it, even when the UK was ruling the world in all corners it seemed.

Joshua Cooper Ramo. Yes, he was a nice addition to the crew. The difference though with Britain is that most Americans know a lot about it. Much of which we learned during the royal wedding last year. So I don't think it's as necessary to have that foreign correspondent to de-mystify the host city for us.

[Durban Sandshark]

NBComcast has probably been so wrapped up in the re-launch of Versus/NBCSN that sinking its full efforts into Olympic promotion either wasn't possible or wasn't a priority. I think we'll start to see more once Olympics trials season gets in gear, although it is a little disappointing we don't have some sort of weekly program like MSNBC ran in 2008. Remains to be seen how the changeover from having the trials primarily on USA Network to NBCSN takes effect. And remember also that come June 30th, NBCSN gets to one of their bread-and-butter events in the Tour de France which is likely to take up a large portion of their programming schedule the first 3 weeks of July.

I'm starting to realize why the delay. It also recently acquired the bulk of the English MLS soccer US TV rights.

Joshua Cooper Ramo. Yes, he was a nice addition to the crew. The difference though with Britain is that most Americans know a lot about it. Much of which we learned during the royal wedding last year. So I don't think it's as necessary to have that foreign correspondent to de-mystify the host city for us.

We do, but we can always learn more. China is more of an enigma to many in the West in how it goes about things and daily life. Even to the likes of Russia. We do know some things about Britain, but I was assuming more about the image of the UK in the mind of Americans. With that in mind, I have yet to see those commercials from the British Tourist Council about the UK on NBC sports programming like we saw with Spain for 1992 and Australia for 2000. Maybe I indeed missed them.

[Brekkie Boy]

The BBC have announced they will offer 24 streams both in HD and SD on Sky and Freesat, all available via the red button and through the EPG. Sky are funding the satellite feeds on a non-exclusive basis. An announcement for cable is expected to follow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17595078

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/rogermosey/2012/04/since_the_start_of_our.html

http://corporate.sky.com/media/press_releases/2012/olympics_channels

Great for Sky viewers - but pissing off us Freeview folk who are actually getting a reduced service in comparison to 2008 and the BBC haven't shown any willingness to reinstate the interactive channels lost in 2010 to make way for BBC HD, even though in that time all three main commercial broadcasters have added extra channels to Freeview.

[Durban Sandshark]

The BBC have announced they will offer 24 streams both in HD and SD on Sky and Freesat, all available via the red button and through the EPG. Sky are funding the satellite feeds on a non-exclusive basis. An announcement for cable is expected to follow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...t-arts-17595078

http://www.bbc.co.uk...art_of_our.html

http://corporate.sky...ympics_channels

Great for Sky viewers - but pissing off us Freeview folk who are actually getting a reduced service in comparison to 2008 and the BBC haven't shown any willingness to reinstate the interactive channels lost in 2010 to make way for BBC HD, even though in that time all three main commercial broadcasters have added extra channels to Freeview.

It seems to me the BBC doesn't see much of a long-term future with Freeview and maybe as an expandable service with the unwillingness of reinstating the inetractive channels when you have Sky as a bigger, apparently more popular, option there. Or at least having a greater upside. You would think with the Olympics in your backyard, the Beeb would be just as charitable for the streams on Freeview as they announced with Sky. Perhaps that will get announced. With the 24 streams, I'm thinking, like with the BBC did before in Beijing, it will offer on-demand Olympic-oriented programming in the lead-up to the preliminary soccer matches and the Opening Ceremony on a few of the streams. It submitted documentaries like with one involving Moscow 1980 and a Des Lynam-hosted one back then. We could expect more from the BBC on this with possibly one on Britian's rich Olympic history, Sir Steven Redgrave and Matt Pinsent, a BBC London Olympics preview, Britian's surprising medal haul in Beijing, a documentary on the builing and bidding of the London Olympics, the London 1948 Games (already aired on TV), past Olympic Opening and maybe Closing Ceremonies, Britain's athletics history, Olympic Dreams, and the like.

Another, if redundant at this point, article regarding the BBC offering its 24 streams on SKY and Freesat.

http://advanced-tele...hannels-on-sky/

Turns out this year's Juno Awards at Ottawa's ScotiaBank Place had more aspiring Canadian Olympians present than I previously reported:

http://www.ctvolympi...012+juno+awards

http://blog.ctvolymp...he-juno-awards/

This is Despatie and Abel with Carla Rae Jepsen (from Degrassi: The Next Generation) live on CTV (actually a fan video inside the ScotiaBank Place aimed at the monitor in this video) at the 2012 JUNO Awards in Ottawa hosted by the one and only William Shatner presenting the 2012 JUNO Fan Choice Award to (hold the screams ladies and girls!) an absent Justin Bieber, who left a video message accepting the congrats:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owmf41lktCU

When I checked the CTV Olympics website, I noticed the APTN logo is not present at the bottom with the other partcipating ones. Maybe it's not getting involved after all. Or it's not officialy announced yet. Also, V, back when it was still TQS, dismantled its sports department a few years before Vancouver and submitted all of that to RDS.

With the delayed heavy promotion of the London Olympics on the verge of hitting from NBC, Telemundo, as part of the NBC Universal family of networks involved in the American Olympic broadcast, will introduce its Olympic campaign tomorrow for the Spanish network, coming in July. Honestly can't say that I ever saw their Olympic promos from previous Olympiads, even on You Tube. Furthermore, are there plans afoot to have a Telemundo Deportes with that to add more Olympic programming, which could prove difficult to do with ESPN Deportes, FOX en Espanol, and Univision dominating the American Spanish sports TV landscape.

http://www.nytimes.c...-a-barrier.html

Reknown and legendary Mexican TV journalist Jacobo Zabuldovsky, best known as the host of Televisa's 24 Horas until 2000, joins the ESPN Deportes staff in time for the London Olympics offering a different perspective as to what will brought in by the likes of longtime Mexican sportscaster Jose Ramon Fernandez (who hosted Televisa's Olympic coverage in years past from Montreal to Beijing), Herriburto Murrieta, David Faitelson, and Fernando Schwartz. Jacobo will focus on the contemporary and cosmopolitan lifestyle of London. Perhaps he'll help out with the Opening Ceremony.

http://sportsvideo.o...-espn-deportes/

http://espndeportes....=oli&type=story

http://deportes.publ...vsky?cbg_tz=300

http://espndeportes....=oli&type=story

Instead of TV Azteca, TVC, one of Mexico's cable networks, will join Televisa in bringing the Olympic action from London live through TVC Deportes

http://www.tvcnetwor...r-tvc-deportes/

Still trying to find any info regarding the Chinese and Korean language coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics with announcers calling it from New York. I would like to see that kept on for London too along with the Spanish because those too are growing markets. And there's lots of Olympic sports that those communities admire.

[FiveRingFever]

I'm thinking that NBCOlympics.com is going to be updated in a big way soon. Right now it only has a few promo videos and it links to Universalsports.com for most of the content. Universalsports.com seems to have been running on fumes lately. There hasn't been a news headline update since March 27th there. I wonder if they'll stream the Olympic trials from NBCOlympics.com.

[FiveRingFever]

NBComcast has probably been so wrapped up in the re-launch of Versus/NBCSN that sinking its full efforts into Olympic promotion either wasn't possible or wasn't a priority. I think we'll start to see more once Olympics trials season gets in gear, although it is a little disappointing we don't have some sort of weekly program like MSNBC ran in 2008. Remains to be seen how the changeover from having the trials primarily on USA Network to NBCSN takes effect. And remember also that come June 30th, NBCSN gets to one of their bread-and-butter events in the Tour de France which is likely to take up a large portion of their programming schedule the first 3 weeks of July.

There's only 2 days of overlap between the Olympic trials and the TDF, so NBCSN going to be pretty busy through mid-August with NHL playoffs, Olympic trials, TDF, and the Olympics themselves.

[Durban Sandshark]

I'm thinking that NBCOlympics.com is going to be updated in a big way soon. Right now it only has a few promo videos and it links to Universalsports.com for most of the content. Universalsports.com seems to have been running on fumes lately. There hasn't been a news headline update since March 27th there. I wonder if they'll stream the Olympic trials from NBCOlympics.com.

I'm also thinking that NBC could strike a deal with Amazon.com again for allowing the London Olympics video footages, both live and on-demand, this time through the PlayStation 3 under Amazon's Prime Instant Video for a fee. Maybe a flat one all around, not just paying for one event each. But NBC Universal must be careful not to alienate any owners of video game consoles of the current generation in this widespread platform range. Those who have the PS3, XBox, and maybe the Wii are all deserving of this.

Two new CTV/TSN Believe promos have hit today. Actually they're both under the TSN banner with these two, and both are narrated by Gordon Pinsent--with the TSN IDing being another distinction from Ellen Page's ones for CTV. Both brought to you in part by Bell Canada. I think it's very intriguing the promos are done by actors who hail from the Maritime provinces (Page is from Nova Scotia, Pinsent is from Newfoundland-Labrador, and Donald Sutherland from the Vancouver ones is from New Brunswick), because you would assume it may come from actors from BC or Ontario, where many come from and made their mark. Given where these spots are set, could we see promos for Usain Bolt, Frederica Pellegrini, and a Polish and Filipino Olympian?

The first here centers on 28-year old Chinese premier table tennis star Wang Hao looking for more gold to add to his resume. A seemingly unstoppable national hero to the Chinese

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJcwi1kZclw

Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield from Victoria, BC seeking an unprecedented third triathon medal with kids at a local elementary school cheering him to victory. Same hometown as Steve Nash and Nelly Furtado. Also notable is the fact he's the first Canadian Olympian in this London series of TV promos to utter, "Do you believe?" at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t200Pwt1i8

I must mention that it's ESPN Latin America. Not ESPN Deportes and is not to be confused with that. ESPN Deportes is only for the USA, and ESPN Latin America isn't allowed in the US because it is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on its US sister channels due to television rights affecting the programs. It is adapted to the demands of Spanish-speaking viewers, who tend to prefer soccer and Hispanic baseball players to the more English language programming or athletes.

Perhaps reflecting the diminishing power of the EBU member networks that are currently rights holders of the Olympics, ARD and ZDF are doing 240 hours in London. France Television got 220-400 hours. RAI will only have 200. We don't quite know about TVE in Spain, especially with its serious budget cuts that can impact Teledeporte. Come Sochi 2014, Sportfive is handling all of the European TV rights in each territory except for the bigger European nations like the UK, Germany, France, and Italy. We are seeing private/commercial, pay-TV networks from digital satelitte services and media conglomerates like Modern Times and News Corp (FOX Turkey and Sky Italia) getting the rights. Not gonna be the same and their time is becoming past.

[Nikolaj]

I noticed a number of posters from the Beijing version of this thread aren't around this time, particularly the Chinese ones, Pinoy, and Nikolaij (Denmark). Where are they? What happened to them? It's likely they moved on or forgot the passwords.

I'm still here, just lurking around I would like to give you all kinds of exciting news, but the Danish TV channels haven't really come out with any information about the Olympic coverage yet. The rights are still split between DR and TV2, so I think the coverage will be very similar to Beijing. DR has a webpage without any TV information, but I think Durban linked to it earlier: http://www.dr.dk/Sporten/OL2012/

Of course, this time there will be live event coverage in primetime due to the Games being in Europe, so it will be interesting to see how that is going to pan out, especially since it looks like both the men's and women's handball teams will qualify. That might mean that Olympic primetime coverage on the main channels will be mostly handball, since a Danish team will play every night. Bit of a shame, if you ask me, but that is what will get the biggest ratings

[Texas]

Ryan Seacrest, who gained fame (and millions) because of his hosting duties on American Idol, will help host the London Olympics for NBC:

http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/ryan-seacrest-to-help-host-london-olympics-for-nbc-and-stay-with-idol/

“The plan is for me to join the NBC family and continue to have a role at the E! network” where he anchors E! News, Ryan Seacrest toldToday host Matt Lauer this morning. (Comcast controls NBCUniversal as well as E!.) The Olympics assignment is “something I’ve been looking forward to.” As for rumors that Seacrest might replace Lauer on the morning show, Seacrest said “I don’t know. I see you doing this for as long as you want to.” Lauer added that Seacrest “would be great at this job….There is no tension here.” No details about the Idol agreement, extending his contract which expires after this season. ”I’ll have an official announcement very soon.” In addition to his work with NBC, E! and Idol, Seacrest hosts a daily morning radio show for Clear Channel. Seacrest was originally scheduled to appear yesterday on Today but said that he had elbow surgery after tearing a tendon.

[Quaker2001]

U.S. OLYMPIC COMMITTEE AND NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCE SCHEDULE FOR 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS COVERAGE

The United States Olympic Committee and the NBC Sports Group today announced the television schedule for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. A record 67½ hours of event coverage – 43 on NBC Sports Network and 24½ on NBC – will feature 10 sports, including live primetime coverage of trials for diving, swimming, gymnastics and track & field, as well as events for water polo and field hockey.

Good to finally see the announcement about the Trials coverage. That's going to be a fun 2 weeks where you have the trials in the big 4 sports all packed together!

[Durban Sandshark]

Though it is technically not a member of the NBC Universal Olympic family, Universal Sports is making incredible strides to boost its Olympic association as a junior partner. Latest thing is striking online distribution deal with three broadband companies--Wave Broadband, Local Tel, and BendBroadband. It will also air the Boston Marathon, the AIBA American Boxing qualifying tournament, and the KONA Ironman triathlon.

http://www.fiercecab...eals/2012-04-03

Money analysts question whether Comcast will make money from the London Olympics, even with all of the advertising online deals:

http://www.fiercecab...pics/2011-06-10

400 hours seems like a lot for Eurosport when it comes to its coverage....and it was all under just one Eurosport channel. Maybe it would've been better suited if Eurosport 2 did some some of the Olympic TV programming. But it has its own rights and sports to tend to. It's always been that way even when Eurosport 2 hit in 2005.

For most European nations, broadcast plans are coming, I'm assuming to be announced close to, following, EURO 2012, as they typically do except for the bigger European nations like the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Russia.

FOXTEL's London Olympic promo with ContentlyAustralia for BMX Biking:

Russia's Perviy Kanal's (Channel One's) London Olympics website: http://www.1tv.ru/sprojects/si=5816

How is NBC going to televise daily news of the Olympics? Several broadcasters around the world are unleashing channels and making catered to fit the Olympic news from London, round the clock like from Sky NZ and Supersport. Is Universal Sports going to do that?

[Brekkie Boy]

Having struck a deal with the BBC to offer 24 channels in HD Sky have now partnered with Eurosport to offer live Olympic coverage in 3D on Sky3D, with up to eight hours live and four hours of highlights every day.

http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/04/05/eurosport-3d-olympics-on-sky/

[Barcelona_'92]

U.S. OLYMPIC COMMITTEE AND NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCE SCHEDULE FOR 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS COVERAGE

Good to finally see the announcement about the Trials coverage. That's going to be a fun 2 weeks where you have the trials in the big 4 sports all packed together!

Seriously--those last two weeks in June are going to feel like a mini-Olympics with all of this coverage! I hope my DVR can hold it all while I'm at the swimming trials in Omaha!

[Durban Sandshark]

Seriously--those last two weeks in June are going to feel like a mini-Olympics with all of this coverage! I hope my DVR can hold it all while I'm at the swimming trials in Omaha!

Surely that will definitely be a chock-a-block of Olympic programming. Hope I have my DVR soon for that as well.

While we await the Spanish Olympic promos from Telemundo to hit on YouTube or any other video outlet with its campaign kickstarted on Wednesday, this is an English promo from last year that was on Telemuno promoting the London Olympics--you can hear the Spanish commentary during the action and shot of commentary with footage of Latin/Iberian Olympians (including American Olympians of Hispanic descent):

Last Summer Olympics in Beijing, South Africa's Supersport had SS5, SS6, SS6, SS7, Xtra, Xtra2, Supersport Maximo, and SuperSport Maximo2 were all involved. Looking back at the Olympic TV guide that I printed from SuperSport's website back then, SS5 didn't start its programming until the Opening Ceremony that was also simulcasted live with SS6, SS7, and Xtra, who were already airing Olympic coverage like the preliminary soccer. Interesting that Portuguese would get bigger love in coverage for the Olympics in South Africa--while realizing those channels are transmitted throughout Sub-Saharan Africa like to Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and Guinea-Bissau--than Afrikaans, where there are far more speakers of it. Then again, what Olympic sports outside of the core and popular sports (swimming, for example) that are guaranteed to capture an Afrikaner audience since rugby is not part of the roster in London? I do think those channels will be back with maybe more, along with possibly Swahili, as previously mentioned earlier here. Take those things with a grain of salt. SuperSport is airing another London Olympic show called Host City London

SAT Telecommunications Ltd. worked a deal with International Media Content Ltd. to get the exclusive broadcast rights to the London 2012 Olympics to the West Indies Commonwealth island of Dominica as its "largest to date project in the history of [the company]"

http://www.dominicacentral.com/business/sat-acquires-broadcast-rrights-to-2012-london-olympic-games.html

Back in January over a IMC workshop/conference in Kingston, Jamaica, IMC announced it will, largely through its Sportsmax channel, broadcast 396 TV hours (twice as many as there was back in Beijing) and 130 radio hours. IMC will deploy a staff of 130 to both London and Kingston, headed by Lance Whitaker and track and field afficionado and guru Hubert Lawrence. Track and field, particularly the sprinting disciplines, after all is the Caribbean people's sport, and obviously earns massive coverage. So those there, get ready: Up-to-the-minute, on-site trackside interviews with Caribbean athletes at the Olympic stadium, training sessions, ther Athletes' Village, and around London are to be a first fro Sports Max. Nightly daily highlights tailored and packaged for each country's local broadcaster are in the offering.

http://www.sportsmax.tv/sport/other/imc-promises-record-caribbean-coverage-of-london-2012

24 hours of coverage everyday live and tape-delayed from Sports Max with daily 30- and -60 minutes news reports with MCTV providing additional coverage in HD, across the Caribbean. Though it's likely that Barbados' National Broadcasting Company could air some, just not in the sports they normally don't cover.

http://www.sportsmax.tv/sport/other/cbc-partner-with-sportsmax-to-show-london-2012-2

[Durban Sandshark]

Not much happening right now on the Olympic media front--we're still on Easter weekend if Easter Monday happens to be a holiday where you live! But things are light now but will pick up again very soon. I will also add my thoughts later on.

Nine Network, in its Australian free-to-air TV sole Summer Olympics broadcasting debut, just dropped a few more Olympic promos just days ago.

London beckons the Olympic athletes to come together in that world-class city

Sprint kayaker Alana Nicholls profiled for this Nine Olympic promo

You'll notice the same artistic presentation at the sponsor end and 9's ID like it was with Vancouver, only with the colors are different to reprsent more of the summer colo(u)rs.

Not really certain this will be conducted in time for ATN's portion of the London Olympics coverage in Canada or will certain aspects of it will since Rogers (owners of ATN) will not be a part of Canadian TV Olympic bid for 2014 and 2016, but it will be interesting how and if it will help.

http://www.stockhous....aspx?n=8470172

[Guardian]

Iranian media boycotts London 2012, stating that the logo is offensive to Islam, when it comes to Jerusalem.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17657450

[Durban Sandshark]

There was a serious delay lasting for a day that prevented me from uploading any new posts or even looking at this very thread when I'm logged in yesterday. I attempted to upload my new post only for the whole thread to be inaccessible becasue of that glitch. Frustrating! But now things are back to normal, so I can resume to the task at hand here.

Here comes the new weekly preview studio show Countdown To London presented by Universal Sports. Ready to broadcast on April 18, right at the 100-day Olympic countdown mark with regular segments. Don't be surprised to see those doing the reporting for this show will return for the real thing later Rowdy Gaines (a lock), Holly McPeak, Ato Bolden (lock), Fred Roggin, Amy Bender, and Tim Daggett (lock). Good to see that the US in the form of the NBC Universal family to offer an Olympic preview TV series like in many other countries.

http://www.marketwat...ndon-2012-04-10

Calrec will provide six Artemis audio mixing consoles to NBC for its London Olympic coverage

http://www.broadcast...-Games--1969090

The AM audio frequency for Sydney talk and news radio station 2GB is actually 873 AM. Back in Beijing SEN, 5AA, 6IX, 2CC, KOFM were all involved. There's no word whether any of those station will get back into Olympic broadcasting for London. Doubt that 2GB has a national broadcasting beyond New South Wales and the ACT. I'll be surprised if it did.

Its brilliant job in streaming the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara certainly impressed NBC, CTV, BBC/Sky Sport, NHK, and Grupo Albavision more than enough to enlist the Portland, Oregion-based Elemental for each of their Internet streaming capabilities.

http://www.streaming...ents-81822.aspx

BBC Sport launches its app on Virgin's TiVo service with BBC News in tow:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...nected_tvs.html

http://www.engadget....rings-bbc-news/

http://www.digitalsp...1-coverage.html

http://www.worldscre...1-bbc-sport-app

The British Office of Fair Trading warns Team GB Olympians about product plugging on Twitter. British MPs make money on the side and get away with it but not athletes or common British folks. Is a Mini going to make me an Olympian after paying it and post it on Twitter? Meanwhile, genuine businesses can't put up signage for not wanting to pay exorbant amount of Olympic fees.

http://uk.eurosport....-110033492.html

Ukrainian sports fans may be deprived of live and HD Euro 2012 and Olympic action on Eurosport with cable service provider Voila dropped the Eurosport channels earlier this year breaking an agreement. Now the European courts are getting involved and is appealing. I think this will be all worked out in time because all parties have to know this will NOT LOOK GOOD in the eyes of many Ukrainian sports fans with the EURO 2012 Championships in its backyard. Don't know will there be comprehensive domestic language coverage on Ukrainian TV channels as of yet.

http://www.kyivpost..../detail/125846/

This is a sponsor package press kit for local Atlanta advertisers for NBC's coverage of the Olympics and the prospect of huge revenues and growth from the younger audiences from Atlanta's NBC affiliate WALB Channel 10.

http://ftpcontent.wo...%20Olympics.ppt

NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster, just televised the Japan Swimming Championships that started on April 4 that featured Katajima qualifying for his fourth Japanese Olympic Team. Prior to that, it aired a swimming edition of the Most Unforgettable Series on March 31. It also plans to broadcast the All-Japan Men's and Women's Judo Championships and the All-Japan Gymnastics Championships both on NHK General TV and on BS1 TV. There's also a four-part series entitled Olympic Heroes. This newsletter also mentions that popular folk group Ikimonogakari's Olympic theme NHK song will appear in just that but in other olympic related programming, ready to be released in June...with an Olympic slogan for NHK.

http://www.nhk.or.jp...u_e/s_e1203.htm

Andrea "Andy" Pompilio help host a live 6-hour NHK London Olympic preview that later re-aired as a three-parter on BS1

http://www.andreapompilio.net/en/news/

NHK's and BS1 TV's broadcast schedule for the upcoming Japan men's and women's field hockey teams London Olympic qualification games later this month;

http://www.hockey.or...-qualifier.html

Japan women's field hockey team, aka the Sakura, has a documentary coming up on BS1 in April:

http://www.hockey.or...kura-japan.html

London-bound Japanese Olympians will be profiled in a documentary series:

http://www.nhk.or.jp...u_e/s_e1201.htm

Eurosport, that pan-European 24 hour sports network carrying the London Olympics, of course has a preview series show called Olympic Dreams. We now have a piece from that show. This one profiles Lotta Schelin, Swedish women's national team goal-scoring soccer star, who also stars at defending UEFA Champions League club Olympique Lyonnais. She talks about her time with the Swedish women's team, particularly Olympic ones, up to that 2011 point and her goals. Plus her success with Lyon, which features many of the top French women's soccer stars that came out of the famed academy and play for France. She buys a taste of home at a local supermarket. Oh yeah, there's that funny celebratory dance the Swedish women did in Germany last year...No Germany this time to act as a foil (too bad for the Germans).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6-YWbyu30k

One of Nine Network's newer London Olympic promos for its debut sole Olympic free-to-air Summer Olympic coverage in the Australian market. Edwina Alexander, Sally Pearson, Thomas "The Missle" Magnussen, Alana Nichols, Mitchell Watt, Emma Moffatt, Brad Kahlefeldt, and Cadel Evans(?) are all each draped with a giant Australian flag over their shoulders (most with looks of intensity on their faces) as you hear their thoughts about aspiring to claim for Australia and for themselves.

Malaysian national broadcaster RTM is covering the 2012 London Olympics on the free-to-air platform front with a special emphasis on its national athletes. The following is a Borneo Post report announcing the Malaysian Olympic host broadcasting (TV and radio) rights.

http://www.theborneo...ondon-olympics/