08.07.08

Anystream® Selected for On-Demand Operations for NBC Universal’s Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games

Anystream to Enable Three-Screen Delivery by NBC

Dulles, VA — August 7, 2008 — Anystream® has been selected by NBC Universal® as a media production and publishing partner to NBC Universal during the network’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics from Beijing, China, August 8-24, 2008. 

Anystream’s technology will help NBCU orchestrate a series of sophisticated on-demand workflows for more than 10,000 discrete titles for web, VOD, mobile and electronic sell-through destinations during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Using Anystream, NBCU will connect with viewers wherever their lives take them — from the office to their living rooms. 

“Creating a beyond-the-television experience for the Beijing Olympic Games requires partners capable of handling the unprecedented scale that is Beijing 2008,” said Darren Feher, chief technology officer for NBCU. “Anystream’s digital media production and publishing platform will automatically repurpose our broadcast content for distribution to over 30 unique on-demand new media outlets for viewing on multiple consumer devices.”

In the fluid environment that defines the preparations for the games, Anystream’s adaptable media platform managed evolving requirements including the constant addition of new content outlets as deals were struck. “NBCU has assembled a roster of premier syndication partners, each with its own unique requirements” said Larry Thaler, NBCU vice president of distribution technology. “Anystream automatically directs the content packaging, publishing and release timing for 16 partner outlets including NBCOlympics.com within minutes of producing the content.”

Anystream’s platform also delivers viewers content options never before available in on-demand programming of this scale. Anystream will enable NBCU to deliver sporting events, highlights and athlete profiles in not only standard definition but high-definition for viewing on broadband and cable VOD platforms. Anystream has implemented Microsoft® Silverlight VC-1 exclusively for NBCOlympics.com, which provides additional new capabilities such as cross-platform viewing and picture-in-picture on the web. 

“NBCU’s ambitious vision for coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games will prove to be a watershed moment that shapes expectations for on-demand coverage going forward. We’re matching this vision with the technology solution that makes the shift in how we watch video possible,” said Fred Singer, CEO of Anystream. “There is a lot of hype and broken promises in our industry today. Helping NBCU with the Beijing Olympics is the culmination of Anystream’s eight years of consistently delivering for 700 media companies. We are thrilled that NBCU put their trust in us.”

 

# # #

 

Following are highlights of NBC Universal's planned Beijing Olympics coverage:

NBC Universal will present more than 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the most ambitious single media project in history and more than the combined total of every Summer Olympics ever televised in the United States. 

•	NBC Universal will present more than 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the most ambitious single media project in history and more than the combined total of every Summer Olympics ever televised in the United States.
•	The Beijing Olympic Games will begin August 8, 2008, with unprecedented around-the-clock coverage and, for the first-time ever in the U.S. , live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage.
•	3,600 HOURS: Over the 17 days of the Beijing Games (Aug. 8-24, 2008), NBC Universal will present more than 3,600 hours of coverage highlighted by NBC in primetime which will feature live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball, despite the 12-hour time difference from the U.S. 's eastern time zone to Beijing.
•	SURPASSES COMBINED TOTAL OF ALL PREVIOUS SUMMER OLYMPICS: The 3,600 hours is 1,000 hours more than the total coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history. Note: Dating back nearly 50 years to CBS in Rome in 1960 (20 total hours) through NBC in Athens in 2004 (1,210 total hours), the 12 Summer Olympic Games broadcasts have totaled 2,562 hours.
•	212 HOURS A DAY. . . OR 8 DAYS A DAY: NBC Universal's coverage will average nearly 212 hours per day for 17 days — more than eight days of coverage during every single day of the Olympics.
•	TRIPLES ATHENS 2004. . . 20-TIMES ATLANTA 1996: The more than 3,600 total hours of coverage from Beijing triples the previous record of 1,210 total hours of coverage on NBC from Athens in 2004, is 20 times more than the 171 total hours on NBC from Atlanta in 1996 and 180 times greater than the 20 total hours for the inaugural U.S. Olympic broadcast on CBS from Rome in 1960.
•	ON-AIR, ONLINE, ON-DEMAND & ON-THE-GO: ON-AIR: NBC Universal's NBC, USA, MSNBC and CNBC will all provide coverage from Beijing with high definition coverage on NBC's HD affiliates, USA HD and Universal HD. Spanish-language Olympic coverage will be seen on NBC Universal's Telemundo.
•	ONLINE: Olympic fans will have access to approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage on NBCOlympics.com.
•	ON-DEMAND: In addition to the 3,600 total hours of coverage mentioned above, NBCOlympics.com also will feature approximately 3,000 hours of Highlights, Rewinds and Encores.

 

About NBC Olympics

NBC, “America's Olympic Network,” owns the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games, television’s most powerful property, through 2012, which includes Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012. From August 8-24, 2008 NBC Universal will present an unprecedented 3,600 hours of coverage, highlighted by NBC in primetime with live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball. In August 2004, 203 million viewers watched as the networks of NBC Universal—NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo, and NBC’s HD affiliates—offered a then record 1,210 hours of Olympic coverage from Athens. 

For additional information, go to NBCOlympics.com, a year-round destination for fans of Olympic sports, featuring news, Beijing previews, athlete features, expert blogs, photos, Olympic video from the NBC archives and social tools enabling users to build communities around their favorite sports, post comments and blogs. 

About Anystream

Anystream provides the world’s leading media companies with the tools and data they need to syndicate video on-demand across multiple outlets and devices through a single, automated platform. With over 700 media customers worldwide, Anystream’s Media Lifecycle Platform enables many of the best known entertainment brands to make their video available where, when, and how it’s most convenient for their viewers. For more information visit www.anystream.com. 

For More Information:

Mary Young
Director, Marketing
Anystream
cell (703) 963-2467
tel (703) 948-3043
myoung@anystream.com

Brian Wendel
RLM Public Relations for Anystream
Tel: (212) 741-5106 x 212
brian@rlmpr.com

• In The News
• Press Releases
• Events
• Webinars