FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 16th, 2013

CABLE, SATELLITE & TELCO CUSTOMERS CAN VERIFY SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 1,000 HOURS OF SOCHI OLYMPICS LIVE STREAMING CONTENT

Olympic live streaming content available exclusively at NBCOlympics.com and via NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets

NEW YORK, NY – December 16, 2013 – The nation’s 100+ million cable, satellite and telco customers will be able to access more than 1,000 hours of live streaming content of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia this February – more than double the hours of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. At no additional charge, multi-channel customers can verify their video subscriptions now at NBCOlympics.com, NBC Olympics announced today.

During the Sochi Olympics, and for the first time in the history of the Winter Games, all competition across all 15 sports, including each medal-winning performance in all 98 events, will be live streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app, the preeminent destinations for Olympic content and the exclusive homes of Olympic video coverage. The site will also feature exclusive content, real-time results, medal standings, event highlights and analysis, athlete interviews and profiles, and rewinds of all event coverage. In addition, by verifying their subscriptions on NBCOlympics.com now, multi-channel customers will have online access to coverage of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

The vast majority of live streaming will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers, illustrating NBCUniversal’s support of “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers on multiple platforms, both in and out of their homes. Like no other event to date, the Olympic Games have been, and continue to be, a critical driver of “TV Everywhere,” helping to propel awareness and usage. Cable, satellite, and telco customers verified 9.9 million devices during the London Olympic Games, either on NBCOlympics.com or on the NBC Olympics Live Extra app. This is believed to be the most device verifications for a single event in TV Everywhere history.

“The London Olympics were a watershed moment for TV Everywhere as we verified a staggering 10 million devices,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “In the short time that has passed since London, TV Everywhere and the verification process have evolved, with more and more subscribers participating daily. We will again work closely with our multi-channel partners to make this the most successful and seamless TV Everywhere event in history.”

HOW IT WORKS

In order to access the more than 1,000 hours of live Olympic programming this winter at NBCOlympics.com, existing cable, satellite and telco customers should follow these verification procedures:

  1. Go to NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra
  2. Click the “Verify Now” button
  3. Select your cable, satellite or telco provider
  4. Enter the username and password that corresponds with your account
  5. Upon verification of your subscription to an Olympics-eligible package, you will be signed in throughout the Games on that device!

Customers with multiple devices will need to repeat the procedure on each device. There is no additional charge for this service and a customer’s subscription will not be affected. Customers who do not have a username and password should contact their cable, satellite or telco provider to create one. More information about the process, including contact information for cable, satellite and telco providers, can be found at:  http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help

WHAT’S NEW

Since the 2012 London Olympics, NBC Olympics has worked with the cable/satellite/telco industry to improve the verification process with innovative technology. Below are some of the features designed to provide a more seamless experience for the industry’s customers:

  • In-Home Auto-Verification: Beginning February 6, the devices of some cable and telco customers will be verified automatically when used within the customers’ homes because their providers are employing In-Home Auto-Verification, which recognizes IP addresses and cross-references those addresses with subscriber accounts to automatically verify video subscriptions.
  • Cross-Domain Verification: Customers who have already verified their subscriptions with Adobe Pass on their desktop or mobile device will not have to re-verify those subscriptions. The device will recognize their verification credentials and will provide immediate access to NBC Sports Live Extra’s live stream content.
  • Longer Verification Window: Customers can verify beginning today because NBC Olympics and the cable/satellite/telco industry extended the verification window.  As long as customers click “remember me” when verifying, they only need to verify on a device once for the entirety of the Games.

MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Coming off the tremendous success of the 2012 London Olympics, NBCUniversal and the cable/satellite/telco industry are once again partnering on a marketing campaign to educate customers about the verification process. Click here to watch a video with NBCUniversal on-air personality Ryan Seacrest that explains how to verify (http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/help). It will also air as part of NBCUniversal’s Olympic cross-channel marketing efforts and on NBCOlympics.com. Customized versions of the Ryan Seacrest tutorial will begin airing on cable, satellite and telco systems platforms across the country in December. Cable, satellite and telco systems will also be provided with access to a toolkit of promotional assets including digital banners, e-mail templates, taggable promotional spots and additional marketing support materials to inform their customers about verification. A consumer sweepstakes with a grand prize trip to Rio de Janeiro in 2014 was also created as an incentive to encourage customers to verify in advance of the Games.

–NBC OLYMPICS–