FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 30th, 2015

BYTES: LIVE EXTRA ON NEW APPLE TV; LIVE EXTRA TO STREAM UNDEFEATED PACKERS-BRONCOS MATCHUP; REGIONAL NBA COVERAGE AND STREAMING BEGINS

NBC SPORTS DIGITAL “BYTES”

October 30, 2015 – Vol. 72

NBC Sports Digital “Bytes” is a collection of highlights, information and metrics for NBC Sports Digital properties. Previous editions can be found on NBCSportsGroupPressbox.com.

NBC Sports Live Extra to be Offered on all-new Apple TV

As previously announced, the NBC Sports Live Extra app will be available on the new Apple TV. The app will provide customers with more than 3,000 live events a year, including the Sunday Night Football matchup of two undefeated teams – the Green Bay Packers (6-0) vs. the Denver Broncos (6-0) – this Sun., Nov. 1. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America.

Apple TV users will also have access to exclusive coverage of some of the most-watched properties and events in sports including the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics; live NHL games including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Final; 2015-2016 Premier League game; NASCAR Sprint Cup races and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase; PGA Tour; French Open Tennis; the Triple Crown horse racing; original programming such as The Dan Patrick Show and Men In Blazers, and much more. Click here for more information.

NBC Sports Digital Celebrates Battle Of Undefeated Teams Ahead Of Packers-Broncos on NBC’s Sunday Night Football

As the 6-0 Broncos host the 6-0 Packers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football this week — the first-ever primetime game featuring opponents with records of 6-0 or better — NBC Sports Digital surrounds the marquee matchup with comprehensive digital and social content.

The Sunday Night Football Social Media team will be activating with a tailored strategy through the SNFonNBC Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to give fans a close-up look at everything on the field and behind the scenes:

  • The hashtag #SNFundefeated will be included on all SNF social efforts.
  • Custom artwork specifically for this game will begin to roll out on SNF’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
  • Custom videos specific to this week’s matchup can be found here on the SNF on NBC Facebook page.
  • Sideline Access during the game from sideline reporter Michele Tafoya and NBC Sports’ social media producer will be pushed out on game day.

In a video on NBCSports.com, Bob Costas looks ahead at this week’s game, including the similarities and differences between Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers. Click here for a link.

In addition, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth previewed the game following Sunday Night Football last week here. All digital Sunday Night Football video can be found here.

Finally, NBCSports.com contributor Tom Gower analyzed what could be the crucial aspects of the game, including the concerns about Manning’s arm strength, Green Bay’s lingering penalty problem and how crucial the ensuing 7-0 record will be for the winner. Gower’s pieces can be found here.

NASCAR Talk Delivers Record Traffic as the Chase for the Sprint Cup Heats Up

As the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup heats up in one of the most dramatic seasons to date, NASCAR Talk on NBCSports.com is on track to have its best month ever in page views, racking up 3,160,244 views to date this October, up 24% versus the previous record (2,551,441, July).

Golf Channel Digital Posts Record Traffic Across All Key Platforms And Metrics

While monthly digital traffic data is not final until the end of the calendar month, Golf Channel Digital’s traffic through Tuesday, Oct 27 already had set several monthly records, according to Adobe Site Catalyst, including posting best October numbers ever:

  • Golf Channel Mobile totaled 24.0 million page views
  • Golf Channel Digital totaled 2.6 million video starts
  • Golf Channel Digital totaled 3.6 million unique visitors

NBC Sports Regional Networks Welcome Back Basketball!

Warriors / CSNBayArea.com

CSN Bay Area’s – the exclusive local television home of the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors – digital coverage for the 2015-16 NBA season includes 70 regular season games, Warriors Pregame Live and Warriors Postgame Live streamed live on CSNBayArea.com and via the NBC Sports Live Extra app, and extensive coverage on CSNBayArea.com’s “WarriorsTalk” page from Warriors Insider Monte Poole and Senior Insider Ray Ratto.

Kings / CSNCalifornia.com

CSN California’s – the exclusive local television home of the Sacramento Kings – digital coverage for the 2015-16 NBA season includes 80 regular season games, Kings Pregame Live and Kings Postgame Live streamed live on CSNBayArea.com and via the NBC Sports Live Extra app, and comprehensive coverage on CSNBayArea.com’s “KingsTalk” page from Kings Insider James Ham and Senior Insider Ray Ratto.

Bulls / CSNChicago.com

2015 NBA All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol join a loaded Bulls roster featuring Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Mike Dunleavy, Nikola Mirotic, Kirk Hinrich and rookie Bobby Portis. CSN Chicago will broadcast and live stream 42 live regular season Bulls games (23 home, 19 away) with the always-entertaining announcing tandem of Neil Funk and Stacey King plus sideline reporter Chuck Garfien, including in-depth pre-game and post-game show with hosts Mark Schanowski and Will Perdue, and the most comprehensive Bulls digital coverage to date via Bulls Insider Vincent Goodwill and Bulls digital producer Mark Strotman.

Wizards / CSNMidAtlantic.com

CSN Mid-Atlantic will surround the Washington Wizards 2015-16 NBA season with expanded digital coverage, highlighted by live-streaming of 80 regular-season games, along with pregame and postgame shows, on CSNmidatlantic.com and NBC Sports Live Extra. Wizards Insider J. Michael will provide comprehensive news and analysis throughout the season across CSN Mid-Atlantic’s digital media platforms, which are led by CSNmidatlantic.com and the CSN Mid-Atlantic mobile app. Fans can also follow the coverage on Twitter at @CSNWizards and join the conversation by using #WizardsTalk.

76ers / CSNPhilly.com

Comcast SportsNet and The Comcast Network’s coverage of all 82 regular season Sixers games, as well as the pregame and postgame shows, will be streamed live on CSNPhilly.com and via the NBC Sports Live Extra app for tablets and mobile devices. Throughout the season, Comcast SportsNet’s Sixers’ coverage will include daily reports with live player interviews, press conferences and practice highlights during “Philly Sports Talk,” “SportsNet Central” and The Comcast Network’s “Breakfast on Broad.” CSNPhilly.com will also have extensive video and in-depth features, plus the Sixers-centric show, “3 in the Key,” which features guests debating the hot topics surrounding the Sixers, in a three-minute no holds barred discussion. Fans can follow all Sixers games online with Comcast SportsNet’s “In-Game Live,” which allows fans to follow the game live with play-by-play, in-progress stats and tweets from Comcast SportsNet’s Sixers reporters. Fans can follow Comcast SportsNet on Twitter or Facebook.

Celtics / CSNNE.com

Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of 80 regular season Celtics games, as well as exclusive CSN pregame and postgame shows, will be streamed live on CSNNE.com and via the NBC Sports Live Extra app.  This is the second season Celtics games will be available to stream live for authenticated subscribers and, and it got off to a great start in the season opener, setting record marks in all key streaming metrics. Additionally, CSNNE.com (@CSNNE) will provide 24/7 coverage of all the Celtics action all season long. CSNNE.com Celtics Insider Sherrod Blakely will deliver the latest breaking news, opinion and analysis throughout the season and will take some time on the sidelines as well.  Blakely will also be part of a robust talent team on “Celtics Talk TV” – a digital-only show that covers key Celtics and NBA story lines, and he will also be hosting a weekly Celtics podcast with special key guests each week.

Trail Blazers / CSNNW.com

New Trail Blazer Insider Jason Quick (@JWQuick) brings his 16 years of covering the Blazers to Comcast SportsNet Northwest this season alongside digital report Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonCSN) and longtime columnist Dwight Jaynes (@DwightJaynes). Quick, Hudson and Jaynes bring fans daily updates no matter where the team is with full coverage each game day.

GolfAdvisor.com’s First-Ever Sweepstakes a Success

GolfAdvisor.com, golf’s leading  golf course ratings and reviews website, received more than 60,000 entries for its first-ever sweepstakes, the “Ultimate Buddies Trip presented by Srixon,” which concluded Sunday.

The “Ultimate Buddies Trip” will turn a time-honored golfing tradition into a trip of a lifetime for the soon-to-be announced winner who will receive an all-expense paid trip for four to one of the world’s top golf destinations, The Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C., home of Harbour Town Golf Links and host of the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing; as well as a complete Srixon equipment makeover featuring the company’s line of Z 355 clubs.

NBC Sports Group Launches CPTR’D (Captured)

As previously announced, NBC Sports Group recently launched CPTR’D (Captured), a new sports short-form feature contest open to filmmakers of all levels who aspire to follow NBC Sports’ Emmy Award-winning storytelling heritage. Select short-form feature submissions will be presented across NBC Sports Group’s digital platforms, and the winning CPTR’D project will be telecast on NBCSN and will win $10,000.

Beginning November 9, filmmakers will be invited to submit short-form feature projects which run 10 minutes or less, on any sports-related topic. All CPTR’D entries must be submitted by January 12, 2016, are required to include originally shot footage, and are subject to all official rules of the contest. For more information click here: http://www.cptrdcontest.com.

Five CPTR’D finalists will be announced on February 4, 2016. The films will be posted on www.cptrdcontest.com. Beginning that day, visitors to the site will be able to view all finalist selections and vote for their favorite project. All judging of initial CPTR’D submissions will be done by a panel of NBC Sports Group executives, as well as sports and entertainment industry influencers. The first through fifth-place selections will be decided by a collaboration of public and judges votes. First, second and third-place winners of CPTR’D will be announced on March 9, 2016.

CSN Mid-Atlantic Goes Viral With “You Like That!”

Following the Washington Redskins 31-30 comeback victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 25, CSN Mid-Atlantic captured video of the now-famous “You Like That!” postgame statement from Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 28, the video, which was immediately posted across CSN Mid-Atlantic’s digital platforms, had earned more than 17 million loops on CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Vine account, and its link had appeared on Twitter more than 61,000 times, generating more than 236 million potential impressions. On CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Facebook page, the video has been viewed more than 730,000 times by nearly 690,000 unique users, garnering 23,000 likes and 9,000 comments.

The creation and distribution of the video was the subject of a Washington Post column on Monday: An oral history of the greatest Vine of Cousins’ life.

High School Football In-Demand In Chicago and with NFL Players

CSNChicago.com’s “High School Lites Viewers’ Choice Game” — where students and fans vote weekly where CSN Chicago should bring its cameras to highlight a game – has taken off with poll voting and social media buzz.  For October, weekly poll votes have grown from 15,000 to 25,000 to 35,000 to a record-high of 57,000 votes. In addition, current New Orleans Saints RB Pierre Thomas took to Twitter to communicate his vote for his alma mater T.F. South H.S.

#CubsSocial Media Night on CSN Chicago Earns Emmy Nomination

CSN Chicago received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement for Interactivity for its #CubsSocial Media Night broadcast of the Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants in August 2014.  The Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will hold the awards ceremony on November 7th.

ICYMI on NBC SportsWorld, NBC Sports Digital’s Long-Form Website

Joe Posnanski will be following the MLB World Series for the duration, filing daily updates. His most recent piece argues that the Royals are a classic case of the sum being greater than its parts. Click here for the long-form story on NBC SportsWorld.

Joe Prince-Wright sat down with Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and talked to him at length about what makes the city of Manchester so special as well as what the club hopes to accomplish this season. Kompany also talked about whether he’d play in MLS once his career in the Premier League is done. Click here for the long-form story on NBC SportsWorld.

— NBC SPORTS DIGITAL–