NBC Won't Stream Most of 2010 Olympics Online
As part of NBC's organizational philosophy printed over the entrance at 30 Rockefeller Plaza ("Young people with disposable income may not enter"), 2010 Winter Olympics coverage online will be limited to hockey and curling while the rest will be provided in delayed snippets, if at all.
Also, there are no indications that competition video will be embeddable this year, much like it wasn't possible for the 2008 Beijing Games. Instead, viewers will have the opportunity to verify they are already paying for cable or satellite coverage so they can see "Premium Video" (i.e., streaming video of hockey and curling).
Instead, NBC will spend cash on preventing you from seeing live video of the events in any unapproved fashion, leaning on Ustream and Justin.tv to keep Olympic coverage off its networks.
NBC continues to prove completely unable to monetize the Internet outside its walls, thereby forcing users to their televisions so they can be counted in the traditional ways and tossing aside those who appeal to the viewers essential to rebuilding the brand and building towards a long-term future.
It's a shame the International Olympic Committee didn't see fit to approve Competitive Siloing as a medal event this year; NBC might finally have a chance to finish on the podium instead of fourth place.
Follow Technorati