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2008 Beijing Olympics as a Media Test-Bed
CNN is reporting that NBC is using the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as a test-bed to understand how people are using different media platforms. "NBC has scheduled 3,600 hours of Olympics programming on its main network, along with Telemundo, USA, Oxygen, MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo. That's the equivalent of eight days of programming packed into each day. In addition, the company is planning to make 2,200 hours of streaming video available on NBCOlympics.com. Consumers may also get video on demand via their computer and Olympics content through their mobile phones."
Nobody's watching? You better tell the 4 billion people who were planning to do just that...
Beijing expects four billion TV viewers for '08 Games
they do an outstanding job covering the Olympics, if you can get it.
while they of course emphasize Canadian athletes, they don't cater to them exclusively.
and you get to actually watch complete events. not flip from event to event in a format apparently designed only for those with attention deficit.
I bet CBC even gets some of the smog on screen. what a wonderful place to run long distances...
The actual events will require both Silverlight and Vista.
Thereby making absolutely certain that the videos won't be cached, transcoded and redistributed within seconds of their first webcast. You won't be able to archive them or time shift them or view them on the evil Lunix or your otherwise capable crackberry or eee pc. Right? Right? Because Vista's secure media transport and display has been perfected and will never be cracked.
This streamed olympic footage will not be available for fair use, ever. Not even long after even those who participated have ceased to care. Me, I don't care already. If they stream it to an open platform I might watch some of it but Vista alone is too much of a price to pay, let alone Silverlight. I think instead I'll click over to CNN and see if they manage to smuggle out footage of protesters.
Help stamp out iliturcy.