BBC: 6 HD streams for Winter Olympics
January 10, 2014
In addition to 200 hours of network TV coverage, BBC Sport plans to deliver the most complete digital coverage of a Winter Olympic Games to date, including over 650 hours of live action via six HD streams. BBC Sport will also bring all the analysis, insight, news and highlights from Sochi 2014 to audiences wherever they are, on whichever device they want.
Building on the BBC’s digital success at London 2012 and other major sporting events in 2013, the broadcaster has developed what it describes as an innovative new approach to delivering world-class live coverage across PC, tablet and mobile for Sochi 2014. This will power the BBC’s digital offering of a live event for the first time ever throughout the Winter Olympic Games, bringing key benefits to audiences and leaving a lasting technology legacy.
The new Winter Olympic Games live page, available from www.bbc.co.uk/sport, aims to provide the best of the BBC’s live action in one place, allowing audiences to follow the event how and where they like, whether it’s getting the latest news via a smartphone, watching favourite events on the office PC, using tablets in front of the big screen to get the latest stats, or watching the live streams on a connected TV.
The live page also brings Winter sport fans together by sharing the best of their comments and opinions via email, SMS and social media, alongside those from the BBC’s expert reporters and talent. Audiences will also be able to access a range of on-demand video clips through the live page, allowing them to catch up on the day’s highlights before jumping into the live action. BBC Two’s daily highlights programme will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
All content from the new Winter Olympics live page will be available on PCs, tablets and mobiles – by simply accessing the BBC Sport website (bbc.co.uk/sport) from any device. Alternatively, audiences can use the BBC Sport app for mobile and tablet devices, available for free on iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire, with no need to update the app.
On TV, up to two red button streams will offer live content and highlights from Sochi. All six live streams and on-demand video will be available through the BBC’s Connected Red Button service on Virgin Media TiVo and Sony Freeview Smart TVs and via the BBC Sport app for connected TVs.
The state-of-the-art underlying technology can be used across the BBC, enabling even more live events to be given the digital treatment, cost effectively, and leave a legacy for the future. Starting with the Winter Olympics, this new approach will power the BBC’s digital coverage of other major sporting events in 2014, and will go on to bring a range of news, cultural and broadcast events for the first time.
Ron Chakraborty, Lead Executive of Major Events for BBC Sport, said that BBC Sport was “very proud” to be able to offer such extensive coverage from Sochi 2014. “After delivering London 2012, we’re once again at the forefront of bringing the most innovative and accessible multi-platform sports coverage to our audiences. The Winter Olympics is a big part of a fantastic year of sport on the BBC which also includes the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.”