Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 8, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The project aims to make each of the 302 sporting events available as online video for the first time. The existing NBCOlympics.com platform was selected as the medium for the online broadcasts. The project will be refinanced through online advertising revenue, which the two contract partners will share. The competitions are expected to generate around 3,000 hours of video material. In the United States, NBC holds the exclusive radio and television broadcast rights.
In general, software giant Microsoft appears set to focus more strongly on video on demand in the future. MSN portals, led by the Xbox Live platform, are to be enriched with video offerings. “There are efforts to implement such offerings here as well. Particularly with American television programmes, however, negotiations are extremely laborious,” Xbox country manager Gernot Kicker-LaPedalina told pressetext on request. “American programmes can be acquired quickly and easily by American companies. With licensing agreements in Europe, however, we repeatedly encounter legal hurdles,” he continued.
In the United States, contracts already exist with several major film studios and television broadcasters, including MGM, CNN and ABC-Disney TV. Xbox Live currently has around ten million registered users, although user behaviour is primarily limited to online games. New film and television content is intended to expand the platform and make the offering more attractive. “Online gaming naturally remains the main focus of the Xbox Live platform. Games have established and proven themselves over the years. But consumer leisure behaviour is also shaped by online TV and video on demand. This trend will intensify further, and Xbox will cover the area,” Kicker-LaPedalina said.