LONDON, (Reuters) – Advances in technology will allow sports fans on both sides of the Atlantic to see more Olympic action than ever this summer without being chained to the television screen.
Calling London 2012 “the first truly digital Games”, the BBC will provide live streams of every event to British homes, making the feeds available on internet-connected TVs, PCs, mobile phones and tablets.
In the United States, NBCUniversal is planning similar blanket coverage of all 302 medal competitions.
Beyond the sheer amount of action on offer, the balance of power is shifting toward allowing tech-savvy viewers to choose what and where they watch rather than being a slave to broadcasters’ schedules.
The changes also risk stoking competition between three of the international sponsors of the Olympics – Taiwanese group Acer, Japanese company Panasonic and South Korean firm Samsung – as convergence brings them into closer combat for consumer cash.
The Games fall at a crucial time for Panasonic, one of Japan’s best-known brands, which has promised a return to profit this year after a record loss.
David Preece, Panasonic’s UK marketing director for audio-visual products, foresaw a bumper summer of sports as an ideal platform to persuade consumers to upgrade to internet TVs.
“It is no secret that we tend to get a peak of interest in purchasing TVs when major sports events are on. This year we have Euro 2012 (soccer), Wimbledon and Olympics all in one summer,” he told Reuters.
“Connected TV provides a more social, more relaxed family environment. Four years ago, at the last Games, this would not have been possible. It is a kind of revolution in technology coverage.”
Panasonic, the supplier of audio-visual equipment for the Olympics since the 1980s, plans to offer the BBC Sports app linking to all the Games action on its smart TVs. It has not disclosed sales targets or marketing spend around the Games.
The app will get its first test next month during the Wimbledon tennis tournament when the BBC will stream simultaneous coverage from several courts.
TWO-SCREEN STRATEGY
Acer, Panasonic and Samsung are three of 11 global Olympic sponsors who have paid a total $957 million to market products on the back of the Games – winter and summer.
Beyond brand-building, sponsors see the Games as a showcase for new technologies and advertising strategies, and are licking their lips at the potential offered by London.
Many sports fans already favour a two-screen strategy — TV on the wall and tablet or mobile in hand to chat to friends online, comment on the action or gamble.
Samsung, which has displaced Apple as the world’s largest smartphone maker by numbers sold, provides wireless telecoms equipment to the Games. It will use the Olympics to build momentum behind its Galaxy S III smartphone which it launched in Europe on Tuesday.
“Social media such as Facebook and Twitter allow people to immediately share their thoughts, feelings and excitement while watching the Games,” said Sunny Hwang, head of Worldwide Sports Marketing at Samsung Electronics.
“The Olympic Games and sports are no longer just open to the athletes, commentators, and experts. It is now open to everyone,” he said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
