Olympics gives NBC a close look at data

As the start of the Summer Olympics nears, NBC is gearing up to go for the gold with data. The company is partnering with Google and comScore to delve into consumer media habits on TV, mobile, PCs and tablets. NBCUniversal is “testing and refining trackers for smartphones and tablets, cookies for users’ computers and one app that, like the song-identifying program Shazam, ‘listens’ to your television using your phone and tells Google, comScore and NBCU what you’re watching,” according to Adweek’s Sam Thielman. That may not seem like a big deal for the company at first glance, but when you factor in the tens of millions of fans that will be following the events, and the data-mining potential that goes with that large consumer base, it puts the network at a huge advantage. “It’s a huge amount of use,” Alan Wurtzel, NBCUniversal’s president of research and media development, told Thielman. Plus, in an effort to please its Internet users, the company is streaming live all 32 sports at the Olympics. “Whatever is on schedule that day, if cameras are on it, we’ll stream it,” Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media, told the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir. The move is an about-face of the network’s earlier tendency to overlook web viewers in favor of high prime-time TV ratings.

Meanwhile, social media is expected to transform this year’s Olympics into what organizers are calling the world’s “first social Games.” TV networks will add athletes’ Twitter posts to broadcast spots, and the International Olympic Committee recently unveiled a social media hub that connects fan and athletes via Facebook messages and Twitter. “Get ready for the first Twitter Olympics,” quipped the Wall Street Journal’s Shira Ovide. That, of course, has advertisers lining up. “Big consumer brands have long seen the Olympic Games as a way to get more consumers to buy their products. This year, several are thinking of them as a way to talk up their brands on Facebook—which of course could lead to even more purchases,” explained Reuters’ Sarah McBride.

• Going for the Gold (Standard) (Adweek)

• At London Olympics, NBC Says, ‘If Cameras Are on It, We’ll Stream It’ (NY Times)

• MSN, FoxSports Sites Team For Olympic Coverage (MediaPost)

• NBC to live-stream all sports from London Olympics (CNET News)

• NBC’s London Olympics strategy: If it moves, stream it (paidContent)

• Getting Ready for the Social Media Olympics (Wall Street Journal)

• How Social Media Will Change the Olympics (Mashable)

• Social media is gold for Olympics advertisers (Reuters)

• International Olympic Committee Launches Social Hub Ahead of Games (Adweek)