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Yahoo and NBC Sports launch 'Fantasy Football Live' and 'SportsDash with Yahoo Sports' shows for TV and the web
ESPN may well be the biggest name in both online and television sports coverage, but Yahoo and NBC Sports are doing their best usurp the worldwide leader on both fronts. The latest assault on ESPN's hegemony comes in the form of two new shows that bridge the gap between TV and online video: Fantasy Football Live - Thursday Night! and SportsDash with Yahoo Sports. Just in time for the start of the NFL season, FF Live - Thursday Night! airs weekly starting August 1st on the NBC Sports channel from 6:30-7PM ET, then continues as a web broadcast on Yahoo! Sports from 7-7:30. Naturally, the show will feature talent from both NBC and Yahoo delivering fantasy football-related info and analysis. Meanwhile, SportsDash, a SportsCenter-style highlights and analysis program launches on August 19th and will air daily on NBC Sports from noon-1PM ET. SportsDash is taking a page from the Daily Show playbook, as extended interviews and stories will be streamed online from 1-1:15PM after the TV broadcast. Perfect. Two more sources of info we can use to dominate the annual Engadget HD podcast fantasy football pick-em.
NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports cut a deal to fuse internet, TV coverage
While Yahoo has had a tumultuous last few years, one unit that has consistently been at the top of the heap is its sports news division. At the same time, NBC Sports has been getting a boost -- even without the NHL's help -- ever since Comcast bought NBCUniversal. Apparently between Yahoo's need to better leverage its media properties and NBC's free agency after calling it quits with Microsoft the two have found common ground and struck a deal. Although both websites will continue to operate independently, expect multi-platform crossover between TV and internet, cross-promotion with links to NBC Sports Live Extra streams from within Yahoo, new made-for-the-internet video shows combining their assets and Yahoo's fantasy sports will be the exclusive game for NBC's Rotoworld site. Check after the break for the press release and a heads up on why even non-sports fans that pay for TV may need to keep an eye on this move.
BBC Olympic coverage to include 24 live HD channels available on TVs, phones, PCs and tablets
The BBC has home field advantage for the 2012 Olympics, and it's revealing more details about how it plans to broadcast over 2,500 hours of live sports on 24 channels that viewers can watch pretty much anywhere. Director Roger Mosey indicates it started out as a way to watch all 24 streams on the BBC Sport website via PCs or mobile devices, but has been expanded to offer the streams through television operators as well. So far Sky and Freesat are confirmed in, while Freeview users can punch up two extra channels via the program guide or red button. On this side of the Atlantic, the most recent news is that NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) will be right alongside the broadcast NBC channel (which has its own streaming plans in combination with YouTube) with a "record" amount of Olympic coverage. It could air as many as 300 hours of content from London, as well as some of the Olympic Trials. Hit the source links below for more details, we'll probably be hearing much more before the Olympic Flame makes its way to the stadium July 27th.
NBC divvies up 835 hours of Winter Olympics action over TV & online, how much curling can you watch?
The Super Bowl isn't the only sporting event we'll be getting ready for next month, as NBC kicks off its multichannel coverage of the Winter Olympics February 12. It's planning 835 hours of (Conan-less) planned coverage which will all be in high definition. Check the press release for the full details of when the action will be on, divided up on NBC, USA, MSNBC (home of curling) and CNBC (Universal HD is stuck reairing coverage from USA.) We're most interested to see the updated Silverlight powered player on NBCOlympics.com that should bring more than 400 hours live competition and 1,000 hours video available on-demand (check your cable/satellite/telco provider for their various VOD and interactive TV packages) coming straight to the desktop in HD.
