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NBC will finally air all of the Olympics live, across time zones
Today NBC announced that for the 2018 Winter Olympics, it will finally back off of its hated policy of tape delaying significant portions of the games. In 2016, it streamed much of the competition live, but segments like the Opening Ceremony and each day's prime time programming got the tape delay treatment on TV. In a world connected in real time by phones, Facebook and Twitter, splitting up viewers makes less sense than ever, and NBC is finally acknowledging that instead of just pointing to the ratings or encouraging that viewers "move back east."
NBC invested $500 million in Snap's IPO
Yesterday, Snap Inc. (parent company of Snapchat) finally went public -- and despite some controversy, it had a pretty good first day on the stock exchange. As it turns out, that's due in part to a massive investment from NBC Universal, which put a whopping $500 million into the company. CNBC (which is obviously owned by NBC Universal) reports that the deal was a "strategic investment and partnership" and that it's the only such investment from a US media company.
Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 360-degree video
Let's be honest: no matter how much you like watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, it loses a lot of its thunder if you aren't in New York City to witness it first-hand. However, you might get a better feel for it with the 2016 event. Macy's, NBCUniversal and our corporate overlords at Verizon are planning to livestream the parade in 360 degrees as soon as it kicks off on November 24th at 9AM Eastern. If you have a browser or device that can handle 360-degree YouTube video, you too can watch the floats and marching bands almost as if you were streetside. There will be numerous 360-degree cameras placed at "strategic points" on the route to add a dash of variety. No, this won't help you skip the less-than-enthralling segments, but those so-so moments will at least will be more immersive than ever before.
How to watch tonight's US presidential debate
So you're determined to watch the first of 2016's US presidential debates, but you don't subscribe to TV... or you live in a country that won't have a live broadcast. What to do? Relax. This year, there are more choices than ever for watching online, and not just in the US. We've rounded up the main internet viewing sources for Clinton versus Trump, including the kind of commentary you'll get. Whichever option you choose, you'll probably want to keep our guide to the candidates on hand when things kick off at 9PM Eastern -- the odds are that the grand speeches and spirited arguments won't answer all your technology policy questions.
Bloomberg: Amazon wants live sports streaming rights
Bloomberg believes that Amazon is considering buying the rights to a variety of live sporting events as a way of bringing more people into Prime. According to the site's anonymous sources, the firm has made discreet enquiries about picking up licenses for global sports including tennis, golf, soccer and car racing. The company is believed to have a beady eye on domestic sports like baseball and basketball, although knows that traditional broadcasters have that sewn up for the next few years.
NBC Sports 'Goal Rush' helps you follow Premier League scoring
Premier League soccer started a couple of weeks ago, but this weekend NBC Sports debuted a new feature for fans in the US: Goal Rush. Each week when there are multiple matches going on at the same time, the network will select one for Goal Rush on the NBC Sports app. While the stream will primarily focus on that game (presumably the one with the potential for the most goals), the action will cut away to another in-progress matchup when a goal is scored. For example, this weekend was Arsenal and Watford's 4-goal affair with highlights from the other games spliced in as they happened.
Watching Olympics coverage in VR is fun, but TV is still better
Many people complained about the tape delay and excessive ads for NBC's Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony coverage, but there was another option. If you had a Samsung Gear VR headset and were willing to wait a day, you could watch it in 360-degree video as if you were at Rio's Maracanã Stadium. That's what I did, and it was indeed pretty cool: You're immersed in the event and can look at whatever grabs your eye. The execution and technology are still lacking, unfortunately, which degraded the experience, but it's easy to see how it could one day be a spectacular way to view live events.
NBC will produce original content for Snapchat
If Snapchat's feeling an existential crisis (what with Instagram ripping off its product and all) then it's not showing it. The company has sealed a deal with NBCUniversal that'll see the broadcaster produce "original content" for the messaging service. The shows will feature original material that's been spun out of popular NBC franchises like SNL, The Voice and Fallon. The first will be a scaled-down version of the singing competition, in which user-submitted auditions will be judged by whichever The Voice coach has some free time.
Watch the Olympics in 4K Ultra HD on Comcast, DirecTV or Dish
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are almost here, and despite the issues present in Rio, watching from home should be better than ever. If you're in need of something else to display on your brand new Ultra HD television then we have good news -- NBC will have 4K, HDR footage with Atmos surround sound available that's actually downsampled from 8K (which you can see for yourself, if you live in Japan). The only problem? Not every TV provider will be pushing it to viewers, and it will be on 24-hour tape delay.
Comcast's Rio portal is a good way to keep up with the Olympics
The Olympics are starting in a little over a month and Comcast has devised a way to watch pretty much every minute of them. Xfinity X1 customers -- roughly half of Comcast's user base -- will have access to a special "Front Row to Rio" portal through which they'll be able to watch live content from both NBC-affiliated networks and internet streams. But that's just the start.
NBC lays out its streaming plans for Rio 2016
NBC dropped a few more details on its streaming plans for the Summer Olympics, but it's important to first note what won't be streaming live: the Opening Ceremony. The broadcaster revealed that both TV and online will be on one hour broadcast delay (more on the west coast), and justified the decision by saying it wouldn't need to cut any countries out of the intro to fit commercials. As far as the actual sports, they will all be ready for viewing live, on TV or online. If you don't have cable TV you can expect 30 minutes of streaming access on your first visit before being prompted to login, and after that five minutes without logging in (maybe try clearing those cookies).
The Olympics will be shown in VR, but only on Samsung headsets
NBC began outlining its plans for broadcasting Rio 2016 yesterday, but a few more juicy tidbits have now filtered through. The AP (via ABC News) is reporting that around 85 hours of programming will be available to watch in VR, but only if you use Samsung's Gear VR. The brief report claims that the opening and closing ceremonies will get the 360-degree treatment, as will the men's basketball, gymnastics and track and field. Details beyond that brief outline are sketchy, although it's interesting that the footage is provided by a unit of the International Olympic Committee rather than the usual suspects, like NextVR. All of the content will be available on the NBC Sports app, assuming that you've got a Gear VR-compatible smartphone, of course.
NBC: Rio 2016 broadcast is its 'most live Olympics ever'
While NBC has been criticized for years over its use of tape delay, a combination of multiple channels, live streaming and Brazil's favorable time zone (just hour ahead of ET) mean that shouldn't be a problem this summer. For Rio 2016, NBC says this will be its "most live Olympics ever" with 4,500 hours of coverage streaming on NBCOlympics.com and the recently renamed NBC Sports app. Also new this time around is that the NBC Sports app is on connected TV devices (it launched on Roku and Apple TV last year), not just mobile. You will, of course, still need a cable or satellite account to login and view everything, although NBC hasn't revealed all the details on how that will work.
NBC will air the 2016 Rio Olympics in 4K, HDR and Atmos
NBC has announced that it will make content from this year's Olympic Games available to carriers in 4K and HDR, however there's one little catch. In a setup that will seem familiar for early HDTV adopters who still can't get Sony's "we brought chips... and salsa!" ad out of their heads 12 years later*, 4K UHD footage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, swimming, track and field, basketball, the men's soccer final, and judo is coming home on 24 hour tape delay. NBC will provide a downconverted version of the 8K feed Olympic Broadcasting Services and Japan's NHK are experimenting with, to 4K, and present it in HDR with Dolby Atmos surround sound audio. According to NBC Sports president Gary Zenkel, "The Olympics have been a consistent driver of technological advancements, and Rio will be no different."
This weekend's Kentucky Derby will be broadcast in VR
Television networks have already broadcast boxing, basketball and other sports live in VR. Heck, we've even stepped inside a soccer game. Virtual reality is becoming a regular part of live sports coverage, and that includes horse racing. NextVR and NBC are teaming up to stream his weekend's Kentucky Derby in VR for the first time. In fact, the duo says that this will be the first virtual reality broadcast for the sport of horse racing as a whole.
Amazon offers NBC's Seeso comedy service as a streaming add-on
NBC's Seeso comedy streaming service has been available to all since January, and now Amazon Prime members are getting easy access. The online retailer added NBC's lineup of comedy TV shows and movies, which includes new episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Myers the day after they air. You'll have to shell out an extra $4/month for Seeso on top of that Prime subscription, but doing so puts the comedy library alongside your other Amazon videos.
The Netflix effect: SNL to air fewer commercial breaks
Honchos at NBC have told Ad Age that Saturday Night Live is going to show fewer commercials from next season. The 42nd year of the long-running sketch show will lose two whole ad breaks compared to the current season. That time will be handed back to producer Lorne Michaels to fill with the stated intention of making it "easier to watch the show live." In exchange, the channel will let six companies pay to create "branded original content," that harnesses SNL's cadre of writers and performers. We're not sure how much paid-for programming will change the show's slightly subversive tone, but as long as Kate McKinnon's free to be Kate McKinnon, we're not sure we care.
PlayStation Vue TV streaming is now available across the US
Sony is launching PlayStation Vue nationwide across the US, shaking off the "passion project" image that's haunted the service since its inception. If you live outside Vue's existing seven markets, however, you'll notice that channel availability and pricing is now a little different. Sony is pushing into the rest of the country with three smaller bundles called Access Slim, Core Slim and Elite Sim, the cheapest of which offers around 55 TV channels for $29.99 per month. That's slightly less than the regular Access tier, with the difference being that you'll only get on-demand content from ABC, FOX and NBC. There's no live viewing for these networks.
Yahoo streaming deal nets weekly NHL hockey games
Yahoo is no stranger to streaming live sports, and starting this week it's adding hockey coverage. The company struck a deal with the National Hockey League (NHL) to offer live action from up to four out-of-market games in the US through the 2016-2017 season. The NHL "Game of the Day" will be available to stream free of charge (no cable subscription required), complete with in-game highlights for each matchup. Yahoo will also show "Best of the Day" and "Best of the Week" highlights alongside condensed games under the terms of the deal. What's more, Yahoo Sports will still be the NHL's official fantasy hockey partner.
NBC's comedy streaming service arrives on Roku and Fire TV
NBC's comedy streaming service officially went live back in January after a month-long preview. As of today, the monthly subscription is now available on two popular streaming devices. Roku and Amazon Fire TV owners can now take advantage of Seeso for genre-specific content. And yes, the $4/month service is also available on the Fire TV Stick. Seeso offers on-demand access to original series, late-night NBC shows, network series, movies and more. If you're still waiting for Seeso to reach your streaming gadget of choice, NBCUniversal says it'll be available on more platforms "in the coming months." For now, the web, iOS and Android are the current alternatives to Roku and Amazon's gear.
