NBC to Stream Live Winter Olympics Video Over Snapchat
For the first time, NBC will stream live Olympics video to a partner: Snapchat will carry a live Olympic moment each day during prime time, starting tomorrow. Live video is a new offering for Snapchat, and NBC will be its first TV partner for live content. Viewers will be able to sign up for notifications letting them know when a live stream is about to take place. These live moments will be featured on the NBC Olympics Discover page in Snapchat.
The two companies didn't say how long the live streams will last, but it sounds like they'll be highly anticipated moments from key events. NBC's statement emphasizes that viewers can "zoom in on different live angles," so viewers will probably be able to see streams that aren't part of the regular NBC broadcast. NBC has a financial interest in Snap's success, as it invested $500 million in the company during its IPO.
Snapchat will also offer Olympic video in a daily Our Stories package. These curated Our Stories pieces will include custom context cards highlighting information from NBC, such as medal counts, local weather, schedules, and links to articles. To see them, viewers will need to swipe up on snaps that say "More." The Our Stories packages will combine broadcast footage, behind-the-scenes clips, and fan video.
NBC will also create two original shows for Snapchat during the PyeongChang Games: Pipe Dreams and Chasing Gold. Pipe Dreams is a 4-part profile of 3 snowboard athletes, while Chasing Gold is a 17-part series on Team USA's journey. Both are available now.
“Building off our successful partnership for the Rio Olympics, we’re excited to significantly expand the NBC Olympic experience on Snapchat by delivering even more content and coverage to the platform, including a live look-in on one of the most compelling moments each day during the Games,” says Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics.
BuzzFeed will create its own daily look at the events, using footage shot by a team in PyeongChang. BuzzFeed is an NBC partner, and will get unique access to athletes and Olympic venues.
Related Articles
In this wide-ranging interview with Monica Williams, NBCUniversal's SVP of digital products and operations for the company's content distribution business, we discuss how the proliferation of digital platforms across the OTT, CTV, and online ecosystems has brought new content distribution challenges, the boon of metadata for improving customer experiences, and the 17-day everything-must-go-perfectly marathon of distributing the Olympics.
24 Jul 2024
Social video platform Snapchat is still paying for its unpopular redesign: It will lose users in the U.S. for the first time this year, dropping by 2.8%
10 Apr 2019
Can a leaner and lighter Snap turn things around? After 100 sales team members are let go, Snapchat looks to the future.
29 Mar 2018
Cheddar Big News will debut next month, offering national news, sports, and weather without panels or partisan bickering.
20 Mar 2018
Younger people prefer to get their news online, so NBC News will launch a streaming service available without authentication.
15 Mar 2018
A report from Openwave Mobility shows that Facebook live video is already more popular in some regions, and buffering is still a major problem.
26 Feb 2018
While Twitter wants to learn a video lesson from Snapchat, walled garden Snapchat is learning to play nice with Twitter and Facebook.
25 Jan 2018
In a bid to expand beyond its own walled garden, Snapchat is creating a way to embed videos on web pages. Could this give the platform the boost it needs?
28 Dec 2017
The social video platform has found success working with established media properties; now, it wants to produce and promote original series, as well.
24 Aug 2017