Dear iTV Doctor:
I've enjoyed all the NBC Olympic coverage, particularly the interactive channel on Cablevision (actually, I didn't actually SEE that--I saw Steve Donohue's video posting on Facebook). But then I saw [NBC Universal VP of digital distribution] Michael Aaronson's presentation at the DISH Network iTV Summit, and I understand NBC went interactive on AT&T, DISH Network, DirecTV, Comcast, Verizon, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, and Cablevision. How in the world did NBC manage all that? How did they decide which platforms to work with? Did they have to create a different application for each platform?
Amazed in Arizona
Dear Amazed:
I also saw Mike Aaronson's presentation at the iTV Summit, and I was truly impressed at the range and scope of the project. Clearly NBC made the decision to go where the eyeballs are--an Olympian (pardon the pun) effort. In point of fact, I don't believe there is an active iTV platform out there that NBC didn't engage. But we're lucky--we can go right to the source. Here's what Mike has to say:
It's no secret that NBCU endeavors to make its coverage of the Olympic Games the most comprehensive and engaging experience for its viewers. A key component of that strategy is working with our multichannel video distribution partners to enhance the linear experience with interactive features and functionality. The upshot of that is naturally working with a broad set of platforms and distributors to bring that interactivity to as many homes as possible.
That said, it's no easy feat and takes a significant amount of time and resources to accomplish what we did for Vancouver. Fortunately, with an event like the Olympics, we have the luxury of knowing our target launch date far in advance and are able to get both internal and operator resources mobilized early toward meeting that deadline--it's in everyone's interest to have the app running smoothly the moment the Games begin. For Vancouver, we began scoping the platforms, feature set and development requirements up to 10 months in advance.
While the nature of the business necessitated different applications for different platforms, the common thread across all of the apps was the use of existing RSS feeds to enable key features such as medal tracker, news stories and TV schedule. The feeds we used for every application were already developed to facilitate syndication of content from NBCOlympics.com. Those feeds are then modified (or "parsed" as the tech guys like to call it) for ingestion and display by each of the apps. So despite the inability to leverage a single development effort and create a uniform customer experience across platforms, we were able to incorporate a few key baseline features (e.g. medal count and news stories) across the board and then layer in additional customizations and depth based on the capabilities of each platform.
The feature sets on each
platform come down to a mutual agreement between NBCU and each of our distribution partners. We begin with the goal of having a common set of features across platforms, but have the flexibility to adjust based on the capabilities of each platform as well as the customer experience each partner is most interested in creating.
Our EBIF application on Verizon FiOS, which was developed with Ensequence, utilized three data feeds: medal count, top stories and athlete bios. We intentionally kept the feature set a bit leaner because of bandwidth constraints and technical limitations to scaling linear video on the platform. In other words, because the app existed in a video overlay on the lower third of the screen, we designed it to feature information cleanly displayed and navigated in that environment.
In comparison, the Olympics app on AT&T U-verse, created by AT&T's internal development team, was more like a microsite with text and images from five different data feeds displayed full screen: Top Stories, Team USA Report, Athlete Bios, TV Schedule and Medal Count. It invited customers to interact, regardless of whether they were watching Olympics coverage at the time--with interactivity accessible via a virtual channel as well as the interactive menu. There were also links from the app to NBCU Olympics VOD content as well as an Olympics "Multiview" channel (i.e. a mosaic), where viewers could navigate through Olympics broadcast coverage across the family of NBCU networks.
These illustrate two different experiences resulting from different platform capabilities and priorities--but both served to enhance the Olympics experience on the TV for their respective customers. We go through this same detailed analysis and evaluation for each of the platforms before locking in final feature sets and screen designs.
Another important element is how people access the interactivity. On the DISH platform, the primary path to launch the application was via triggers that DISH sends to the box at scheduled intervals, generating on-screen prompts to viewers watching Olympic coverage on USA, MSNBC or CNBC. When a viewer opted to launch the app, the linear viewing window squeezed back to the upper right corner and the interactive features surrounded that broadcast feed. What we as a programmer really like about this approach is that the viewer interaction is a natural accompaniment to the primary linear viewing experience. It gives the viewer the option as to how deep they want to go into the interactive features, while keeping them engaged with the linear broadcast.
The applications on DirecTV and Verizon also were driven by triggers on the linear feeds of our Olympic broadcasting cable networks. On the other hand, the applications on Comcast, AT&T, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable-Hawaii were accessed via a distinct virtual channel and/or a button from the main IPG menu. All other factors being equal, we would expect stronger engagement from apps that capitalize on the linear viewing audience via triggers.
This year, we also had the opportunity to incorporate five different flavors of mosaic channels into all of our non-EBIF applications. For the most part, the effort in building the mosaic channel lies with the operators. They need to have the technical capability and bandwidth to create a separate channel that brings in multiple linear channel feeds. Mosaic channels are great vehicles to navigate sports programming such as the Olympics where multiple events air at the same time across various networks. Our mosaic channels with Comcast, Cablevision and Time Warner-Hawaii (the latter two developed by ActiveVideo Networks) were also used to direct v
iewers to our VOD programming as well as the data-driven interactive features.
There are an amazing number of moving parts to bring all of this together in a way that reflects well on the NBC Olympics brand as well as our distribution partners. Ultimately, it's the magnitude of the Olympics that largely justifies the level of effort involved to pull it off. We still need easier and faster ways to enhance year-round programming with interactivity, not to mention a path to monetize all of this work in a meaningful way. But the Olympics continue to be a great vehicle for NBCU and our partners to showcase the great potential of these platforms.
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The iTV Doctor is *Rick Howe*, who provides interactive television consulting services to programmers and advertisers. He is the recipient of a CTAM Tami Award for retention marketing and this year was nominated to Cable Pioneers. He is also the co-author of a patent for the use of multiscreen mosaics in EPG's. Endorsed by top cable and satellite distributors, "Dr" Howe still makes house calls, and the first visit is always free. His services include product development, distribution strategy and the development of low-cost interactive applications for rapid deployment across all platforms. Have a question for the iTV Doctor? Email him at itvdoctor@itvt.com
