US★ Live Streaming Boosts TV Viewership

NBC Universal, which holds exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the Sochi Olympics, experienced during the London Olympics two years ago that television viewership increased as more screens were used for viewing. Primetime TV viewership, which was delayed due to the time difference and aired as recorded broadcasts, grew thanks to live internet streaming and interest generated via Twitter and Facebook.

For the Sochi Olympics, with a roughly 9-hour time difference, NBC will offer 500 hours of broadcast TV (including cable) and 200 hours of pay-TV video-on-demand, plus 1,000 hours of live streaming—a 43% increase over London. They've also strengthened their Twitter partnership, adding a "See it" feature that lets users watch videos or schedule recordings on mobile devices with a single button press.

NBC secured the exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the Olympics from 2014 to 2020 for $4.4 billion. For the Sochi Olympics, it has invested $775 million in TV broadcast rights and $100 million in production costs. NBC's advertising revenue has already exceeded $800 million (as of February 7).

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