NBC Sports Brings Olympics Coverage to Facebook

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NBC Sports has partnered with Facebook to promote its Olympics coverage with exclusive content, trivia and daily polls that will be shared on primetime TV. The two companies are also collaborating on Talk Meter, a new data tool that will alert fans about results, stories and other events at the Olympic Games that are generating discussions on Facebook.

Media consumption habits have changed dramatically with the explosion of social media and online content, and NBC hopes to reach more fans of the Olympics by pushing content outside of its core distribution channels. NBC Sports' editorial teams will also be working with Facebook to produce social media segments that will be broadcast throughout the games on the NBC network.

NBC Olympics, the division committed to NBC Sports' exclusive coverage of the Olympic Games, also launched an app that lets enthusiasts "Add NBC Olympics to your Facebook Timeline." The app, available on NBCOlympics.com, serves as an online hub allowing people to share content from the London 2012 Olympic Games with their friends without having to click share or like. NBC said it wants to extend the value and reach of its 5,535 hours of coverage of the Olympic Games by offering fans more content such as news, photos and exclusive video across multiple social media platforms. Facebook users will be able to access the content once they like NBC Olympics.

"With the Olympic Games being one of those rare cultural moments that everyone talks about, people will watch the games on NBC and engage with their friends and favorite athletes on NBC Olympics' Facebook page," noted Andy Mitchell, strategic partner manager at Facebook, in a prepared statement. "NBC's viewers will get to see what Olympic athletes and others connected with the Games are talking about on Facebook, adding a new element to NBC Olympics' coverage. By sharing what they choose to watch on NBCOlympics.com, people will identify the events and highlights that are important to them and discover other Olympic moments through their friends."

In this way, the app could be used by NBC to glean data about the niche interests of its Facebook fans. Facebook and NBC Sports were both unavailable for comment.

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London begin July 27.