Microsoft and NBC are set to deliver the largest online broadcasting event in history for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Earlier this year Microsoft and 
NBC Universal announced plans to make NBCOlympics.com on MSN the official online home of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The partnership is expected to result in the largest online broadcasting event in history, offering viewers a new level of choice and flexibility in Olympics coverage.
From Microsoft PressPass:
What can users expect from online coverage on NBCOlympics.com?
Miller: NBCOlympics.com on MSN will give sports fans an Olympics experience online like never before, allowing them to watch what they want, when they want. At its peak, NBCOlympics.com will broadcast 20 simultaneous streams online in the richest video format available on the Web today. To put this into perspective, if you made watching the 2008 Summer Olympics a full-time job, it would take you more than two and a half years to watch all the content.
Jorgensen: NBCOlympics.com on MSN will give Olympics fans exclusive access to more than 3,000 hours of live and on-demand video content, all through an immersive and interactive video experience that will redefine how sports fans consume content online. This partnership builds on the momentum MSN achieved with Live Earth and demonstrates the value of the MSN Network as an online media distributor to content partners looking to gain maximum exposure online.
Check out some of these screenshots which shows how the online watching experience of Olympics 2008 would be:
NBCOlympics.com on MSN uses Silverlight 2 to broadcast coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing online. Silverlight enables features such as the expert commentary window, which allows users to see live play-by-play commentary direct from Beijing.
MSN offers a 24×7 Olympics module with the latest news, statistics and videos. The online video content will feature more than 3,000 hours of live and on-demand video content and provide dynamic and interactive stats, athlete profiles, and custom viewing features.
Silverlight enhanced mode offers a larger, crisper picture and offers a picture-in-picture feature allowing viewers to watch multiple simultaneous feeds and quickly switch to the current feed that interests them the most, all in high quality. Other features enable users to set alerts so they won’t miss their favorite event, and the ability to share a feed they’re watching with a friend.
Expert commentators will be live blogging play-by-play action, offering in-depth, personal insights of many Olympic events.
Silverlight delivers four views simultaneously. View four events at the same time with picture-in-picture controls.
Links:
Make sure you dont miss any action Live from Beijing!
