NBC AND TWITCH ON THE SAME OLYMPIC TEAM
US broadcaster NBC is expanding its Tokyo Olympics coverage to include Twitch. The new partnership with the Amazon-owned streaming platform incorporates Twitch-produced live content, built around US athletes, leading up to, and throughout, this summer ’s games. The collaboration will introduce scheduling aimed specifically at Twitch audiences and feature studio highlights shows, gamified pre-Olympic promotional content, athlete interviews, as well as Olympic-themed gaming competitions. Interactive content on Twitch will kick off a week before the opening ceremony on the NBC Olympics Twitch channel, beginning with a challenge to ‘keep the torch alive.’ Viewers will be tasked to work together and collect items, participating in chat to ‘fan the flame,’ and finally, ‘light the cauldron’ on the day of the ceremony. A pre-Games party in a virtual setting will also run on the channel before the opening spectacle takes place, featuring Olympic-themed segments from a host of Twitch creators. During the Games, NBC Olympics and Twitch will collaborate on daily programming, streaming an even greater selection of Twitch and NBC Olympic talent.
Content on Twitch will include a daily interactive clip show with polls, live AMAs and games that reinforce NBC’s Olympic programming. There’s also a daily competition, with three teams of Twitch creators competing in family-friendly games, plus prime-time Twitch sidecasting that consists of live commentary on a companion interactive broadcast, encouraging co-viewing of the nightly broadcast on NBC. A Live From Tokyo segment will feature athlete interviews and Q&As, giving US fans the chance to connect with their favourite stars. “The way that people consume traditional sporting events is changing,” says Twitch chief content officer, Michael Aragon. “They no longer want to simply spectate. They want to be as close to the action and athletes as possible. We’ve seen this first hand with the growth of our sports community on Twitch. Viewers not only tune in to watch their favourite athletes, they also take part in pre- and post-game interviews, connecting virtually with fans from around the world.”
PEOPLE NO LONGER WANT TO SPECTATE – THEY WANT TO BE CLOSE TO THE ACTION
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