08/21/07

AP to offer exclusive NBC sports, video content during 2008 Summer Olympics

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Associated Press and NBC Universal reached a deal that allows AP to include video links and other exclusive content from the 2008 Summer Olympics in a premium online service, the companies said Tuesday.

NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., owns the broadcast and video rights to the Games, which begin Aug. 8 in Beijing.

The AP, the world's largest news agency, plans to start the online service in the coming weeks with interactive graphics, multimedia and text content produced on its own. NBC Sports and NBC Olympics will provide links to exclusive video and other online content generated by NBC.

"The joint effort will provide AP customers with comprehensive Olympic coverage leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as during the 17 days of international Beijing competition," the AP said in a statement.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The move aims to satisfy increased demand by media outlets for online and interactive content, as more newspaper readers turn to Internet-based sources for their news, sports, business and entertainment information.

Much of the sports market "has essentially moved online and to broadcast, so this service adapts to the market and the expected consumership of these Games," said Lou Ferrara, The AP's deputy managing editor for multimedia.

News outlets that subscribe to the premium service can feed it directly to their own Web site or use a hosted version that can be branded accordingly, Ferrara said.

The Associated Press is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its member newspapers and broadcasters.