Image from CBC.ca
Who knew, back when the Olympic games began in Greece, that one day there would be no limit to who and where viewers could be? The original naked athletes, with nothing but wreathes for their heads, would surely have been scratching those heads, astounded to know that on every continent, in every nation, on every street, there would be people watching live from across the globe.
But that is exactly what happened. Millions of people from all points of the compass tuned in live to watch streams of runners, gymnasts, swimmers and the like compete for small tokens around their necks. They cheered them on and rooted for their favorites from couches, bus stations, city parks and hiking trails, alone and with friends.
According to sources such as PRNewsWire.com, the NBC network sent out more than one hundred million streams of video, nearly half of them shown live. In the first ten of seventeen days of the event, almost ten million pay-TV patrons utilized the streams to participate in this multi-millennial sports achievement and cheer with fans of a multitude of sports. Desktop computers, laptops and notepads, smartphones and iPads were all capable and ready to provide what mobile users are asking for more and more; a way to stay in the know while being on the go.
Satellite companies like DISH, have proven to be very adaptive to the demands of their customers by offering their transmissions via Sling adapters. Subscribers can authenticate their service and watch anywhere using TV Everywhere by merely logging into their home service. This has never been available before this Olympic season and the results were nothing short of spectacular.
It was reported that viewers of TV Everywhere Olympic service from NBC were satisfied with the experience. PR NewsWire recorded a 77% positive rating given from users to their friends and recommended the service to them for future use.
There was one negative that most users reported: advertisements were found to be less enjoyable than the events and they wanted fewer, PR NewsWire also reported. Nothing new there and we will see if NBCOlympics.com responds with fewer next time around.
Another attractive feature of the live streams, they said, were that the events were capable of being seen in real time, rather than having to wait for delayed airings according to US time schedules.
TV Everywhere is expected to become in demand as word of mouth spreads following the successful integration of the technology and the sports venues. PR NewsWire anticipates a tremendous growth over the next 6 months. It has all the appearances of having the same effect on the general population as the emergence of social networking websites, much to the delight of those who have all sorts of ideas for utilizing the service for increased economic gains.
Satellite companies are excited about this new ability to provide services for their customers and their changing needs as mobility becomes more and more the norm, from Greece to America and all points beyond.
Then next games in 2016 should prove very interesting and we look forward to the leaps in technology that will take place over the next four years which should heighten the experience even more significantly.
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About the Author: Michael “Big Mike” McCaffery works with Go Dish. While on Facebook, stop by and see the new things that are continually in development.
