Interview: Perkins Miller, SVP-Digital Media, NBC Sports & Olympics: 'Taking A Big Leap'

The Beijing Games begin in four days?and with them, the most complicated, intensive digital media Olympics yet. Perkins Miller heads that effort for U.S. rights holder NBC Universal ( NYSE: GE) as SVP-Digital Media, NBC Sports & Olympics. We spoke by phone during the last-minute push on a connection via China Mobile that was clear?as was, Miller said, the sky that day in usually smoggy Beijing. NBC plans some 2,000 hours of live online coverage, more than anyone could have imagined even two years ago during the Winter Games and more than any obsessed fan could take in. And yet, NBC's decision to horde the most popular events for prime-time viewing first, broadband second, leaves the sense that the amount being streamed live comes up short. We talked about that, the plans to track unauthorized use, and the NBCOlympics.com strategy, among other topics. Some excerpts:

Programming strategy:Why not make events available online when they happen and let the TV audience be the TV audience?Miller and other NBCU execs contend people want the best viewing experience in prime time and that means HDTV on big flat screens in the living room whether or not events are live. "Our programming strategy is to try to deliver the best experience on the best platform and by far, that is the best way. More after the jump

When you're looking at 2,900 hours of live coverage, you've got to make some decisions. And we need to address the audience and I think we are. You also need to consider major advertisers and affiliates and NBC's own investment. That all comes to bear on the programming strategy? you look at that ideal experience?8:00 p.m. on Saturday night, and Sunday and Monday night, the place to be is in your living room. And given the time difference, the time and place to be Monday morning at your desk may be at your laptop. What we're trying to do is expand this so broadly I think that effort alone is reasonable. We're taking a big leap from Torino of two hours live and upped it 2,000. I think we're going to take a deep breath after this and look to the future and think we've done a pretty good job of addressing that 'when I want it, what I want it' attitude that's pretty pervasive."

Reaction to demand: While some are beyond irked by the lack of live streaming for swimming, track & field and the like, others will be gaining access to events that otherwise would very limited. Miller "We've got these passionate, passionate Taekwondo fans, passionate equestrian fans. Folks who've grown up playing the sports, whose children play them, and for whom the Olympics is the ultimate expression of their sport. Despite the fact that we've been putting it on five cable networks with as much press time as we can, we have not been able to serve the audience as effective they want us to." But delivering 2,000-plus hours of live video requires some caution. "We've decided not to do live commentary on every hour of those more than 2,000 live streams because of the costs." Instead, NBC will rely on live blogging and intense amounts of data to provide context. The network also will have to compromise in other ways it can't be wall-to-wall on every event.

'Catch it before it's posted': NBCU execs intend to zealously guard the company's Olympic rights. Miller explained how they'll do it: "This has been a big initiative with us and with the IOC as well? we've invested a lot in the Olympus and, as a consequence, will work very hard to protect that investment. We've worked with the IOC on fingerprint solutions and worked with some of the major UGC distributors, including YouTube to find a way to identify videos not being put out by NBC." How quickly can NBCU respond when someone posts video of an event broadcast live in the eastern time zone but still on delay for the pacific? "It will be very quick. I can't give you a per second-by-second analysis, but our goal is to catch it before it's posted. That's the intention. There's no such thing as a perfect system in the world of the internet, because there's always a place, some analog method where someone can post something."

NBCU would prefer that this not be viewed only as protecting its own rights?but to give viewers the best experience, which, of course, can be only on NBCOlympics.com or its partners. "We spent a tremendous time of amount and effort to deliver the Olympics and the best experiences we can and we want to make sure we preserve that because that reflects well on the Olympics and reflects well on NBC." But Miller also thinks NBCU should be perceived as taking a risk by doing it at all: "We have to deliver what we promise and we have to work hard to preserve the integrity of the brand. At the same time, this is a seismic shift from one game to another?and this hasn't been a long period of time?going from 2 hours to more than 2,000, to 3,500 on demand and multiple platform. That shows real responsiveness to the market."

Buzz kill?: When I asked if Miller thought the media-coverage rules and policing might limit the buzz factor around the games, he offered up a "snapshot" NBCU took of media coverage a couple of months ago that was "just off the charts"?more than the 2006 Summer Games in Athens and four times higher than Torino in 2006. That's an answer if you equate buzz with press.

Web 1.0 or 2.0?: NBCU has been criticized for having a Web 1.0 approach to the Olympics. Miller's take: "Web 2.0 is one of those big buzzwords that no one knows what it means. ... if it means that the world is a community and tying that community together, we do have a strategy there." That strategy, announced a month ago, is Universal Sports, meant to be a year-round virtual Olympic community centered on world championship events. But the kind of activity people are getting used to?mash-ups, sharing and embedding video, and the like?is another story. Miller: "The rights landscape is what it is. We are protecting our rights within our territory." Because the Olympics flashes by so fast, he doesn't see it as a community opportunity. "It's not necessarily an environment that lends itself to germination of ideas and people sharing clips and being able to form communities over time. I mean, you're going to be in and out of swimming in eight or nine days. So that's why we think the better place for this is in Universal Sports, where you can form that community and lend people the tools to experiment."

Pass the baton: Asked what NBC is doing with existing social nets, Miller cited a Facebook app that's live now calledPass the Baton. "You pass it to your friends and the faster you pass you win, or if you drop it, you get notified. I think it's a fun application and it helps people connect. We find ways for people to connect, but ultimately we want people to go to NBCOlympics.com because we think it's the best place to experience these games."

Listening to him, it's clear that's really what it all boils down to: NBC wants everything Olympics in the U.S. to revolve around NBCOlympics.com. " We can't deliver you results for 34 sports and 10,000 athlete bios and breaking news every day in a Facebook widget. It's not complete. And so we think the best experience is to come to NBCOlympics.com as a hub and connect to other places."

Related

YouTube?s Olympics Highlights For Africa, Asia, Middle East: Cat and Mouse Game?

Online Ad Spend Tied To Olympics Expected To Reach $100 Million: Lehman

GE?s Comstock: Really, NBCU Is Not For Sale

10 Days and Counting: NBCU?s Digital Olympics: The Full Slate Of Offerings

NBC?s Totalitarian Olympics: More on Restrictions; Online Video Only After TV Broadcast