NBCU-Olympics: Let The Widgets Begin

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Staci D. Kramer

paidContent.org
Friday, August 8, 2008; 3:07 AM

Was going to go with 'let a thousand widgets bloom' but we're way beyond that with the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. NBC Universal ( NYSE: GE) has set up a massive promotional network with more than 4,000 official partners?all driving users back to NBCOlympics.com with a mix of RSS, direct links, widgets and more. We've already written about the deals with MSN and AP (with its 2,000-plus domestic media outlets); other distributors include AOL ( NYSE: TWX) and its video search engine Truveo,The Sporting News, the USOC and some of its sites, some athlete sites, a batch of lifestyle outlets ranging from VIBE.com to Petside.com. That's in addition to all the NBC digital sites and partners.No answer yet from NBC as to whether all get rev share. An NBC spokesman says no rev share for the distribution partners.

At the same time, much like March Madness although on a larger scale, NBC is propagating widgets that any site can use to take part. The result: a lot of places where users can find out a varying degree of detail, some potential reflected glory, and a lot of unpaid, online publicity for NBC.Widget is embedded after the jump.

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