SALT LAKE CITY and REDMOND, Wash., June 27, 2001 — The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games (SLOC) and NBC have announced a joint agreement with MSNBC.com and the MSN® network of Internet services to produce, host and distribute the official Web sites for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 and NBC’s coverage of the Games. As the first joint Olympic Web site to be delivered to consumers, the site is expected to attract the largest online audience in history for a sports event and will offer companies a premier global marketing opportunity.
The site, which consumers will be able to access from http://www.NBCOlympics.com/ , http://www.saltlake2002.com/ , and http://www.olympics.com/ , will be produced by MSNBC, the leading Internet news source, and promoted through MSN® , the most visited consumer destination on the Web with 230 million unique users worldwide. The site also will be promoted throughout NBC’s television coverage of the Games on NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. For the first time in Olympic history, users will have one integrated source for all their official Olympic information by accessing any of the three URLs directly or exclusively through MSN.
“We are thrilled with the resources our new partners bring to the table,”
said Mitt Romney, president and CEO of SLOC.
“This agreement will greatly enhance our efforts to deliver the most comprehensive Web site in Olympic history.”
SLOC has been recognized as the first organizing committee to fully integrate the Internet into its preparations for the Games.
As an official supplier to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, MSN is able to provide consumers with simple access to exclusive game content and standings. MSN also brings a rich heritage of technology and online expertise to companies looking for the most value from their online marketing dollar. This will be one of the first opportunities for sponsoring companies to employ innovative, new advertising products from MSN. In support of the Games, MSN will make an investment using its advertising products and promotions to market the sites across MSN.
“MSN is honored to offer consumers quick and easy access to exclusive Olympic content and timely Olympic results and standings to our worldwide audience,”
said Rick Belluzzo, president and COO of Microsoft.
“With this opportunity, MSN also is able to provide companies with unique online marketing opportunities for this premier worldwide event.”
Visitors to the site via http://www.Olympics.com/ , which is the URL for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and http://www.saltlake2002.com/ , will find a homepage with feature stories geared toward an international audience. The bulk of the site content, including results and athlete biographies, will be accessible to all visitors. The site will also include extensive reporting of the 15 Olympic winter sports before and during the Games, as well as coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the Olympic Medals Plaza, and the Olympic Torch Relay.
The official Olympic and NBC broadcast Web site will feature the fastest and most comprehensive Olympic results during the Games. Salt Lake City visitor information, including reports on transportation and accommodations, will be featured on the site. Olympic enthusiasts will be also able to continue to shop online for Olympic Winter Games merchandise through Spring 2002.
“The strong partnership marries the strengths of NBC and SLOC with the worldwide audience of MSN and the Internet production experience of MSNBC,”
said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports and Olympics.
“NBCOlympics.com is a valuable part of NBC’s Complete Olympics. The site allows us to extend and complement the storytelling from our broadcasts in a way that was previously unavailable.”
NBCOlympics.com will be the third pillar of NBC’s Complete Olympics coverage, which also includes network and cable television broadcast, and will provide marketers unparalleled reach to U.S. consumers. Many of NBC’s Winter Olympic analysts and announcers will contribute to NBCOlympics.com to preview the Games and provide analysis and commentary during the Games both on air and online.
“This is a great opportunity for us to extend our expertise in cross-platform convergence into the Olympic online experience, building on our success with multimedia and interactive story telling and award-winning design,”
said John Nicol, president and CEO of MSNBC.com.
“We’re excited to be working with this extraordinary team. As the official Web site of NBC Sports and now with these Olympic properties and other sports alliances we’ve developed, our organization is continuing to extend MSNBC.com’s longtime news leadership into sports.”
MSNBC will work with SLOC’s existing Internet partners to manage all the 2002 Olympic Winter Games online service efforts. Those partners include Tickets.com Inc., Monster.com, Harris Interactive Inc., Sema Plc, Qwest Communications International Inc., AT & T and Visa U.S.A.
NBCOlympics.com is part of The Complete Olympics and presented in concert with NBC’s broadcast and cable programming on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. NBC, America’s Olympic Network, owns the U.S. broadcast rights to the Olympic Games through 2008, including 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2004 in Athens, 2006 in Turin, Italy, and 2008 at a site to be determined.
MSNBC.com is the No. 1 news site based on audience data tracked by the Internet measurement service Media Metrix™
. The leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet, MSNBC.com delivers the best of NBC News, MSNBC Cable, NBC Sports (NBCsports.com), CNBC and MSN. MSNBC is a 24-hour cable and Internet joint venture of Microsoft and NBC News.
MSN is the world’s most popular destination on the Web, attracting more than 230 million visitors per month. Available in 33 markets and 17 languages, MSN provides consumers with their home on the Web — where they can get everything they need from the Web and make the most of their time online. MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
A complete archive of SLOC news releases is available at http://www.saltlake2002.com/ .
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