--NBC Launches "Heroes," "The Office" Webisodes
NBC and the NFL have announced plans to stream the show, "Sunday Night Football" (will offer coverage of 17 games this season), live on NFL.com and NBC.com. The deal represents the first time that complete NFL games have been available throughout the US via online streaming.
The streaming service, dubbed "Sunday Night Football Extra" and billed by NBC and the NFL as a "one-year experiment," will offer various interactive services, including the ability to access additional camera angles (including a "cable cam" and a "star cam" that follows a star player), picture-in-picture technology (allowing viewers to watch multiple streams simultaneously), in-game highlights (available on- demand), live statistics, and a live blog (allowing viewers to interact with the cast of the show, "Football Night in America," and NFL Network talent). The service, which will debut with the 2008 NFL Kickoff on Thursday, September 4th, will also include in-game studio updates from the NBC "Football Night in America" team and from NFL Network talent.
In other NBC news (note: see also the article in this issue on NBC's Olympics plans):
The company has launched a Web series, entitled "Going Postal," that is designed to build interest in the fall season of its primetime TV show, "Heroes." The new series--which features integrated marketing from its sponsors, Nissan and Sprint, and which is expected to be the first of several "Heroes"-related Web series--provides viewers with a new "Heroes" character, mailman Echo DeMille, whose adventures will have some significance for the show when its third season premieres this fall. "The teams involved, from the show to the studio and the digital group, really hit a home run with these Webisodes," Vivi Zigler, president of NBC Universal Digital Entertainment, said in a prepared statement. "Fans of 'Heroes' are going to find a satisfying installment that sets them up perfectly for the third season."
The company has also launched its second series of Webisodes designed to complement the primetime comedy series, "The Office." The Webisodes are sponsored by Comcast, Sony Electronics and Priceline.
