Viewers Worldwide Had Access to the Most Advanced Winter Games Viewing Experience Ever Delivered with 150+ Hours of LIVE Sporting Events, Immersive Features, and Highlights
NBC Sports selected Cosm to provide ultra-high resolution immersive 8K streaming feeds for its virtual reality coverage of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, from Beijing, China, February 2–20.
NBCUniversal provided coverage of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 2-20, featuring a Winter Olympics-record 2,800+ hours of coverage across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. It was NBCUniversal’s 18th Olympic Games, 12th consecutive overall, and sixth straight Winter Games, all the most by any U.S. media company. Delivered through the NBC Olympics VR by Xfinity App, NBC Sports and Cosm captured and produced more than 150 hours of 180-degree live coverage and 360-degree on-demand immersive feeds spanning popular sports such as figure skating, ice hockey, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and more. Currently, the app, which is available to download in the Meta Quest 2 app store, offers viewers a chance to relive the excitement of the Games with on demand coverage of six top sports, as well as features and highlights for an additional 10 sports.
“Cosm has been a great partner in the design, development and execution of this ground-breaking project to deliver live 8K streams in a VR telepresence experience to viewers nationwide” said Zane Vella, Vice President, Audience Development and Innovation, Comcast Cable.
“Cosm is thrilled to have worked with NBC Sports and Comcast to deliver this first-of-its-kind activation. Our goal was to give fans the feeling of being there, and we delivered,” said Cosm President and CEO Jeb Terry. “We showcased our first-in-class capability for delivering real-time sports content via ultra-high resolution 8K streaming, and also set the stage for the future of immersive entertainment. It was an honor to work with partners like NBC Sports and Comcast who continually strive to improve and innovate the fan experience.”
“What was truly unique about this work with the innovative NBC Sports and Comcast team was leveraging technology for live and on-demand videos, encoding them as OMAF-based “tiled” video streams, a format that makes delivery of ultra-high resolution 8K video streams possible to viewer headsets. This historic first for 8K 180-degree resolution feeds delivers the most immersive experience ever seen in live VR sports,” said Cosm Chief Product and Technology Officer Devin Poolman.
About NBC Sports
NBC Sports connects people to the moments that matter most and serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company presents premier content across linear platforms NBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, as well numerous digital sites, including Peacock. It also consists of NBC Sports Next, a subdivision of NBC Sports and home to all NBCUniversal digital applications in sports and technology within its three groups: Youth & Recreational Sports, Golf, and Betting & Gaming. NBC Sports possesses an unparalleled collection of media rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the NFL, NASCAR, INDYCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, USGA, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, Roland-Garros, and many more.
