Toyota powered long jumper (via BBC Sports)
The 2012 London Olympics will be the first to be experienced in entirely new ways thanks to two new online applications developed by the BBC. The BBC has sole rights to all of the coverage of the Olympic games, and they would like to ensure these innovative viewing platforms are accessible to sports fans all over the web.
To take full advantage of this huge range of sports programming, the BBC has launched the full version of an interactive video player designed to deliver live footage as well as many extra features that will allow for an immersive and more fulfilling sports viewing experience.
The BBC is also teaming up with Facebook to deliver an in-Facebook viewing app that merges live broadcasting with the social media platform.
The live-interactive video player is loaded with features that will change the way one watches the games. Up to 24 different streams can be easily managed at any moment. All sports will be delivered live, on demand and in HD throughout the entire Olympics. Customizable alerts, as well as real-time alerts for key events, will ensure every moment of the action will be accessible. The player knows to include appropriate facts and real-time stats about any sport, your country’s athletes and competitors that follow along with the video you are watching. The live interactive player also allows for chapter markers and playback functions to skip directly to important moments. The smart player even knows not to give you results before you have seen the event footage.
The player is accessible via a desktop PC as well as certain tablets that use Flash. Devices without flash can still watch live footage but will not have access to the extra features listed above. The player is now available at bbc.co.uk/sport.
The Beta version of the Facebook app will allow sports fans to watch events with friends online and chat about live action. The in-app Activity Stream tells your friends when you are watching an event or “Like” it and you get to see your friend’s activity, as well. Of course, these features can be deactivated at any point.
With all these efforts, the BBC hopes to bring sports fans closer to the big games no matter where in the world they are watching.
Cabe