When it comes to the Olympics, I have to admit I consume the games much the same way I consume junk food. I don’t have to have it, but if it’s there, I’m not going to pass it up. And with these London games, accessibility to the coverage is virtually unlimited. NBC’s website, nbcolympics.com, promises that, “with a cable, satellite or telco TV subscription that includes MSNBC and CNBC, you will have access to live streams of EVERY Olympic event.”
Now it’s no secret that the way in which people devour their favorite content has changed over the years. The consumer is much more empowered in his choices, not just in the diversity of content, but how and when he wishes to view those choices. I’m reminded of how much things have changed every time one of my kids complains when I ask them to turn the TV off, because heaven forbid they don’t get to watch the new SpongeBob episode right when it premieres. (Never mind the fact that that particular episode will be re-played more times than they can count.) In this situation I politely explain to them that they don’t know how good they have it. Much the same way my parents did to me when I was younger, because after all, things just keep getting better for every successive generation, right?
And so as we move toward a model of Over the Top content consumption and away from the days of Appointment Television viewing, it will be interesting to see the data that comes out of these Olympic games concerning what people are watching and how they are watching it. Are people compelled to watch a particular event as it is happening, or would they rather wait for the tape delayed presentation? Has streaming technology gotten to the point where people won’t notice a difference in quality? Will people watch more or less of these Olympics? And what will all of this portend for the future of live event viewing and marketing?
As big Cable goes toe-to-toe with the purveyors of Over the top content, one ace-in-the-hole for cable companies has always been the live sporting event. It’s the one bit of programming that people historically want to view as it is happening. The big game doesn’t have the same excitement when viewed the next day via DVR. And the best way, and many times the only way, to partake as it is happening is if you have a cable subscription. The Olympics has always been a special case because the scheduling of events rarely makes it possible to catch the sport you want while it is happening. That has changed somewhat with the unbridled access we now enjoy, but many people don’t have the time to watch when it is happening. Therefore many of us are content to wait until that evening for the tape delayed coverage and pretend we’re watching it live.
To their credit, the networks and cable providers (no coincidence that these games are being covered by a network that is owned by a cable provider) seem to understand that consumers want the best of both worlds. They realize that people don’t want to be tied to their living rooms and flat screen TVs, except for those times when that’s exactly what we want. So hopefully what will come out of these games is the further advancement of technological and service offerings aimed at satisfying the consumers’ ever shifting list of what they want.