NBC to Use AT&T Networking Services for Live Transmission of 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

NBC Universal, the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, is collaborating with AT&T to help bring live coverage of the events to fans. The company will use AT&T's managed network solution to support expanding bandwidth requirements and deliver programming to viewers across the U.S.

With consumers using more platforms than ever – including TV, PCs and mobile phones – to view high-definition video, NBC needed reliable network bandwidth to effectively deliver live and recorded Olympic Games content. Under a seven-event contract through 2012, AT&T is providing a managed private networking solution that connects NBC's space in the International Broadcast Center (IBC) production facilities at the Olympic Winter Games with NBC facilities in the U.S. Through this networking arrangement, AT&T is able to transfer bandwidth-intensive, high-definition video from the Vancouver Games to NBC's U.S. facilities, which are then able to distribute the coverage on televisions, AT&T mobile phones and NBCOlympics.com for video streaming of events.

In advance of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, AT&T and NBC teams worked collaboratively on long-range planning and testing to facilitate high-quality execution. AT&T arranged diverse, always-on network circuits with back-up features and multiple transfer paths to help ensure that coverage is transmitted seamlessly, even if a circuit unexpectedly fails. With dedicated AT&T teams providing support on-site in Vancouver, at NBC's headquarters in New York and in AT&T's support centers, network performance is constantly monitored and managed to help ensure 24/7 transmission of event coverage.

In support of NBC's initiative to bring quality video content to consumers on their preferred platform, AT&T recently announced a separate agreement with NBC to provide all-hours event coverage on AT&T mobile phones, AT&T U-verse(SM) TV and broadband-enabled PCs. AT&T is the only mobile phone carrier that will deliver live video coverage from the Vancouver Games.