Sasha Cohen stops in Atlanta for preview of Comcast/Xfinity Winter Games coverage
I was fortunate to attend a kickoff event in Atlanta with two-time Winter Olympian and 2006 Figure Skating silver medalist, Sasha Cohen, Comcast unveiled the most live, mobile and technologically advanced Olympics experience that will be available to Xfinity TV customers on the TV and across platforms for the Winter Olympics PyeongChang 2018. Following the success of the Rio Olympics, Comcast is building onto it’s platforms and rolling out a host of new features on Xfinity X1 and the Xfinity Stream app and web portal so viewers can customize and control their Olympics viewing experience across platforms, and never miss a moment of the Winter Games.
“Our goal is to raise the bar for the modern-day Olympics viewing experience across platforms, and experiment with new features and functionality that will surprise and delight our customers in exciting new ways,” said Matt Strauss, Executive Vice President, Xfinity Services. “With 50 new virtual channels dedicated to the PyeongChang Games, enhanced voice control, medal counts, real-time stats and daily summaries, we are excited for X1 customers to experience the Olympic Games like never before. And by creating one go-to destination for all Olympics coverage across devices on Xfinity Stream, all Xfinity TV customers can access every moment of every event on their favorite devices, at home or anywhere in the country.”
Philadelphia-headquartered Comcast/Xfinity made big strides with their Rio Olympics offerings in 2016, and they've expanded for PyeongChang, including direct involvement with the athletes.
“We learned (from Rio) and we put things together in an easy way to use,” explained Comcast Vice President of Product, Sports & Apps, Preston Smalley. In addition, Comcast/Xfinity is getting behind and sponsoring athletes.”
New additions to the X1 app for the Winter Games:
– 50 Virtual Channels, curated by the Xfinity TV editorial team, that highlight the best moments of each day in PyeongChang, trending athletes, spills and thrills and more. Customers can watch all videos included in a playlist or browse and select only the videos they would like to watch.
– Daily summaries offering real-time snapshots of the Olympics with up-to-date information on the day’s events, featured athletes and a medal tracker.
– On demand access to NBC programming in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos three-dimensional sound, including the opening ceremony, ski jumping, figure skating, and snowboard big air. NBC Olympics’ 4K HDR coverage of the PyeongChang Games is presented by Xfinity.
– An on-screen companion experience with the X1 Sports App, providing viewers with the latest scores, schedules, stats, and highlights for every sport and event.
With use of the voice remote, users will be able to rest their fingers and experience the ease and power of using your voice.
There are now more 500 million voice commands generated monthly, X1 customers are using their voice remotes more than ever to navigate their entertainment experience.
For the PyeongChang Winter Games, X1 customers can:
⦁ Say “Winter Olympics” to navigate to the NBC Olympics dashboard. ⦁ Check the hockey score while watching curling by saying, “USA Men’s Hockey.” ⦁ Explore events, replays, and highlights for any sport by saying, “Alpine Skiing.” ⦁ Find out when athletes are competing by saying, “Gus Kenworthy” or “Team USA.” ⦁ Check out how any country is doing by saying, “What is the medal count?” ⦁ Plan out your day by saying, “What Olympics events are on today?” ⦁ Say, “What song is this?” to get song and artist information for the music playing during figure skating performances.
Towards the end of the event, Cohen took the mic at the new Comcast/Xfinity store at The Battery in Cobb County to tell stories of her two Olympic Games. For most of these Olympic athletes, “they get one shot,” said Cohen.
“The Winter Olympics comes once every four years, the Super Bowl is every year,” added Cohen with a chuckle. “Not to take anything away from the Super Bowl,”
The evening wrapped up with Cohen posing for pictures and offering advice to members of a local figure skating academy that were in attendance.
“They will have the opportunity to watch all of the figure skaters and follow on social media,” stated a smiling Cohen.
It all starts in a matter of days. The NBC Primetime Show begins February 8th with coverage available via NBCUniversal networks including NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), USA Network, CNBC, and the Olympic Channel.
