NBCSports.com figures to add millions of sports site surfers in its move to link with msnbc.com on the eve of the Super Bowl and the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In a multi-year deal unifying media platforms, NBCSports.com will provide msnbc.com a sports news arm and will trade content with NBC Sports.
“We’ve been very focused on how we can have a bigger digital footprint at NBC Sports,” said Perkins Miller, senior vice president, digital media, NBC Sports & Olympics “Msnbc.com has a deep rich audience that is hungry for this kind of content.”
NBC Sports, http://www.NBCSports.com and http://www.msnbc.com will pool advertising and sponsorship sales efforts as part of the new relationship.
The move is strategically timed as a prelude to the Super Bowl, being carried on NBC, and the Olympics. Live online video coverage of upcoming Olympics trials will be one indicator of NBCSports.com aggressiveness to grab a larger audience online.
Miller said this Saturday’s live coverage of the Olympics Marathon trials in New York City is “a first step in broader coverage” of Olympics trials in the next year leading up to the Beijing Summer Games in 2008.
Football is helping to move the chains for NBCSports.com traffic. NBC’s Sunday Night Football has helped create a buzz online among users who play football fantasy games on NBCSports.com through Rotoworld, acquired by NBC Sports earlier this year. The site is running a $100,000 Fantasy Football Challenge, ultimately pitting the best online players from the regular season against each other for the grand prize during the NFL playoffs.
Toyota sponsors a Blog Buzz on NBCSports.com, flagging the most popular football blogs on the Web. And Vonage sponsors live pre- and post-game shows online around NBC’s coverage of Notre Dame football.
Miller said its objective with sponsored segments is to create “something that’s very modern and contextual for our younger users.”
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