NBC Sports has launched a new direct-to-consumer streaming service that will give users access to seven Winter Olympic sports, including alpine skiing, ski jumping, and snowboarding.
Snow Pass, which comes as an add-on to the subscription service NBC Sports Gold for $69.99, features 700-plus hours, including 100 exclusive hours, of live coverage of winter events.
Also included in the package are freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, nordic combined (a mix of cross-country skiing and ski jumping), and biathlon (a mix of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting).
The service will give fans access to live and on-demand domestic and international competitions from October 2018 through April 2019. NBC is working to leverage the popularity of winter sports showcased by the 2018 Winter Olympics held in South Korea earlier this year.
“Coming off the success of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, the appetite for winter sports coverage has never been greater,” said Portia Archer, NBC Sports’ vice president of direct-to-consumer services, in a statement. “Whether it’s the thrill of the downhill, the endurance of cross-country, or the majesty of the ski jump, we’re excited to give fans more content than ever before.”
Snow Pass will complement the hundreds of hours of winter sport programming that already airs across NBC, NBCSN, the Olympic Channel, and respective digital properties. The package will feature every remaining stop of the World Cup season for each of the seven sports, Live and on-demand coverage of the FIS World Championships, which will be held from February to March 2019 in Austria, will be included as well.
SportTechie Takeaway
NBC shattered its own record for Olympics streaming during the PyeongChang Olympics as people tuned in to watch live and on-demand content from smart TVs and mobile devices. NBC Sports Digital reported 2.17 billion total minutes streamed during the Games, more than triple the amount from the 2014 Winter Olympics, when sports streaming wasn’t as common. Broadcasters are working to revamp their businesses models with niche over-the-top streaming options, and Snow Pass is NBC’s attempt to maintain the momentum of the Olympics through another winter.