NBC to bring the Olympics to Twitch

NBC is including Twitch in its Olympic content and coverage plan.

The pair have signed a deal to bring Olympics content to the streaming platform through the NBC Olympics channel. This will include highlight studio shows, game-ified pre-Olympic activations, Olympic athlete interviews and Olympic-themed gaming competitions, all tailored to the Twitch audience.

Interactive features will include keeping an Olympic torch alight through engagement in the build up to the competition, and ’primetime sidecasting’ - where Twitch viewers are encouraged to comment on a companion broadcast, in this instance likely the NBC primetime coverage. 

NBC Olympics presenters will be joined by Twitch stars for the productions, and there will also be live Q&As with Olympians. Twitch and NBC will collaborate on sales efforts around this content during the partnership.

Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Sports’ Olympics division, said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Twitch on innovative ways to tell the stories of Team USA’s athletes in Tokyo and build Olympic excitement with their audience. The Olympic Games are perfectly aligned with Twitch consumers, who are passionate about great competition, personality and storytelling.”

Michael Aragon, Twitch chief content officer, added: “The way that people consume traditional sporting events is changing. They no longer want to simply spectate; they want to be as close to the action and athletes as possible.

“We’ve seen this firsthand with the growth of our sports community on Twitch, as viewers tune in not only to watch their favourite athletes but to also take part in pre and post-game interviews and virtually connect with other fans from around the world.The Olympics present an opportunity for a global fanbase to embrace this new world of live and interactive sports.”