Olympics VOD

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing is right around the corner and, despite the political controversy, one thing is clear: this year’s games will be easier to watch than ever before.

It’s all because of VOD: Video-on-Demand.

NBCU is producing lots of VOD, which will be available via DIRECTV.

NBCU is providing DIRECTV with 10 VOD titles each week, including athlete features, Beijing previews, and more. The service will be available through the end of the Olympics in both standard-definition and HD. NBCU will produce more than 500 titles now through the end of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The VOD offerings are just part of NBCU’s extensive coverage of the games, which will also be available on FiOS, Broadband, and Verizon’s V CAST mobile service.

For those who prefer to watch online, NBCU’s website will give fans access to approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming and video coverage of 25 different sports. The site will also feature blogs, live chat, athlete profiles and, of course, the latest results.

The servers and platform for the groundbreaking digital content will be provided by Sun Microsystems.

If you want to psych yourself up for some amazing sports action in Beijing, search YouTube for some great moments in Olympics history. Take, for example, the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City where Bob Beamon set a new world record in the long jump that stood for 23 years.

English language version here.