SS unveils grand Olympic broadcast plans
SuperSport, with DStv, is aiming to go higher, faster and further than ever for the broadcast of the 30th Olympic Games, which are starting in London next month with eight dedicated channels on DStv.
Given the scale of the event – 39 disciplines spread across 26 sports over 17 days – SuperSport will not only have eight dedicated channels, but included will be a new HD channel which is being launched by SuperSport on DStv specifically for the London Games.
This means that Olympic programming will feature on four High Definition and four Standard Definition channels, giving viewers with HD PVR decoders an unsurpassed television experience of London 2012.
“We aim to be bigger and better than ever,” said Happy Ntshingila, CEO of SuperSport. “The Olympics demand excellence from athletes, but for us it also demands excellence as Africa’s leading sports broadcaster. We have channeled considerable resources, time and energy into our Olympic offering for our subscribers. London 2012 is sure to delight them.”
Among the many top analysts on the SuperSport team will be Olympic icon Carl Lewis, a nine-time Olympic champion.
Apart from the wall-to-wall live action, SuperSport will have two riveting magazine programmes: London Calling, a weekend breakfast show, and Mind the Gap, a daily 15-minute programme.
The popular Blitz channel will provide rolling coverage and live updates.
SuperSport will also have a multi-platform online offering, ensuring subscribers need never miss a moment of the action.
The countdown will start on 2 July and the 8 channels will start broadcasting London 2012 from 27 July 2012.
Olympic countdown
The first team announcement, two days from now, will be broadcast live on SuperSport Blitz, coinciding with the 50-day countdown.
The Olympic Countdown studio show will be broadcast from July 2-26. It will be presented by Thomas Mlambo and Leigh Anne Paulick.
The 24-hour channels launch will take place on July 27.
Olympic Memories and Olympic Dreams, featuring Olympic vignettes with famous winners and medal aspirants, will broadcast throughout June and July.
Olympic Memories will shine the spotlight on the feats of past medalists Elana Meyer, Penny Heyns, Josiah Thugwane and the Dream Team relay swimmers and others.
Olympic Dreams will showcase the ambitions of Caster Semenya, LJ van Zyl, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, Cameron van der Burgh and other Olympic aspirants.
Channels
The Olympic channels will be SS4, SS5, SS6 and SS7 (SuperSport’s Gold, Silver, Bronze and Spirit channels), while HD2, HD3 and HD4 will be complemented by an all-new High Definition channel (HD5), launched in time for the Olympic Games.
These will each offer 24-hour programming, giving viewers an unprecedented level of coverage.
Additionally, SuperSport 3 will feature football on certain days, ensuring that the jam-packed calendar – 58 matches in 18 days – can be accommodated on the World of Champions.
Portuguese
In addition to the regular channels, Maximo 1 will be a 24-hour dedicated Olympic channel in Portuguese, with Maximo 2 providing ad-hoc live events relevant to different territories where Portuguese is spoken (Mozambique, Angola and SA).
Other DStv channels
The popular Toks ‘n Tjops show will be reborn for the Olympics and will be broadcast on kykNET.
Magic World (channel 112) will also include two-hour daily highlights from 6am-8am.
Reporters
Apart from supplying two Outside Broadcast engineers and award-winning commentator Gerald de Kock to Olympic Broadcast Services, SuperSport will have four reporting teams covering SA, Kenya, the rest of Africa and general news.
Reporters will be Carol Tshabalala, James Wokabi of Kenya, former Miss SA Nicole Flint and Udo Carelse.
Champion line-up
Additionally, four Olympic champions will provide regular Olympic updates from famous London venues.
Apart from Carl Lewis, the line-up will be 2004 Olympic relay swimming champion Ryk Neethling, Dame Kelly Holmes, 800m champion in 2004, and reigning 800m champion Wilfred Bungei.
Magazine shows
London Calling will be broadcast on weekends (8am-9.30am), with an additional show on Women’s Day (August 9).
Mind the Gap will be a daily 15-minute show hosted by the inimitable Neil Andrews and former Olympic football champion Daniel Amokachi.
This will be broadcast before and after the Olympic evening sessions.
Broadcast schedules and new media
Full broadcast schedules will be available across all platforms.
Supersport.com has a dedicated Olympic section, which went live this week, spread across Web and Mobi and available as a SuperSport app.
Supersport.com will include information on venues, athlete profiles, guest profiles.
Moreover, supersport.com and Mobi will have live streaming of the Gold channel (SS4) from 9am daily.
SS.Mobi will feature select events live through DStv Mobile and extensive video highlights and news will be available on supersport.com and Mobi.
SuperSport 1 and 2, plus SuperSport 3, which will carry select Olympic events (primarily football) and SuperSport Gold (SS4) will be available live on Walka and Drifta via DVB-H.
Additionally, SuperSport’s Facebook and Twitter presence will link to magic Olympic videos, interesting Olympic re-tweets and current news, all using the hashtag #ssolympics.
SuperFan social interaction will be driven on broadcast shows from July 4.
DStv On Demand
DStv On Demand, which is available on HD PVRs, will feature highlights from the three sessions daily, plus the opening and closing ceremonies.
Olympic Memories and Olympic Dreams, plus daily Olympic updates and Mind the Gap will also be part of the On Demand offering for DStv Premium subscribers on their PVRs.
Paralympics
The Paralympics start on August 29 and conclude on September 9.
Coverage will be broadcast on SuperSport 6 throughout each day, with an emphasis on African and SA contestants.
For the finals, which run from 6pm-11pm daily, coverage will be live and will include the day’s best moments.
