http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,27522,00.html [Funny, no mention in this article about the security or lack thereof inherent in Microsoft products. Whatever group tasked with network integrity is surely going to have their hands full with every script-kiddie, terrorist, and loon trying to compromise the Olympic Games security. - WK] By Terry Lefton Jun 27 2001 05:20 PM PDT In what marks Microsoft's boldest move yet into sports content, MSN and MSNBC will host and produce official sites for the 2002 Winter Olympic games to be held in Salt Lake City, sources familiar with the deal said Wednesday. The decision ends NBC's two-month recruitment for a Web services company to produce Olympic sites after financially troubled sports portal company Quokka, which originally held the Olympic rights, closed in April. The process was further complicated when infrastructure provider Logictier, which was to have done the hosting, also ceased operations. Underscoring the shifting Internet landscape, Microsoft, a partner of NBC's in creating the MSNBC television network, is getting the Olympic rights for free. Quokka, on the other hand, exchanged millions in equity to secure the rights for one of sports most prestigious events and one that will generate global interest. MSN will host and publish sites for SaltLake2002.com, Olympics.com and NBC Olympics.com, the latter of which will be heavily promoted on NBC's television coverage of the games. An official announcement is expected later this week. During the Sydney games, NBCOlympics.com attracted 5.6 million unique visitors, while the official site, hosted and produced by IBM, received 8.8 million. Although Microsoft isn't paying a licensing fee, it will bear the cost of hosting and producing the Web sites, according to a source with the U.S. Olympic Committee. That could cost the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant about $10 million, according to insiders. Microsoft agreed to drive traffic to the Olympic sites from various MSN Web sites. Representatives of Microsoft and NBC, a unit of General Electric, were not immediately available to comment on the deal. In the months following Quokka's demise, NBC had been talking to a variety of sports-media and technology companies as possible site publishers. Among them were Yahoo, CBS/SportsLine and Ignite Media, which creates many team sites for the National Football League. "The traffic will be enormous and, as one of the highest-profile events in sports, it's an asset that should be able to be monetized," said Ignite President and CEO Hank Adams. Given the current difficult advertising market, however, it might be difficult to make the effort profitable, Adams said. "This will take a Herculean effort for them to make sense on a [profit and loss] basis. It could be that Microsoft can justify it because they've gotten so many other assets. But it will be a real race to sell sponsors before the games start." The Microsoft sites will get an inventory of ad space available on the sites. Quokka was able to sell about $18 million in advertising that was paid for in cash and in kind for the Summer Games in Sydney. MSN and MSNBC also get a platform to demonstrate their publishing capabilities, should they want to expand that portion of their business. Preparing the Olympic sites also gives Microsoft the valuable opportunity to bundle ad sales with spaces on its MSN.com and MSNBC.com sites. Video rights for Olympic competitions are not included, but the sites will stream athlete interviews and commentary. The deal also could drive more traffic to the MSN portal, Microsoft's main Internet content offering, which is striving to boost its international presence. It also will burnish MSN and MSNBC's reputations as sports content sites, an area where they have lagged. Another incentive for Microsoft might be the use of the Olympic rings in MSN advertising. MSNBC, because it is a joint venture involving NBC, already had the rights to use the rings. Insiders said Microsoft's proposed use of what is arguably the most valuable intellectual property in sports was one of the main obstacles delaying the deal. Whether and how Microsoft gets to use Olympic logos outside of its own Web sites could be the key to the whole deal. "They were trying to back into an Olympic sponsorship," said one marketing source, familiar with the deal, "but [the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee] didn't want to give them up, since [Microsoft wasn't] paying for the rights." ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email isn-unsubscribeat_private
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