NBC Sports to use Windows Azure to stream Internet sports events

NBC has announced a new agreement with Microsoft that will have its Windows Azure cloud service as the backbone for NBC Sports' streaming Internet sports coverage, including the 2014 Olympics.

John Callaham Neowin @JCalNEO · Apr 9, 2013 11:13 EDT · Hot! with 4 comments

NBC and Microsoft may have recently terminated their MSNBC.com agreements but the two companies will now be partners in a new venture that was announced today. Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud service will help to power the Internet streaming sports coverage from NBC Sports starting later this summer.

The press release from Microsoft states that Windows Azure will help to stream over 5,000 hours of both live and on-demand sports events on NBCSports.com and GolfChannel.com. It will also be used at NBCOlympics.com during the 2014 Winter Olympics which will be held in February in Sochi, Russia. The agreement also covers other NBC events such as the NFL'S Sunday Night Football, Premier League soccer, Notre Dame Football, Major League Soccer, the U.S. Open golf tournament and other PGA events and more.

The press release added:

Microsoft has a broad partner ecosystem, which extends to the cloud. To bring the NBC Sports Group viewing experience to life, Microsoft is working with iStreamPlanet Co. and its live video workflow management product Aventus. Aventus will integrate with Windows Azure Media Services to provide a scalable, reliable, live video workflow solution to help bring NBC Sports Group programming to the cloud.

Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft