• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 16, 2007

NBC has launched its site for the Beijing Olympics that's expected to play a major role in its coverage of the Games next summer. It's also seen as a revenue generator with sponsors including a digital component in their deals.

So far, NBCOlympics.com has only NBC "house" ads, but inventory for sponsors is expected to include pre-roll spots for highlight videos, as well as integrations in the 2,200 hours of "live" events to be streamed on the site.

Content currently includes pre-Olympic news and previews, blogs, and ad-free video, including highlights from previous Summer Games, and a user comment section.

The site went live Aug. 8 as part of a push to promote the one-year stretch before the Games. NBC Universal used an array of its properties in what it called a "roadblock" for an "8.8.08" anticipatory campaign that day.

The spot that ran will air in some Olympic sports on NBC this fall, but heavy Beijing promotion won't begin until next year.

After years of melding the Olympic rings with the net's trademark Peacock logo, which appeared at the bottom right of the screen, NBC has jettisoned the rings and shifted its logo to the left.

A bright spot for NBC during last year's Torino games, when it lost $70 million, was NBCOlympics.com. The site had millions of video streams (and hundreds of millions of page views). Due to the unanticipated traffic and interest levels, NBC opted on the fly to stream the men's gold medal hockey game between Sweden and Finland live.

"We wish prime time would have performed at the high end of our expectations," former NBC Universal executive Randy Falco told Broadcasting & Cable during the Torino events. But he said NBCU was "pleasantly surprised by the enormous appetite for video coverage of the Games online."

This time around, some 61% of the 3,600 hours of coverage on all NBCU properties will be streamed on the site. And some 3,000 hours of highlight videos will be available.