AT&T to Provide Networking Services to NBC Olympics for its Production of the London Olympic Games

NEW YORK, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* will provide managed networking services for NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, during its coverage of the 2012 London Olympic Games from London, England, July 27 through August 12, 2012.

NBC's Olympics division will use a managed private networking solution from AT&T to help deliver its high-definition broadcast coverage of the 2012 London Olympic Games.  AT&T's networking solution will create a connection between NBC's Olympics division's space in the International Broadcast Center (IBC) production facilities at the London Olympics and NBC's Olympics division's facilities in the U.S.

"Since the Atlanta Games in 1996, AT&T has continuously provided network bandwidth to help the NBC Olympics division transmit coverage of the Games in the United States," said Joe Lueckenhoff, senior vice president, AT&T Business and Home Solutions. "The 2012 London Olympic Games coverage in the U.S. includes large bandwidth volumes that will be used to support NBC's Olympics division's multi-platform approach so viewers in America can more easily engage with the Olympics excitement."

"To bring our coverage of the 2012 London Olympic Games home to the American audience we need a company with proven network reliability and service excellence.  That's why we chose AT&T," said Bob Kiraly, director, Broadcast and Telecommunications Operations, NBC Olympics.

In advance of the 2012 London Olympic Games, AT&T and NBC's Olympics division worked collaboratively on planning and testing to support reliable execution. AT&T arranged diverse, always-on network circuits with back-up features and multiple transfer paths to help facilitate coverage that is transmitted at all times, even if a circuit unexpectedly fails. With dedicated AT&T teams providing support on-site in London, at NBC's Olympics division's headquarters in New York and in AT&T's support centers, network performance is constantly monitored and managed to help ensure 24/7 transmission of London Olympics coverage.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About NBC Olympics
A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting coverage across the networks of NBCUniversal. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.

Having produced every Summer Olympics since Seoul in 1988 and every Winter Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002, the networks of NBCUniversal are synonymous with the Games in the United States. In 2011, NBCUniversal acquired the U.S. media rights on all platforms to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the conclusion of the 2020 Games, NBCUniversal will have presented 17 total Olympic Games and 11 consecutive, the most for a U.S. media company in both categories.

NBC has won an unprecedented 91 Emmy Awards for its Olympics coverage, as well as a prestigious Peabody Award for its presentation of the Beijing Opening Ceremony in 2008, which USA Today said was "the best overall Olympic experience ever provided by a U.S. network."

In addition to its unsurpassed heritage and award-winning production, NBCUniversal is known for aggregating large Olympic audiences, as nine of the top 11 most-watched U.S. television events of all time are Olympic Games presented across the networks of NBCUniversal. The Beijing Summer Olympics rank No. 1 with 215 million viewers.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile broadband and emerging 4G capabilities, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising. 

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