NBC Olympics & Panasonic Announce Nearly 80 Percent Of U.S. TV Households Will Receive High-Definition 3D Broadcast Feed Of The London 2012 Olympic Games

SECAUCUS, N.J., July 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group and Panasonic Corporation of North America today announced that the first-ever 3D coverage of the Olympic Games, beginning in London later this month, will be available to subscribers of MVPD's (multichannel video programming distributors) representing nearly 80% of U.S. TV households.  The daily 3D programming, which will be shown on next-day delay, will be carried by many cable, satellite and telco providers such as such as Armstrong, AT&T, Blue Ridge, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, Insight, Mediacom, RCN, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and  WideOpen West.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120720/NY43729 )

These carriers will distribute roughly 242 hours of the 3D broadcasts via the Media Center. Panasonic is NBC Olympics' exclusive Flat-Panel HDTV and Blu-ray Disc Player advertiser for the London Olympic Games.

"We are pleased that nearly 80 percent of U.S. TV households will receive the incomparable clarity and performance of the first-ever 3D production of the Olympic Games," said Joseph M. Taylor, Chairman & CEO, Panasonic Corporation of North America. "Panasonic's 3D technology and NBC Olympics' superb, moment-by-moment coverage of the Games will make the events more engaging to viewers as they watch their favorite athletes compete."

The 3D broadcasts will be produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and will include some of the most-anticipated events of the Games, including:

• Opening and Closing Ceremonies
• Men's and Women's gymnastics
• Extensive coverage from the Aquatic Center, including both diving and swimming
• Bicycle racing (cycling) from the Velodrome
• Full coverage of track & field from the Olympic Stadium

NBC Olympics will provide 12 hours of U.S.-oriented 3D programming every day, introduced by Bob Costas and featuring both competitive highlights from the previous day as well as the best moments of the Games to-date.  Viewers who watch the award-winning primetime coverage on NBC will have the opportunity to go back and relive their favorite events as never before – in Full HD 3D.

Olympic Broadcasting Services will capture the Games using Panasonic's state-of-the-art 3D production technologies and fully-integrated twin-lens Full HD 3D camera recorder products.  A taste of what's in store can be sampled at retail outlets everywhere, where Panasonic 3D televisions will be displaying amazing 3D footage of the memorable Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

About NBC Olympics

A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal's Olympic coverage. 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.

For more information on NBC Olympics' coverage of the London Olympics, please visit: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/

About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America provides a broad line of digital and other electronics products and solutions to meet consumer, business and industrial needs. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC), and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic is committed to becoming the electronics industry's leader in green innovation by its one-hundredth anniversary in 2018. In the 2012 Interbrand Annual Best Global Green Brands ranking, the Panasonic brand jumped four spots to number six: http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/Best-Global-Green-Brands/2012-Report.aspx
 
As part of its continuing efforts to achieve sustainability, Panasonic Corporation of North America will relocate its operations to a new eco-efficient office tower adjacent to the Newark Penn Station mass transit hub in Newark, NJ in 2013.  Information about Panasonic Eco Ideas initiatives is available at http://panasonic.net/eco/ecoideas/.  Information about Panasonic and its products is available atwww.panasonic.com.  Additional company information for journalists is also available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

SOURCE Panasonic