NBC recently announced that they will be using this year’s Olympics as a “billion-dollar research lab” to learn how people are using different media platforms. From video on demand to tracking mobile and online users, the research will be used to persuade advertisers to buy ad time on newer media such as VOD and cell phone video.

According to Daily Wireless:

During the Games, NBC will issue a daily “Total Audience Measurement Index (TAMI).” It will include measurements of viewership on all the media venues airing NBC’s Olympic programming — the NBC broadcast network, cable channels such as Oxygen and CNBC, NBC’s Web sites, video-on-demand services and mobile programming.

The mission and excitement is understandable since this will be the first year that online media, video, blogs, etc. will really have a prominent and mainstream role in the Olympics festivities (much like the Presidential election this year), so the opportunity to gather information on social media usage is certainly well received. Online games from McDonald’s are already being released, which will just add to the advertising frenzy.

What Can Go Wrong?

This is a great effort by NBC, and will provide advertisers and the social media and marketing communities with outstanding statistics and information. However, there are three issues with the plan.

1. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has effectively banned athletes from audio and video podcasting, photoblogging and vlogging their personal takes on the event, which largely misses the new media viewpoint audiences are sure to crave. (Source: Podcasting News)
2. The network won’t allow you watch anything it thinks it has mass appeal — that is, anything it intends to air on its own broadcast — until it has shown it on TV, the AP reports. Contrary to the AP report, NBC says “some” events will be simulcast live on TV and NBCOlympics.com. In addition, NBC U is banning the use of any Olympic video online by other news organizations covering the event. (Source: Silicon Alley Insider)
3. NBC does not have any official blogs dedicated to the Olympics, although there are a few athletes who will be posting their thoughts (contrary to the IOC?). This just proves that NBC is not willing to open up the games for comment (although there are sure to be plenty). (Source: Engage in PR)

So, this means that while NBC is obviously open to tracking and embracing web video and mobile traction of the Olympic games, they still want to, in essence, control the message. And, we know that doesn’t work.

It will be really interesting to see the effect of mobile and web usage and how it impacts TV viewing of the Olympic Games. However, what I think may be more interesting is how the back channels (blogs, social networks) react to the inability to access “legitimate” information from any source other than NBC.