MSNBC.com Launches ‘Big Picture’ Guide to the Olympics
MSNBC.com ‘Big Picture’ and ‘How-To Interactive’ Features Sponsored by Hyundai Motor America
For Immediate Release - MSNBC.com, a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet, today announces the launch of the “Big Picture” and “How-To Interactive” features on the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, both sponsored by Hyundai Motor America.
MSNBC’s Big Picture, an award-winning multimedia feature, focuses on the future of the Olympics. As the Games return to their historic home, this interactive feature asks readers to explore a variety of issues that will impact the future of this global event.
It is currently available, along with other exciting interactive coverage, at Athens.MSNBC.com.
The Big Picture interactive features include:
The future of the Olympic Games: Users find out what it is like to sit on the International Olympics Committee, and consider and vote on emerging concerns of the future, including mixed-gender competitions, genetically-modified athletes and other issues.
Olympics site selection: Viewers will get a tutorial on the selection process that guides the choice of a host city, how sites have been chosen in the past, and what may determine how they are selected in the future.
What is a sport?: Authorities discuss the factors that have shaped the definition of Olympic sports, and talk about which events may find their way into future Olympics.
The limits of athletic evolution: Users can test their hunches against historical milestones, the records of actual champions and expert opinions on where we can go from here.
MSNBC.com also will provide how-to interactive features on top events, also sponsored by Hyundai Motor America. Viewers can learn the fine points of top events by calling up detailed, nuts-and-bolts information on how judges look at a gymnastics routine, what it takes to pull off a great dive, how to score Olympic events, which athletes may break from the pack in 2004 and more.
In addition, there will be entertaining features such as:
- Olympic IQ, which lets users test their knowledge of the summer games, the history of the events and the competition’s classical origins.
- “Postcards from Athens” – daily updates from MSNBC.com producers working at the Games. These behind-the-scenes reports will provide an insight into life in Athens during the big event.
- Off-beat and unusual sports.
“MSNBC.com’s Big Picture and how-to interactive features marry the richness of video and animation with the convenience of the Internet to take users right into the heart of the 2004 Olympic Games,” said Charlie Tillinghast, General Manager and Publisher of MSNBC.com. “We are pleased to be working with Hyundai to provide our viewers with comprehensive interactive coverage of this summer’s competition.”
“We are delighted to continue our successful advertising relationship with MSNBC.com and to sponsor the Big Picture and how-to interactive features for MSNBC.com’s Athens coverage,” said Paul Sellers, Executive Director of Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “Our sponsorship earlier this year of MSNBC.com’s Big Picture movie award guide was an unqualified success, thanks to MSNBC.com’s unique approach to delivering news and advertising in an interactive environment.”
The home of NBCSports.com, MSNBC.com provides Olympic news coverage for the official NBC Olympics home, NBCOlympics.com. Users can also link directly to NBCOlympics.com from MSNBC.com’s summer games section.
About MSNBC.com
MSNBC.com is a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet. MSNBC.com delivers the best of NBC News, MSNBC Cable, CNBC, NBC Sports, MSN, and Newsweek. MSNBC is a 24-hour cable and Internet joint venture of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and NBC News (NYSE: GE.)
About Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai Motor America, based in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai cars and sport utility vehicles are distributed in the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 600 dealerships nationwide. Further information about Hyundai Motor America and its products is available on the Internet at http://www.HyundaiUSA.com