NBC is using the Olympics as a “billion-dollar research lab” to get a sense of how people are using different media platforms to experience the Beijing Games that begin Aug. 8. Besides giving advertisers a clearer picture of how much consumers are paying attention to the games, NBC hopes its research provides a comprehensive picture of how people are supplementing TV viewership with tools such as video streaming, video on demand and mobile phones, said Alan Wurtzel, the company’s research chief. “The billion-dollar lab is an extraordinary research opportunity,” he said.
