NEW YORK -- NBC has almost made a viewer's guide to the Olympics an obsolete idea.
The network is making a nearly absurd 3,600 hours of coverage from the Beijing games available next month on the broadcast network, its cable partners, high-definition channels and NBCOlympics.com Web site. Add in video on demand and fans can almost -- but not quite -- create their own unique viewing experience.
Gone are the days when NBC can completely dictate what people know about the Olympics through its choices for prime-time coverage.
The games are being shown from Aug. 6-24. Nearly two-thirds of NBC Universal's coverage, more than 2,200 hours of live competition, will be streamed via the network's Web site. Sometimes several events are happening at the same time, and with a mouse click computer users can switch from a women's field hockey game to judo to archery to badminton. Instead of announcers, these events will be followed by live bloggers whose analysis can be read alongside the streaming video.
Computer users also will have access to statistics, results, athlete profiles and fantasy league-type games.
The plans are bold, particularly considering NBC's experience streaming live Olympics events is limited to one hockey game shown two years ago as a test run.
But if it works, American fans will be able to learn about competitions they previously only saw in brief television highlights, if at all.
The caveat is online coverage will still play second fiddle to television. NBCOlympics.com will simulcast some events that are being shown live on TV, but will not show any events that are being taped for later use on NBC's prime-time lineup. That means the bulk of track and field events during the Olympics will only be seen hours after they are completed.
NBC has been criticized in the past for showing taped events as if they were live, a particular problem when there is a large time zone difference. Beijing is 12 hours ahead of eastern time in the United States. Prime-time viewers will need to check ahead on what NBC is showing to avoid finding out the results ahead of time.
However, Olympic organizers and NBC have worked together to present a number of marquee events live in U.S. prime-time, including swimming, gymnastics and the men's and women's marathons.
NBC is heavily betting on American swimmer Michael Phelps, who's aiming for a record eight gold medals, to drive interest in its prime-time coverage. Phelps is swimming live in prime-time during the first eight nights of competition.
Prime-time on NBC is still the big money-generator during an Olympics, and all the extra coverage has allowed the network to concentrate even more heavily on the events it considers the glamour sports -- the ones that can bring in women viewers, as well as men. With few exceptions, the bulk of NBC's prime-time will concentrate on swimming and diving, gymnastics and track and field events.
Viewers must look elsewhere for other sports, but NBC Universal's cable networks have plenty of time to show them.
CNBC, as it has in the past, will essentially be a boxing network for the limited coverage time it will offer. USA and MSNBC will have longer times on the air during the day, highlighting sports such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling and weightlifting.
Oxygen, the network geared to women, will heavily favor gymnastics and equestrian events. The Spanish-language Telemundo will try to appeal to its regular viewers with several events, including soccer matches involving Latin American teams.
NBC also is promoting high-definition channels, and will have two specially-created digital networks concentrating on basketball and soccer.
Expect an Olympics focus from other NBC shows, such as "Today," which traditionally sees a ratings jump when the network covers the games. There was worry about Chinese authorities prohibiting pictures from the picturesque and controversial Tiananmen Square, but it was recently decided cameras could appear there for six hours a day.