Rodale's Runner's World, Bicycling and Mountain Bike to Provide Live Text Commentary and Daily Blog for NBC’s Coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rodale Inc. partners with NBCOlympics.com to provide live text commentary, a daily blog and related feature articles during the network’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics from Beijing, China August 8-24. The announcement was made today by Perkins Miller, Senior Vice President, Digital Media, NBC Sports and Olympics, and Valerie Wasserman, Vice President, Strategic Alliances at Rodale Interactive.

Editors from three of Rodale’s brands, Runner’s World, Bicycling and Mountain Bike, will provide live text commentary that will be posted to the channel home pages of Track & Field and Cycling. Articles will be featured within the News & Features sections of NBCOlympics.com’s respective sports subsites for Track & Field, Marathon and Cycling events. Hall of Famer Amby Burfoot, Editor at Large of Runner’s World, will blog daily from Beijing on all running events. Runner’s World will also provide a text-only daily editorial wrap up of the Marathon events.

“Our partnership with NBC for the 2008 Beijing Olympics is a tremendous opportunity for Rodale to offer its authoritative and trusted content in running and cycling to online viewers across the United States, and the world,” said Wasserman. “All eyes will be on Beijing in August, and we are so pleased that NBC recognizes Rodale’s strong ability to connect with the running and cycling communities through commentary that will engage, educate and entertain viewers who enjoy watching both sports.”

Miller said, “Through our coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games, it is our goal to provide our audience with a next-generation online experience that encapsulates the storytelling and analysis NBC Olympics is known for providing. Rodale’s intimate and expert knowledge of the running and cycling world is sure to paint a clear picture of all the triumphs, excitement and trials that make the Olympics such a captivating event.“

About NBC Olympics

NBC, “America's Olympic Network,” owns the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games, television’s most powerful property, through 2012, which includes Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012. From August 8-24, 2008 NBC Universal will present an unprecedented 3,600 hours of coverage, highlighted by NBC in primetime with live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball. In August 2004, 203 million viewers watched as the networks of NBC Universal—NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo, and NBC’s HD affiliates—offered a then record 1,210 hours of Olympic coverage from Athens. For additional information, go to NBCOlympics.com. Merging news, results and schedules with extensive video coverage and an unmatched depth of unique story telling content, NBCOlympics.com will be the Olympic fan’s hub for every aspect of the 2008 Beijing Games experience—from the most comprehensive TV schedules to learning how to connect to mobile, gaming, VOD and other digital destinations. NBCOlympics.com will provide approximately 2,200 hours of live event competition where users can choose from up to 20 concurrent streams encompassing 25 Olympic sports. In addition, the site will offer more than 3,000 hours of on-demand access to full-event replays and extensive highlights, including daily recaps of key events, best-of montages, commentator analysis and athlete-specific clips.

About Rodale Inc.

Rodale Inc. is the authoritative source for trusted content in health, fitness, and wellness around the world, reaching more than 70 million people globally. The company publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, Runner's World, Best Life, Bicycling, Running Times, Mountain Bike, and Organic Gardening, and is also the largest independent book publisher in America with a collection of international titles, including The South Beach Diet and The Abs Diet franchises, and Al Gore's New York Times bestseller An Inconvenient Truth. Rodale's broad range of media platforms includes magazines, books, video, and extensive Web sites. The company is also a leader in direct-response marketing and has more than 25 million active customers in its database. www.rodale.com