Sochi News Agency; Russian Hockey Concerns

Fifty days to Sochi Olympics: RIA Novosti to remain host nation news agency of the games

The restructuring of RIA Novosti Group will not affect the media outlet’s role as the official host nation news agency and photobank of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, which will begin in 50 days, said Maxim Filimonov, First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of RIA Novosti.

"RIA Novosti has been working towards its role as the official host nation news agency and photobank of the Sochi Olympics for the past four years, and it is unthinkable that we would fall out of the race two months before the start. We assure our readers, subscribers and our other clients that we will fulfill all our content production and distribution plans. It is a great honor and responsibility for us to be involved in covering the Olympic Games," Filimonov said.

RIA Novosti has created extensive infrastructure for effective coverage of the games and over 300 journalists, photographers, IT and software experts, as well as other specialists, will be working to produce media content for the Olympics.

RIA Novosti plans to use fundamentally new methods of creating and broadcasting content during the games. Its photojournalists will use event photography software to create unique photographs, which, via the Blitz photo relay technology, the agency’s partners will be able to see on their screen in less than 90 seconds, while social network users will be able to view images almost instantly.

The Sochi Games in Moscow’s streets

RIA Novosti will use cutting-edge technology to project photographs from the Sochi Games to the media facades operated by LBL Communications Group at 2 Volokolamskoye Motorway (Hydroproject Institute), 165 Mozhaiskoye Motorway and at the intersection of Leningradskoye Motorway and the Moscow Ring Road. The best photographs from the main sporting events will be projected on these media facades.

A 360 degree perspective

The new technology used by RIA Novosti Group has raised the quality and prompt relay of visual content to a level that is unmatched in the Russian media market.

RIA Novosti photographers will use the MRMC robotic remote camera system to capture images that would be impossible to achieve with conventional means. The system was successfully tested by RIA Novosti during the World Summer University Games in Kazan and the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship this year.

RIA Novosti will use all available multimedia formats to cover the Sochi Games, including 360-degree panoramic videos, interactive videos and interactive panoramic videos. Users will be able to view panoramic images of the Olympic venues, adjust viewing options, search for additional information with ease, and gain greater insight into the story behind the images.

Infographics created by RIA Novosti will be supplemented with social media updates to the latest developments at the Olympic Games.

Blitz photo relay

To ensure that the agency’s work in providing coverage of the Sochi Games is as effective as possible, IT professionals have installed additional head-end equipment and created a backup internet connection for the Blitz photo relay system, which can send photographs from the event sites to the client’s media screen in less than 90 seconds.

RIA Novosti continuously monitors data transmission channels and has reinforced IT support for the Olympic Games’ Organizing Committee.

Second Screen: Olympics at your fingertips

RIA Novosti and Channel One have released the Second Screen mobile app, one of the group’s most innovative products created for the Sochi Games. The app allows users to watch Channel One broadcasts on their mobile devices while simultaneously browsing Olympic news, reference information and photographs posted by RIA Novosti.

The application was created with the assistance of the group’s innovation media research center RIA Media Lab. It is available to all iOS and Android users. The Second Screen app will be in action for the Russian hockey team’s matches in the 2013 Channel One Cup on December 19-21.

Olympic infrastructure

RIA Novosti has created extensive infrastructure for effective coverage of the games.

In addition to the Main Media Center, RIA Novosti has set up a media center for journalists without accreditation. This unique platform has 288 work places in three large areas, meeting rooms, and all the information and IT services needed to provide non-stop, up-to-the-minute coverage of the Olympics.

Specially for clients

Newsfeed subscribers, media outlets and other RIA Novosti clients will have access to a new information terminal and the Olympic photobank. A special product line has also been created, which includes the Olympic News newsfeed on the games and the lead-up period, the Sochi 2014 Photo Package with regularly updated news photos and archive photos from past Olympics; the Sochi 2014 Multimedia Package with articles, photos, videos and inforgraphics; the R-Sport News Service in English; and packages for Sochi 2014 infoscreen operators with a selection of highlights from the Olympics, athlete profiles, and medal tallies in all text and multimedia formats.

RIA Novosti offers other Russian media outlets, including regional media, free access to Olympic photos. This service is available by registering at http://photo-sochi2014.rsport.ru/. Photos will be added to the photobank in real time. The service will operate from February 1 to March 23, 2014.

In September 2011, the RIA Novosti Group, which includes the R-Sport news agency, was selected by the International Olympic Committee as the official host nation news agency and photobank of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. In March 2013, RIA Novosti was named the official host nation news agency of the Sochi Paralympics.

On December 9, 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on the transformation of RIA Novosti into the Russia Today international news agency, which will also include the Voice of Russia, the first Russian state radio station to broadcast internationally.

My Place on Russia's Olympic Hockey Roster Not Guaranteed – Anisimov

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artem Anisimov told R-Sport on Friday he doesn’t think he is sure of being included on Russia’s roster for the next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Anisimov is widely regarded as the main candidate for center position on Russia's third line, with Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk likely to take that position in the first two lines.

"I think there are a lot of good centers in Russia and I have yet to make into the roster," Anisimov said. "Only the coach and the general manager will decide who will go to Sochi and we should just demonstrate our best hockey."

The 25-year-old added he already talked with the coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, who visited the U.S. last week to watch players.

"We had a good talk after the game against the New Jersey Devils [on December 11]," he said. "We are happy that the head coach of the national team came to watch our game. I didn’t know that Bilyaletdinov would be at the game and I was surprised to see him."

Anisimov played under Bilyaletdinov at May’s world championships where Russia finished sixth.

Anisimov has earned 15 points in 35 games this season, with Columbus sitting 14th in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

Bilyaletdinov must submit his Olympics roster to the International Ice Hockey Federation by January 7.

In Sochi, Russia is under great pressure to win gold following its failure at Vancouver 2010, when the team was pounded 7-3 by Canada in the quarterfinal. Russia has never won Olympic gold, an honor the Soviet Union achieved seven times.

Russia Hockey Coach Fears More Injuries Ahead of Olympics

Avoiding injuries is a priority for Russia’s national hockey team in their last tournament before the Olympics, coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov said Tuesday, as concerns mount over the Sochi host nation’s goaltenders.

This week’s round of the Euro Hockey Tour in Sochi offers a chance for non-NHL players to impress coaches ahead of the February 7-23 Olympics, where Europe-based players could become crucial to Russia’s hopes if bigger names succumb to injury.

"I hope that the tournament passes without injuries, which is really important for us right now," Bilyaletdinov said on the Russian Hockey Federation website.

Apart from that, the coach said he wants his team "to compete well, display good hockey, please the crowd and get ready for the Olympic Games" during the Euro Hockey Tour event, which will be played at the future Olympic arena in Sochi.

All of the six Russian goaltenders in the NHL have succumbed to some form of injury in recent weeks, although some have since returned to action.

Last season’s Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky suffered a lower-body injury in the third period of the Columbus Blue Jackets' 1-0 victory Tuesday over the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 3.

Meanwhile, netminder Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche is in legal trouble, facing a charge of third-degree assault after allegedly beating his girlfriend. He also suffered a minor groin injury last month, but has since returned to the ice.

The Carolina Hurricanes' Anton Khudobin has already missed two months with an ankle injury, while veteran Nikolai Khabibulin of the Chicago Blackhawks has played once since October, when he suffered a groin problem. Evgeni Nabokov of the New York Islanders returned to action Saturday after a month out, also with a groin injury.

The picture is better for skaters, although star center Evgeni Malkin’s health was thrown into doubt when he slid hard into the boards against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, forcing him out of the game.

Russia coach Bilyaletdinov must submit his roster to the International Ice Hockey Federation by January 7, just five weeks away.

In Sochi, four-time world champion Russia is under great pressure to win gold following its Vancouver 2010 failure, when the team was pounded 7-3 by Canada in the quarterfinal.

Published by exclusive arrangement with Around the Rings’ Sochi 2014 media partner RIA-Novosti.

For general comments or questions,click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.