BBC doubles Olympic output for Beijing

The BBC will ramp up its coverage of this year's Olympic games in Beijing, doubling what it broadcast for the 2004 games in Athens and offering HD coverage for the first time.

Approximately 300 hours of Olympic output will be transmitted on BBC1 and BBC2 over the 17 days of the games, all of which will be simulcast on the BBC HD channel, according to BBC Sport head of major events Dave Gordon.

In addition, via the red button, there will be an extra six digital interactive channels offering Olympic action 24/7 for the entire duration of the games. This will provide an extra 2,450 hours of coverage. All of this output will also be available on broadband in the UK.

Radio 5 Live and its sister station Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will also be offering round the clock coverage and a dedicated team will serve the nations and regions with news, interviews and features specifically designed for local consumption.

The BBC Sport website has a newly revamped Olympic sub-section which will provide breaking news, features, interviews and statistics. This will become the BBC's default platform in the run up to the games for preview material and will feature the latest news on British team selection.