CNN, Sports Illustrated Make Olympics Team

CNN will use its various spin-off networks and platforms, as well as partner The Sports Illustrated Group, to report on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing for more than 300 million households worldwide.

Operating from CNN’s Beijing bureau, World Sport correspondent Mark MacKay and Headline News sports anchor Larry Smith will bring the latest developments in the quest for gold, while international correspondents Jaime FlorCruz, Anjali Rao and John Vause will contribute on the events surrounding the Summer Games in China.

In a multiplatform partnership with CNN, Sports Illustrated writers and editors covering the Olympics will provide CNN’s global audience with expert analysis and opinion on the events as they unfold. Daily video sports reports will appear across multiple channels of CNN and www.SI.com.

The Time Warner Inc. sister companies also co-produced a series of video features including profiles on Olympians such as Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker and Allyson Felix, as well as “SI Flashbacks” – vignettes of iconic moments from previous Olympiads. These features will debut on CNN networks, including CNN.com, and www.SI.com.

CNN.com will offer expanded coverage of the Olympics through reporting on results from the Games; the economic impact and influence held by the Olympics; and the challenges facing China and its people as the hosts of the quadrennial competition. The site’s special section will offer users a wide range of exclusive video, text stories, interactive timelines and a detailed explainer on the history and tradition of the Olympics.