Waterloo, Ontario-based LiveHive Systems, which powers interactive TV viewing and nanogaming experiences, will launch platforms for viewer engagement for NBC's online coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Canadians can play, but it will be with NBC coverage. Coke is the official sponsor of the game.

The NBCOlympics.com Primetime Challenge is an interactive, two-screen companion to the broadcasts. As viewers watch on-air coverage, they will be able to engage with online content in real-time, predicting outcomes of live events, participating in polls, answering trivia, and playing mini-games. The platform also allows players to chat, challenge, and compete with friends.

NBCOlympics.com Primetime Challenge will be available from August 8-24. In August 2004, 203 million viewers watched 1,210 hours of Olympics coverage from Athens via NBC Universal-NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo, and NBC's HD affiliates.

LiveHive recently partnered with Toronto-based Capital C and Nissan to launch interactive elements for CFL broadcasts.

Halifax-based Volt Media has secured exclusive rights to rep ad sales for signs in hospitals across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Working in collaboration with PHSN HealthMedia, Volt VP of operations Jay Aird and head of sales Mike Beauchamp will be responsible for selling back-lit posters, elevator signage, and giant wall posters in high-traffic areas of the hospitals. Plans are in place to grow the network to other Atlantic Canadian provinces this fall.

Aird and Beauchamp will be targeting companies that have a niche in health care with an aim to keep the ad messaging relevant. The company made MiC news earlier this year with an expansion in the Atlantic markets. PHSN reaches about two million health conscious consumers monthly, coast to coast, in medical clinics, hospitals, community health centers and labs. The network anticipates a reach of four million monthly by year end.