T he first place everyone looks to gauge broadcast success is, of course, the ratings. Following this year’s Summer Games, broadcasters around the globe were quick to confirm strong viewing figures throughout the entirety of the event. This success, though a great representation of broadcast wins, carried a heavier weight than usual. With the pandemic wiping out live audiences and hugely limiting the previous Olympics in Tokyo, there were justified concerns surrounding viewing interest in the lead-up to the first post-pandemic Games. Although Paris got off to a damp start (both in terms of weather and location!), its performance and delivery – athletically and technically – was nothing short of remarkable. With many new records broken, we also witnessed one of the closest races in 100m sprint history, after Noah Lyles took home the gold medal for Team USA – winning by just 0.005 seconds. Meanwhile, in the women’s 100m final, Julien Alfred took gold and became St Lucia’s first ever medal winner. Botswana, Dominica and Guatemala also won their first ever gold medals. Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis took home gold in the men’s pole vault, achieving a remarkable 6.25m. French athletes were also stars of the show, with swimmer Léon Marchand winning four gold medals alone. Celebrity endorsement also played a key role in boosting figures, with Snoop Dogg’s antics drawing in viewers across the globe and significantly increasing ratings for NBC. Breakdancing also made its debut this year (although is set to be discontinued – yes, we’re looking at you Australia), while skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing all proved to be successful with audiences, having first been introduced during the Tokyo Olympics. Beyond Athletic prowess, Raygun and Snoop Dogg – and with more than 3800 hours of live sport to cover – make no mistake in thinking the coverage was a simple feat. As ever, the Olympics was a phenomenal undertaking for broadcasters around the world, and one that demanded the very best media tech had to offer.
As the Olympics is one of the most significant events in sports broadcast, FEED has been on the front lines reporting back on all things Paris throughout the year. Here’s our final round- up of the innovation
presented by the Summer Games
Words by Oliver Webb
@feedzinesocial
Powered by FlippingBook