31 XTREME Olympics
CORTINA First live broadcast of Winter Olympic Games
TOKYO Olympics broadcast internationally by satellite
events to the RHBs, utilising an immersive, stereoscopic VR platform. OBS made significant adjustments to the VR/360 service after trialling it in Rio. More than 55 hours of live sport coverage from PyeongChang 2018 were produced in VR. “It is no longer just about the quantity of television hours, but more about the type of content, where and when it is available and how it is produced. Storytelling coverage is key to engagement in the digital arena. “The focus of OBS is not primarily on the development of camera hardware, though we are doing that,” continues Salamouris, “but how to find the best way to make sports accessible to the younger audience and to connect with their media consumption habits. Sochi revealed that the consumption of the Olympic Games on digital platforms is now as intense as that of linear coverage. Rio confirmed it.” OBS tried to enhance the second-screen experience, providing broadcasters with additional material for social media, more analytical data, dierent angles, super slow- motion and 360° replay technology. “OBS is constantly enhancing our production capabilities which allows us to capture images far closer to the action than ever before. We’re creating content which is more action-driven and more appealing to a younger audience, already accustomed to this type of storytelling. OBS is supporting the RHBs to easily build digital distribution platforms that oer a unique user experience to support the huge amount of live and VOD content that becomes available.”
In Sochi 2014, OBS introduced the Olympic Video Player (OVP), a white- label platform for desktop, tablets and smartphones providing live streaming and video-on-demand for every competition session of the Games. OBS expanded its digital oering for PyeongChang 2018 and delivered individual digital components for RHBs to integrate within their existing digital products. The Olympic Video Player is available in 95 countries and provides fully integrated data, a news channel, live streams and on-demand video. OBS is also using a range of cloud- based technologies as part of its collaboration and workflow support systems. SNOW BUSINESS “The weather in Pyeongchang was the greatest challenge faced by OBS in preparation for the Winter Games.” says Salamouris. “There is no weather insurance! The broadcast operations for the mountain venues needed to take into consideration potential snow, ice and extreme cold, as well as strong winds when designing the coverage plan and the technical installations required. “The venue installations – from cabling to the construction of cable bridges and camera platform towers – started on 1 November and while the weather was relatively mild and the installations were going according to plan all through November, in December, the weather turned much colder.
MEXICO CITY First Olympic Games broadcast live in colour
SAPPORO Japanese network NHK provides feed for broadcasters
to choose their own coverage
LOS ANGELES First Olympics to provide HD coverage
EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS At the Winter Olympics, equipment has to be able to handle mountain conditions, including wind, ice, snow and extreme cold
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