33 XTREME Olympics
LILLEHAMMER First Winter Games broadcast live in Africa
SALT LAKE CITY First time host broadcaster covers all Winter events live
THE OLYMPIC CHANNEL At the end of the Rio Games, OBS launched the Olympic Channel, a multi-platform streaming uploaded daily, and the Channel oers material that complements OBS Olympics coverage. The Channel just launched its first original series, Trending Gold, produced in 360 VR by Jaunt. www.olympicchannel.com destination oering Olympics-based content all year round. New material is
BEIJING First fully HD Olympics, with 5.1 audio
PRESENTING THE PRESENTERS The BBC broadcast from Pyeongchang between midnight and 9.15am UK time and then switched to the BBC’s Salford studio once it got dark in Korea. Leveraging its biggest sportscasting names – such as Clare Balding and Hazel Irvine – the BBC tries to make as much of a show out of its presenting. “The BBC has adapted its presenter coverage so the viewer gets more of a feeling of being at the event and experiencing the atmosphere,” says Jonathan Bramley, executive producer, major events at the corporation. “This was pioneered by roving radio cameras and Steadicam presentation in 2010 and 2014, and a greater venue presence with ‘announce platforms’ at five events at Sochi 2014. “Weather always oers up the biggest challenges,” Bramley confirms, “firstly because of operating in a cold, snowy, mountain environment but also because of the numbers of events delayed and postponed because of adverse conditions, which can cause many scheduling issues both for the organisers and the broadcasters alike.”
and treatments are created for the dierent platforms and audiences. “We also engaged with fans by providing behind-the-scenes content with BBC presenters and expert analysis from former medallists and Olympians including Jenny Jones, Chemmy Alcott and Robin Cousins, as well as members of Team GB competing in Pyeongchang,” says Anna Thompson, digital lead for the BBC in Pyeongchang. With the Olympic venue on the other side of the world, the BBC used remote technologies as much as possible. These included new remotely controlled audio mixers, operated from the BBC’s Salford studios. The BBC also employed end-to-end IP connectively in its production set-up for all services between South Korea and the UK and deployed its own networks in Korea to facilitate presentation positions. Data, audio and video transmission were reliant on IP connectivity. “For these Games we didn’t do any 4K transmissions,” says Thompson. “The nature of the host broadcaster coverage wasn’t ideal for our needs being a mixture of technologies, and with significant additional financial impact we elected not to do so.”
LONDON First live 3D and 8K Super Hi-Vision trials
SOCHI First drone use. Olympic Video Player introduced
CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT From aerial and ground-level tracking cameras to helmet cams and drones, new kit is regularly introduced to enhance the viewerexperience
RIO 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos content. VR introduced. First 8K Super Hi-Vision
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