STAMFORD, Conn.—NBC Sports said 2024 was its best year in terms of ratings since 2016. Its success was fueled by the Paris Summer Olympics as well as its NFL coverage, both on Peacock and broadcast.

Collectively, these events, among others, gave NBC Sports its most-watched year since 2016, with more than 400 billion minutes (or more than 7 billion hours) consumed across NBCUniversal platforms.

NBC Sports delivered 32 shows in 2024 which topped 20 million viewers in Total Audience Delivery (TAD) across multiple platforms. Over the more than 7,000 hours of coverage it provided for its marquee event, the Summer Games in Paris, NBCU registered a TAD of 30.4 million viewers across the combined live Paris Prime (2-5 p.m. ET) and U.S. primetime (8-11 p.m. ET/PT) periods—up 80% from the Tokyo Summer Olympics (16.9 million), according to official data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

The NBC broadcast network extended its streak to 152 consecutive Summer Olympics nights as primetime’s No. 1 show. Led by Peacock, 23.5 billion minutes of Paris Olympics coverage were streamed—up 40% from all prior Summer and Winter Olympics combined (16.8 billion minutes across NBCUniversal digital platforms).

NBC also used its NFL coverage to boost its broadcast ratings and also to juice its Peacock streaming subscriber base. Although it drew negative reactions at the time, Peacock’s exclusive AFC wild-card game on Jan. 14 became the most-streamed live event in U.S. history at the time, with 32.1 million total viewers tuning in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Miami Dolphins, according to Nielsen. That record was surpassed later in the year by the 74 million who livestreamed the Nov. 15 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Netflix.

The network’s “Sunday Night Football” finished the 2023-2024 TV season as primetime’s No. 1 TV show in all key metrics for the 13th consecutive year.

Other sports standouts included the 16.7 million viewers who tuned into the Kentucky Derby on May 4, the largest audience for the Triple Crown horse race since 1989. In soccer, NBC Sports’ presentation of the English Premier League’s first match week of the 2024-25 season was the most-watched opening weekend on record in the United States, NBC Sports said. It averaged 820,000 viewers across six matches live on NBC/Peacock, USA Network, and NBC Sports Digital platforms from Friday, Aug. 16-Sunday, Aug. 18.

There have been a series of significant milestones in the evolution of Olympic broadcast sound culminating in the greatest audio production of an Olympics ever. Clearly NBC has led and dominated the soundwaves for more than four decades and 2024 is the pinnacle of their persistence.

Host Broadcasters
Basically, live television sound was mono until the 1980s with the first Olympics stereo broadcast in 1988. Under the direction of sound designer Bob Dixon, NBC placed a shotgun microphone alongside the host broadcaster’s single shotgun microphone to capture XY stereo. This was no easy feat politically or technically since the Host Broadcaster Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) was only obligated to delivered mono sound to the rightsholders, including NBC.

The Host Broadcaster was traditionally the national broadcaster of the host country, but after 2008, Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) became the permanent Host Broadcaster, fully under the direction of the International Olympic Committee.

The Host Broadcaster for the 1992 Games in Barcelona was TVE, Spain’s national broadcaster, where they produced the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in stereo, but sports were captured and produced in mono. The year 1996 was the first Olympics that the Host Broadcaster, Atlanta Olympic Broadcaster (AOB), captured and produced all events in stereo sound.

After 1996, Dixon encouraged Mike Edwards and Ken Reichel of Audio Technica to manufacture a stereo shotgun. In fact, Edwards initiated and supervised the development of three stereo microphones and two mono shotgun microphones, which were still heard on all Olympic sports and ceremonies in Paris.

Signal Management
In addition to the extensive development of suitable microphones, there was considerable work to be done with signal management and distribution. Broadcasters had to solve the problem of multichannel audio over a stereo infrastructure. Various schemes were developed to get more than two channels of sound to the home viewer/listener, but it was not until the sound was digitized that a credible surround sound was possible for distribution and transmission.

In 2006, after consulting with his audio director, Olympic Broadcast Services chief Manolo Romero determined that producing surround sound with unprocessed, discrete audio channels was the best way to satisfy the needs of all the rights holders at the Olympics—including NBC.

With 2008 came the implementation of surround sound at the Summer Olympics with the host broadcaster delivering six discrete channels of sound for the 5.1 sound format.

The sound of the 2008 Games was a significant challenge for NBC because so much of the viewing/listening audience was still listening in stereo since soundbars had only recently entered the marketplace in early 2000s.

NBC continued to develop surround sound with various Dolby analog schemes, but it was NBC’s adoption of ATSC 1.0 with Dolby AC3, along with a market full of affordable soundbars that multichannel sound would take off.

Immersive Sound
NBC polished its surround sound coverage but was persistent with the goal of true immersion. For the 2012 Games in Russia, NBC Sports Sound Designer and Olympic Supervisor, Karl Malone vigorously pursued immersive sound, beginning in Rio where NBC mixed Opening and Closing Ceremonies in immersive sound.

Pyeongchang and Tokyo followed, and immersive sound was heard in both Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as big venues. For Beijing, all primetime coverage was produced in immersive sound. Finally in Paris, all primetime, USA Network and all Olympic sports received the immersive sonic enhancements.

By the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, immersive sound was also captured and delivered by the permanent Host Broadcaster OBS. Nuno Duarte, the OBS sound designer and supervisor, was dealt a surprise—no audience! And the same for Beijing. The magic of sports and particularly the Olympics is seeing and hearing the arenas and stadiums full of spectators.

The games were delayed a year and everyone had time to prepare a design without spectators. The actual sound signal capture and production of immersive sound is not difficult particularly if you have a sonic layer of ambiance and atmosphere.

Malone had to make some difficult decisions about the sound design.

“Tokyo gave us the ability to focus on the details of the sports and the athletes,” he said. “The sound of the hands on the gymnastics apparatus and the creak of the wood on the parallel bars; the actual physical exertion of the athlete, the breath, the sighs, the joy all there to be captured without the masking by the crowd. We knew we were missing the passion of the crowd as much as the athletes were, but adding any fake crowd was unthinkable, even for a company like NBC, which is largely an entertainment one.”

A Milestone
The 2024 Summer Games in Paris were also a milestone as they were the first summer games where immersive sound was produced with the return of the audiences, the third dimension that was missing in Tokyo.

NBC seamlessly creates a production mix that includes “stems” of the host broadcaster’s 5.1.4 mix, plus any microphone splits, any additional crowd capture, any camera microphones, plus commentators, replays and music. Along with NBC’s branding and personal touch, it makes it look like NBC did the entire production.

“The absence of the crowd in an event of the magnitude of the greatest sporting contest in the world is almost unthinkable, and Paris is a return to what an event of this scope requires for the greatest athletes, the biggest crowds and the loudest cheers,” Malone said.

I anxiously tweaked up my Yamaha, Dolby Atmos-equipped soundbar and paid my subscription to Peacock over my Roku streamer and noticed a significant improvement with the sonic quality of the broadcasts.

The return of the spectator and the abundance of “open-air” stadiums has created a rich gumbo of sound succulence! I applaud Nuno Duarte and Karl Malone and thoroughly enjoyed listening.

RIO DE JANEIRO—Advanced HDR by Technicolor, Fraunhofer IIS and Globo showcased high dynamic range (HDR) and MPEG-H Audio content that is compliant with Brazil's TV 2.5 standard on Hisense TVs during the just completed Paris Olympics.

The demonstration showed how standard dynamic range (SDR) content can be upconverted to deliver a premium viewing experience while watching live broadcasts of major outdoor sports  and other events, Advanced HDR by Technicolor said.

Advanced HDR by Technicolor delivered premium HDR content by leveraging the solution suite’s Intelligent Tone Mapping (ITM) feature to upconvert live SDR content to HDR while adding SL-HDR dynamic metadata to create a TV 2.5 HDR signal in an SDR backwards compatible manner. TVs that support the TV 2.5 standard received the HDR experience without compromising the quality of SDR delivered to legacy devices, it said. 

"HDR enhances outdoor sports event experiences by delivering the most vivid images to TVs capable of receiving HDR content," said Valerie Allie, Video Solution Group senior director with InterDigital. 

"As a result, the details of athletic performances, stadium environments and overall action are more vibrant, providing a more immersive viewing experience," she said.

Advanced HDR by Technicolor is a collaboration between Philips, InterDigital and Technicolor.

Fraunhofer IIS provided MPEG-H Audio technology that delivers an immersive 3D sound experience. The Next Generation Audio system provides unique personalization features in addition to an enveloping audio experience, said Fraunhofer.

This is made possible by the metadata accompanying the audio content. It contains all control information required for user interactivity and optimizing the reproduction and rendering on the end-device for the best audio experience on any platform, it said.

"MPEG-H Audio delivers an immersive experience, creating a sense of being in the middle of the action. Audio elements like the cheering crowd, athletes' movements and venue ambience are clear and realistic. The personalization options also allow viewers to customize the audio experience, by, for example, switching from a traditional to a venue mix. This enriched audio quality adds depth to the broadcast, making the experience more engaging and captivating for the audience," said Adrian Murtaza, senior manager technologies and standards at Fraunhofer IIS.

A new generation of Hisense TV models that comply with the country's TV 2.5 standards were used for the demonstration.

These advanced TV models promise to deliver a superior viewing experience by combining ultra-high-definition (UHD) and HDR-enhanced picture quality with immersive 3D sound.

"Hisense TVs integrate features like Mini-LED, Quantum Dot Color, 144Hz refresh rates, vibrant highlights, AI video processing and AI Sports Mode, which enhance the viewing of live sports. Hisense is looking forward to providing immersive visual and audio experiences that will redefine home entertainment in Brazil," said Wood Bi, assistant vice president of Hisense International.

More information is available on the Advanced HDR by Technicolor, Fraunhofer IIS and Hisense websites.

MIAMI & PARIS —As the Paris Olympics games head into their final weekend, much of the tech talk has been about the use of AI technologies in the production of the games. But the games have also seen notable advances in a number of other areas, including virtual reality technologies and remote production solutions that have played an important role Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage. 

During this year’s coverage, Telemundo’s main studio has been a photorealistic virtual set in Miami that looks like it is in the Trocadero, offering a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower. This technology, which was used successfully in previous events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and FIFA World Cups and developed in-house, has seen further improvements for the Paris Games and has allowed Telemundo to cover the Olympics with talent based out of its Studio L in its Miami headquarters. 

"For the Paris 2024 Olympics, we wanted to have the best possible spot in Paris, right in front of the Eiffel Tower,” explained Fabian Albaraccin, director real-time graphics at Telemundo. “We know that securing such a location is nearly impossible, so we recreated `Trocadéro Square’ with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower and the city. “To accomplish this, we began working four months ago to ensure we could showcase the City of Light in all its splendor. We paid close attention to every detail to present a beautiful set to our audience.”

The virtual set, which was developed in-house by the Set Fabrication and Real-Time Graphics teams, combines green screen studios, physical scenic pieces, advanced camera tracking, and computer-generated graphics. The result, Telemundo executives say, creates an immersive Parisian experience without the high costs and weather concerns of on-location production. Real-time adjustable lighting and weather, along with augmented reality graphics also enhance Telemundo’s storytelling.

For graphics, the setup uses four cameras, the Stype/RedSpy tracking systems, the Blackmagic/Ultimatte chroma keyer, and is powered by Epic Games/Unreal Engine 5.3 and Chyron/Prime VSAR for graphics. 

Manashi Mukherjee, vice president of technical production at Telemundo explained that the set is located in Studio L, which is on the south side of the building where the larger soundstages are located. 

“We normally shoot our series in the studios on that side of the building along with special productions such as our recent `Billboard: Women in Music awards show,'” Mukherjee said. “On a regular production week, Jose Diaz-Balart’s 11am MSNBC show on weekdays and on `Saturdays for Nightly News' on NBC also originate in the virtual studio. During football season, we have Telemundo’s `Sunday Night Football' production as well in Studio L. For the Paris Olympics, we have been using Studio L seven days a week live on-air for Telemundo’s coverage.” 

“Universo, our sister network, is using the regular Sports (“Deportes”) Studio A which is also airing simultaneously from TC,” Mukherjee added. 

Wally Rodriguez, vice president of post-production noted that “we’ve had a dedicated studio for virtual production for almost five years, which makes it easy for both the technical operations team and the sports team because they have been using the set for a while now. Our camera operators, lighting personnel, audio technicians, producers, directors, anchors, and others are all familiar with the equipment and virtual production processes for day-to-day on-air operations. The use of moving lights allows the team to reset and use several various setups without moving any physical instruments.”

While the solution has been relatively easy to use, it did have to be adapted for broadcast. 

“Since Unreal Engine is a gaming software, we need to adapt it for broadcast purposes,” explained Albaraccin. “We are working closely with Chyron to provide a tailor-made solution that ensures Unreal Engine is stable and fully integrated with our state-of-the-art facility. Additionally, we create custom panels to manipulate Unreal Engine while we are on air. Because this is not originally a broadcast solution, we must bridge the gaps and create our own workflows. Using these panels hides the technicalities of creating and triggering the graphics for the shows so that producers can focus on content. Collaboration is key in these types of projects, and while our team handled the technology, we worked with Deportes producers and the Telemundo Scenic design team to ensure that the creative vision was met.”

The result has been an extremely realistic presentation that has greatly enhanced their coverage, Mukherjee said. 

“The virtual set has allowed us to showcase a much larger space than we would have used in Paris,” Mukherjee added. “The technology makes it possible to feel like the talent are there. The team has fine-tuned miniature details to give it a photo-realistic look that hasn’t really been used for broadcast television yet. The use of the Unreal engine makes it so that small details such as wind in the trees, cars in the background and even people walking around in the Eiffel Tower, can be used to make it feel realistic. The crew and the talent almost forget they’re on a green screen set, because they are looking at the composited images. Camera operators are moving the jib in the same way they would if they were in Paris. Advantages are lower costs for labor and materials than a regular set, sustainability, lots of flexibility in framing for example, we can move the set, instead of moving a camera and the ability to create a scene without being limited by the cost of materials or physical studio space.”

The set has also proved to be adaptable for a variety of events, in part, because it is relatively easy to train staff. “It was rather straight-forward to train the teams as most positions continued working the way they are used to as we have been using this space for about five years now,” Mukherjee said. “Camera operators, directors, producers, and talent see the shots with fully rendered backgrounds, so they don’t have to imagine what a shot will look like when they’re just looking at green screens.”

That will also help Telemundo in the runup to the 2024 elections and for other events. 

"We have a special that will be filmed in the studio after the Olympics wraps, and then outside of the normal news and sports production, we will be incorporating this studio into the upcoming election coverage,” Mukherjee said. “We haven’t seen the final graphics plan yet, but there will be a virtual component in play.”

Olympic sports, particularly the less popular ones like water polo, field hockey, volleyball, and handball, often face challenges in many countries maintaining revenue streams and fan engagement outside the high-profile Olympic Games.

However, advancements in AI and automation are providing new opportunities for these sports to sustain and even grow their revenue between Olympic cycles. Automated video production technology is becoming an essential tool in this effort, enhancing visibility, generating valuable data, and creating new opportunities for future stars to shine.

The Revenue Challenges Between Olympics
During the Olympics, sports benefit from extensive media coverage, sponsorship deals, and the potential for financial rewards from medal wins. However, once the games conclude, many of these sports struggle to maintain visibility and revenue.

The key questions are: How can these sports continue to grow fan bases? How can they generate the additional revenue needed to develop further? And how can they find and nurture the next generation of talent?

Democratizing the Playing Field
AI is revolutionizing sports production by making high-quality content creation more accessible and cost-effective, thus leveling the playing field for all participants. Automated production technologies such as those pioneered by Pixellot enable the filming and broadcasting of games without the need for a full production crew. This technology allows sports that haven’t been covered because of the high production costs can’t afford to be with even less popular sports to consistently produce and share content with fans, maintaining engagement year-round.

As a result, niche sports (men and especially women) and youth sports can all benefit from live and on demand video coverage which changes the games for many sport types, leagues and players. The integration of AI in sports production not only improves the quality and accessibility of content but also enhances the competitive landscape, fostering a more inclusive and equal sports ecosystem.

Benefits of Automated Sports Production
There are many benefits that automated production brings to the sports arena, the major ones being:

• Cost Efficiency: Reducing the need for large production teams lowers the cost of broadcasting games, making it feasible to cover more events, including smaller and regional competitions.
• Consistency: Ensures regular content creation, keeping fans engaged and attracting new viewers.
• Quality: Progress in camera quality and AI algorithms ensure high-quality video production with features like automatic highlights and analytics.

Popularity Surges and Youth Participation
The visibility provided by the Olympics often leads to temporary surges in popularity for niche sports. For example, during the 2016 Rio Olympics, sports like rugby sevens and field hockey saw a significant increase in viewership and participation.

According to a report by the International Olympic Committee, the inclusion of rugby sevens in the Olympics led to a 30% increase in participation in the sport globally. Similarly, field hockey saw a 20% increase in youth participation in the year following the 2016 Olympics.

Youth participation in sports often sees a boost after the Olympics, driven by the visibility and excitement generated by the games. A study by the Aspen Institute found that youth sports participation in the United States increased by 5% in the year following the 2016 Rio Olympics, with sports like gymnastics, swimming, and track and field seeing the most significant gains.

Monetization Opportunities
AI-driven sports production drastically cuts costs and opens up new monetisation avenues through enhanced fan engagement and targeted advertising.

Here are several ways AI can drive revenue:

• Commercial Sponsorships:|
  Automated production allows for consistent exposure of brands during live broadcasts, making sponsorship deals more attractive and valuable.
• OTT Platforms:
  Over-the-top (OTT) platforms can leverage AI to deliver personalised content to viewers, increasing viewership and ad revenue. Highlight reels, game recaps and even club OTT’s can be tailored to fan preferences.
• Subscription Services:
  Fans can subscribe to premium content, such as behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive interviews, and ad-free viewing experiences.

Enhancing the Fan Experience
AI enhances the fan experience by providing more interactive and engaging content. This not only helps in retaining existing fans but also in attracting new ones. Features like real-time statistics, interactive polls, and manual interactive viewing experiences can significantly enhance how fans interact with the sport.

Conclusion
AI and automated video technologies are a critical component for sustaining and growing the revenue of less popular Olympic sports during and between Olympic Games. A powerful tool for enhancing visibility, generating valuable data, and creating new opportunities for future stars, these technologies will play an increasingly vital role in the success of emerging sports as well as the development of athletes and team fans alike.

IOC officials are understandably exuberant over media coverage of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, reporting a record amount of content and viewers worldwide.

For Paris 2024, host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is producing over 11,000 hours of content—more than any previous Olympic Games, with the record output across both TV and digital platforms representing a 15.8% increase on the amount of content produced for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

“This includes more athlete-centric coverage and behind- the-scenes material, as well as cinematic lenses with a shallow depth of field to enhance the overall visual experience for the viewer,” the IOC said. “In addition, new dynamic, data-driven graphics are being used to display athletes’ performances in minute detail, while a multitude of camera angles are helping to fully immerse fans in their favorite sports. The immersive coverage being produced by OBS is already attracting record audiences on TV and digital platforms for media rights holders around the world.”

“The audiences benefit from the incredible images going to the world from Olympic Broadcasting Services and our Media Rights-Holders,” said IOC President Thomas Bach on Friday. “We are on track for more than half the world’s population to follow the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

For the host nation, the Opening Ceremony broadcast by France Télévisions attracted a record 23.4 million viewers, representing an 83.3% audience share, according to the IOC.

In the United States, NBC and Peacock registered the most-watched Opening Ceremony for an Olympic Games edition since London 2012, with 28.6 million viewers, while the total minutes consumed by the end of the opening weekend surpassed 1.1 billion across Telemundo, Universo and Peacock streaming and social media platforms, representing a 65% increase compared to the same stage of Tokyo 2020.

Warner Bros. Discovery, which is broadcasting the Games in Europe and on its streaming platforms Max and discovery+, says its total unique streaming viewers for Paris 2024 had already exceeded those from the whole of Tokyo 2020 after just two days of coverage. Across both Max and discovery+, Paris 2024 has also already driven almost one billion streaming minutes, more than seven times higher than at the same point of Tokyo 2020 and already representing 75 per cent of the total minutes from those Games, the IOC reported.

On the eve of the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe has unveiled the first images of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) House from which live coverage of this summer’s Olympic Games will be delivered.

BD’s European sports channel Eurosport is the main rights holder of the Olympic Games in most of Europe and will broadcast the Paris Games on Max, discovery+ and linear television.

Featuring some of the world’s most iconic backdrops including the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Grand Palais, dedication productions from 11 countries (UK, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Finland, Norway, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands) will present the Games to millions of viewers across Europe. A total 190-person crew will be on hand at WBD House during the two-week event.

In total, there are four studios and three stand-up positions with 23 cameras at WBD House. On top of the Hotel Raphael, one of the stand-up positions will be utilized by WBD’s premium global news network CNN. The studios will be seen for the first time by viewers in the build-up to Eurosport’s coverage of Friday evening’s Opening Ceremony.

“We are delighted to now reveal our purpose built studio complex, said Scott Young, Group SVP Content, Production and Business Operations at WBD Sports Europe. “This is the culmination of a vision that started three years ago and is without doubt the most audacious production concept that we have ever undertaken. “It is a technical masterpiece that leans into the complexity of delivering the Olympic Games in multiple markets in multiple languages. Our on air teams now have an extraordinary presentation base to host our coverage of Paris 2024, sitting above the rooftops of this famous and glamorous city.”

PARIS—As the U.S. media rights holder NBCUniversal prepares to offer the most expansive programming in Olympic history, with 7,000 hours of coverage, including 1,500 hours on linear TV, a new report from S&P says that expectations are high for the Paris Summer Olympics, the first post-pandemic Games, with both organizers and media outlets expecting revenue increases. 

The report argues that Olympic broadcasting revenue growth should accelerate post-pandemic under the International Olympic Committee's current contract with NBCUniversal. Since 2004, global broadcasting revenue from the Summer Olympics has increased 108%. 

The U.S. contract with NBCU drives a majority of broadcast revenue for the IOC, with over a billion dollars coming from the Americas for each Olympics since 2016. Asia and Europe historically come in second or third, with valuations improving when a country in the region hosts an event, the report from S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan found.  

The researchers also wrote that the agreement between the IOC and NBCU averages about $1.3 billion per Olympics from 2022 through 2032, with the domestic rights fee for the 2032 Games reaching nearly $1.6 billion.

According to a recent Consumer Insights survey by Kagan, 28% of US online adults said they typically view the Summer Olympics. This is roughly on par with that of the NBA (27%) and just behind viewing for the MLB (32%).  

NBCU expects ad sales for the Paris Games to set new records, driven in part by its programmatic technology, the report noted. 

In another key finding, the report found that in the US, the domestic rights fees have steadily increased for both the Summer and Winter Games since the late 90s. The growth rate of the domestic rights fee for the Winter Games has outpaced that of the Summer Games since the 1998 Nagano Olympics in Japan.

The compound annual growth rate for the Winter Games over that period is 14.9% versus 10.5% for the Summer Games. Looking at the most recent Olympics, the US rights fees for each season increased 2.7% under the IOC's current agreement with NBCUniversal, which runs through 2032, S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan found.

STAMFORD, Conn.—NBC Sports will use a variety of microphones, headsets and headphones from Audio-Technica for its production of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, July 24-August 11, and August 28-Sept. 8, respectively.

NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will feature multi-platform offerings across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, E!, CNBC, GOLF Channel, Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Universo, and NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. NBC will provide at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Summer Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage.

“We’re delighted once again to have Audio-Technica provide more than 600 microphones, headsets, and headphones for our Olympics and Paralympics production,” said Karl Malone, Sr Director Audio Engineering, NBC Sports. “The quality and reliability of Audio-Technica hardware, as well as the tonal quality of the products, allow us to be consistently creative in our audio production. Whether using a mono or stereo shotgun microphone or an immersive 8.0 microphone, Audio-Technica's products will ensure exceptional sound quality for NBC Sports production in Paris and Stamford.”

Audio-Technica has worked with NBC Sports for 24 years, assisting NBC Sports’ production efforts at previous Olympics and other major international sports events in North America, Europe and Asia.

“It is always a pleasure to work with the audio team at NBC Sports, from the meticulous planning through to the on-site delivery,” states Rodrigo Thomaz, Project Manager – Broadcast Partnerships at Audio-Technica with technical responsibility for the collaboration. “The concepts that we work on together are always pushing the barriers of what can be achieved with exceptional audio capture at the numerous sporting venues.”

The Olympics are more than just a sporting event—they are a showcase of human stories that inspire and captivate us. As media technology evolves, so does our ability to share these stories with audiences around the world. Artificial Intelligence is one of the technologies that is transforming how we experience sports media, especially at the Olympic level. AI can help us tell the story of each game or match, the historical significance of the event, and the ways we can keep fans engaged even after the event is over.

From Past to Present
Ever since the modern Olympics began in 1896 (Athens), people have been fascinated by the games. And with each new era, the latest technological innovations were used to bring the games to viewers across the globe. The first coverage of the event was through newsreels in theaters. Radio started with live coverage in 1924 (Paris), 100 years ago. You might be surprised to learn that television coverage began in 1936 (Berlin), with a kind of closed-circuit system that showed the games in public places near the stadium. It wasn’t until the1960 games (Rome) that the broadcast reached other countries.

The Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) was established in 2001 with the core mission to act as the host broadcaster for the games, delivering the sights and sounds to viewers all over the world. It started fulfilling that mission with the 2008 games (Beijing) and has been responsible for the main infrastructure and media related services for every Olympics since. OBS has been remarkable in its constant innovation with each event, maintaining quality and reliability during a time when media technology has changed a lot.

AI is part of this change. Depending on which specific AI technology we are talking about, we can say that AI was first used by OBS at the 2018 games (PyeongChang) where it was used for content tagging, recommendations, and language translation. It was also used in several other areas of the games, such as time recording systems and biometric analysis of athlete performance.

When in Paris…
According to OBS, the 2024 Games will be the most advanced yet in terms of technology with the two week event. The games will be fully produced natively in UHD HDR, along with immersive 5.1.4 sound using more than 1,000 camera systems and 3,600 microphones.

OBS will produce more than 11,000 hours of content and process more than 3,000 UHD and HD feeds within the International Broadcast Center. More than 80 different distribution feeds will be managed. The IBC facility covers about 40,000 square meters, a 13% reduction from the 2020 Tokyo Games held in 2020. A total of 36 different venue broadcast compounds will be supported.

Amazingly, OBS does this with only about 160 full-time employees. The core group expands to more than 8,000 people from more than 110 different countries during the games itself. This is an incredible organizational and technological achievement that only gets more sophisticated with each Games.

Of course, AI is also playing a bigger role at this scale of event production and distribution. AI will be used for auto-clipping of content and descriptive metadata tagging. The technology will be used to provide transcriptions and translations of interviews for journalists and to help them find content. It will also be used to provide captions/subtitles in real time for live coverage. Data gathered by various biometric and other sensors deployed through the event will be processed and provide unprecedented information to viewers, often in real time.

Perhaps most impressively, it will be used to create automated highlights for potential distribution to several different platforms, including those using vertical formats. These will be generated on demand at any level of interest from a county to a sport to an individual athlete and can be tailored to mood or many other factors that producers may want to consider.

2026 (Milan) and Beyond
AI technologies of all kinds will continue to play a role in allowing media companies to produce major live events with richer and more sophisticated viewing experiences. Even in the areas where AI is already playing a role, it is easy to see the potential for an even greater role. For example, clips and highlights packages could be generated for smaller audiences or even an individual viewer in a reasonably cost-effective way.

These highlight-generation technologies could include even more relevant stats and help producers and viewers find even more interesting “gems” hidden in the content. It can also help production teams fill time in between gaps in the action with some real-time context setting, or information about the sport, scores or other key story lines. It can bring real-time information with context directly to presenters and allow them to provide even more texture for audiences.

It can also help production crews keep an eye on what’s happening outside the venue and have a more 360-degree view of the “story of the games.” Audiences always want more and we’re reaching the limits of what’s feasible for a human production crew to do, so working AI into production and creative workflows will be crucial to bring better experiences. It will bring otherwise hidden stories to those who want to see them. AI is unlikely to ever be used to alter the “reality” a fan sees; instead it should serve as an enabling function to enhance our production of the content.

Fear of the potential impact of mal-intended generative AI creating fake or distorted content is an important concern that is being taken seriously by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), OBS, and broadcasters around the world. OBS has been explicit in its commitment to not tampering with the video.

One technology I would anticipate playing a role in coming games in this regard is C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity), an open technical standard providing publishers, creators, and consumers the ability to trace the origin of different types of media. This will be critical in many areas beyond sport.

Between the Games
We can start thinking now about how AI will help with the story between the games. It might not be so obvious, but 17 days of competition isn’t enough to tell the lifetime story of how an athlete got there. When the flame goes out, preparation for the next games begins right away. AI tools that are looking beyond the content broadcasters generate and into social platforms and the broader “conversation” can help audiences experience the whole journey to the games and beyond.

The legacy for competitors, for cities, for fans who were present at these epic moments and watched on TV far away can be joined up using the careful application of AI to continue to activate fans throughout the cycle and maintain interest.

At its core, the Olympic games are a human event—an AI cannot compete in the games and can never tell the powerful stories in a way that will bond in a powerful, emotional way with viewers. AI’s roles are becoming clearer, however. In addition to providing capability for increased scale and sophistication, it is time to see AI as a technology to bring more of the “truth” to viewers. AI can assist us in bringing out powerful stories by helping us find and present more relevant and informational content than ever. l

John Footen is a managing director who leads Deloitte Consulting LLP’s media technology and operations practice. He can be reached at usmediamatrix@deloitte.com.

PARIS—Citius, Altius, Fortius has traditionally been the motto for the Olympic Games, Latin words for “Swifter, Higher, Stronger.” In 2021, the motto was officially modified to be Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter, meaning “Swifter, Higher, Stronger – Together.”

As we roll up to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, July 26-Aug. 11, NBC, the official U.S. broadcaster for the games, will demonstrate its interpretation of the motto with a broadcast that is swifter, higher and stronger. The network has been working for nearly two years in both Paris and at the NBC Sports hub in Stamford, Conn., to ensure that everything has been pulled together, according to Darryl Jefferson, senior vice president of engineering and technology for NBC Olympics and Sports.

Pre-Configured, Pre-Tested and Pre-Installed
This will be Jefferson’s first games as head of NBC Olympics’ tech operations, succeeding long-time veteran Dave Mazza, who retired in 2022. Jefferson has been with NBC Olympics since 2008, managing Post Production and Asset Management teams and was instrumental in the development of the networks’ innovative Highlights Factory/Asset Management System.

“We started design and peer review about 20 months ago, with build, configure and test in our integration facility,” Jefferson said. “We tested video paths, workflows, delivery mechanisms and failure modes all before items shipped out. We ship gear mostly pre-configured, pre-installed, and pre-tested, for both speed of deployment and for peace of mind.”

With a broadcast as complex as the Olympics, with numerous venues and the need to integrate feeds from the primary Olympics video system, the number of moving parts is staggering. Take something like the intercom system—viewers are never aware of it, but it plays a crucial role in coordinating between all the different venues and crews.

“It has indeed been quite a challenge,” he said. “Our dedicated comms group has especially focused on inter-communication with our large presence in Stamford. Candidly, managing those comms-trunking resources at this size and scale has required re-thinking and expanding many of our core resources, and resources that are also sent out at our venues, as well. Part of the challenge of lashing up two cities far apart is seamlessly allowing folks to communicate.”

Seamless to Viewers
Moving its system to a new Olympics venue every two years is an incredible challenge, but NBC will ensure viewers will see a seamless broadcast—so seamless that many may not realize that although the action is happening in Paris, many of the commentators and on-air talent will be in Stamford.

(Read: NBC to Air Record Amount of Live Paris Olympics Coverage)

Among many benefits of this Paris-to-Stamford approach is that the network has less equipment to rip out and relocate—or abandon—after each Olympic broadcast. It seems counter-intuitive that having two such widely separated technical areas and operations is more efficient than having it all in one place, but the reality is that separation increases speed and efficiency.

“The biggest leap is splitting large parts of our team between Paris and Stamford,” Jefferson said. “Transporting large quantities of cameras, effects gear and studios full of equipment all the way home has historically not been financially viable. In some cases, the latency was unacceptable. That split approach allows us to cover more sports with fewer total people traveling than just a few Games ago.”

However, between the time of the old four-year cycle and the new two-year cycle that took effect 30 years ago, the industry has gone through a revolution in connectivity and capability.

“With new tools, robust networks, capacity with cloud infrastructure, and the ability to approach signal transport differently, there exists a whole host of new options today,” he said.

Emerging Technologies
High-end sports broadcasts are among the first to use emerging technologies, and NBC’s preparation to broadcast more than 5,000 hours of live Olympics coverage from Paris is no exception. Add in the complexity of covering a sporting event spread over several arenas and locations, and it’s like preparing for the Super Bowl… times 10.

Jefferson and his team found there were several new things that had to be handled carefully for this Olympics broadcast, which will be broadcast in 4K/HDR and 5.1.4 immersive audio.

(Read: Peacock to Use AI-Generated Al Michaels' Voice for Recaps of Olympic Games)

“It may be a tie between getting HDR support everywhere we may need it, and the large cut over to support IP in many places,” he said. “Although we’ve had important experience with both, there exist so many devices, solutions, vendors and third parties that do not support wide color gamut today, or equipment through which color information doesn’t survive.

“Testing every graphics device or element of delivery to ensure all is consistent has required a decent amount of patience,” Jefferson added. “In a similar way, building a resilient and nimble IP system has also been a process.”

I assumed that the native Olympic video infrastructure would be 4K/UHD. However, Jefferson said that is not the case. “Our format is 1080p HDR [HLG] at 50Hz,” he said. “We are thrilled that this mezzanine format will be supported at every venue and site.”

As you might imagine, a very large number of vendors provide the gear to make the broadcasts work. In addition to the gear that NBC brings to the Olympics, the Olympics organization has its own broadcast service that works behind the scenes and supports all national broadcasters. The Olympics Broadcast Services (OBS) positions all the cameras at the events and provides feeds and much more to the dozens of national broadcasters, including NBC.

“We have worked with OBS on their camera positions and event orchestration,” Jefferson said. “We also worked with Sony on switchers, cameras and monitors, with EVS on replay devices and IP orchestration, with Grass Valley/Cisco on core /IP routing, Avid on editing and asset management, Chyron on graphics, Riedel on SimplyLive, and so many more.”

‘Healthy Mixture’ of IP and SDI
One of the most basic decisions assembling a system of this size is where to use the SMPTE ST 2110 IP video standard and where to use the older SMPTE SDI standard. Where and how these two are used makes a big difference in how signals are routed, and routing signals at the Olympics is one of the core tasks.

“We have a healthy mixture of both, but are about 60% ST 2110 handoff, venue and core orchestration,” Jefferson said. “In some cases, we support both formats within a Tech Center, or gateway translation to convert one to the other. Fortunately, we have spent the last few Games [since Tokyo] making the transition over time, and certainly learning all the lessons.”

(Read: NBCU to Expand Accessibility Efforts to Record Levels of Summer Olympics)

Jefferson detailed how the NBC Olympics team took IP/SDI integration step-by-step in order to maximize compatibility and minimize conflicts. “First [we used] a lifeboat router, larger core switches, and a split router in support of both HDR/SDR,” he said. Now [we have] one single format, signal redundancy and a streamlined approach. Each of these steps has been critical in uncovering the complexity and flexibility of IP.”

In addition to SDI and ST 2110, NBC is also using some of NewTek’s semi-proprietary Network Device Interface (NDI) standard. “We are using NDI in some areas, specifically NDI v6, with support of HDR and enhanced audio,” Jefferson said.

Viewer Insight
Jefferson promised a host of new features for NBC’s broadcast of the Summer Olympics. A lot of it sounds technical, but the goal is to give the viewer insight that wasn’t previously possible.

“We have a whole trove of new technology, some of which is well behind the camera [ST 2110 and Dante, HDR and ATMOS everywhere], new encoding mezzanine formats, and also a good deal of enhancements to bring viewers further behind the scenes,” he said. “Backstage cameras, audio from coaches, cameras in the stands with families, even biometrics on family and coaches. The goal of all this technology is to bring more elements of storytelling around each athlete’s journey.”

The Olympics are more than just another big sporting event. It is an international cultural experience, a massive stage on which scandals are magnified and missteps are ridiculed. Bad guys have been known to use this hyper-focus of media to perpetrate big crimes—and viewers expect that such coverage will be captured with all the depth and clarity of the sports events themselves.

However, the winning part of the broadcast is the part that tells the small stories: The struggles, burdens, perseverance and stamina of the individuals who participate. When the camera shows the sweat on a face and fierceness in the eyes, it is giving you what you can only get from an experienced and well-equipped television crew.

This summer, NBC stands poised to deliver its best Olympics yet.

The Olympics are not the same as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl provides an unusual moment where most households in the US tune into the same channel and watch the same broadcast all at once, which is why Super Bowl commercials are such a big deal - everyone sees the same thing. 

The Olympics are the opposite. It is the epitome of fragmentation. This year, the Olympic games will showcase 2,900 athletes across 40 sports from 80 countries that billions of people will watch on TVs, phones and tablets in many different languages. Everyone will have a unique viewing experience with more than 10,000 hours of content to choose from over hundreds of linear channels, streaming apps and social channels around the world. 

For an advertiser, that level of fragmentation forces them to consider a more individualized approach.Targeting and personalized CTV messaging is no longer a “nice to have” - it’s a “must have.” More than any other televised content, the Olympics are the catalyst for advertisers to crack open the true opportunity on CTV - personalized advertising at a massive scale. What’s more, with billions of people “leaned in” on streaming and mobile, advertisers can push new boundaries with creativity and interactivity. 

Exploring New Ad Opportunities
NBC has already announced that they have received a record amount of ad spend - $1.2 billion - on the Olympics, and some of that spend will be put towards innovative advertising solutions. Peacock, for example, is introducing a live streaming “hub” that is interactive and meant to help viewers navigate the different sports and access extra content. There’s no doubt advertisers will take advantage of this newly interactive experience with different types of sponsorships and ad format opportunities - something that could carry over into future streaming content. 

Even before a viewer decides which streaming app to use, advertisers have unique opportunities to reach viewers through features like Direct-to-Glass, which showcases display and video ads in the TV’s home screen navigation, offering interactive experiences targeted to a specific household. Beyond that, advertisers should be strategic about leveraging eye-catching assets and shoppabale moments (e.g. buy the shoes that your favorite track star just wore!).

Advertisers that have limited video assets and budget can still capture attention at the Olympics with ad formats like audio-to-video, which pairs an audio voiceover with eye-catching images or videos pulled from social media. When this approach is paired with a QR code, it provides an interactive opportunity for viewers to continue in their user journey or shop directly from their mobile device.

Of course, within a digital environment like CTV, one size does not always fit all. Take a single athleisure clothing brand. One viewer might care that a track star is wearing it and look for more information about it on social media, while another viewer wants to click and buy it directly from a commercial that provides a discount code. 

Some people react to discounts, while others love influential talent. Some people need time to research while others are more impulsive. Being able to assemble different iterations of imagery, messaging, and audio at scale means that advertisers can quickly test and narrow in on the elements that work best for different audiences. And if the Olympics are an indicator, it tells us that there are a lot of variations in audiences. 

Triangulating On Audiences and Content
Take a random viewer - say, someone of Turkish descent who lives in New Jersey. He may watch Turkey’s best Olympic sport, wrestling, through the TRT streaming app - the Turkish carrier of Olympics content. Or, he may decide to watch football (i.e. soccer) through the BBC app because he went to college in the U.K. 

Or, he may decide to follow basketball on NBC and root for the U.S. because he lives in the U.S. and he loves basketball. How is one advertiser supposed to know how to reach this viewer with the right message at the right time in a way that feels consistent? 

Audience targeting on TV is riddled with challenges for advertisers. But, this is similar to challenges across other digital advertising and marketing. Consumers jump around online and do highly varied actions in a pattern that is unique to them that has very little to do with what the next person is doing. Advertisers and marketers go to great lengths to make sure their messages make sense to any one person across all of those different contexts. 

While some advertisers have only just dipped a toe in the CTV waters, the Olympics will shine a bright light on just how valuable granular targeting is on CTV, and why advertisers need to have a more diverse media plan than they have on linear TV. Targeting different ads across different streaming apps helps advertisers become more relevant to viewers. 

Households within driving distance to a retailer might prefer an ad that talks about what’s available at their local store. A viewer streaming on their mobile device far away from a local store might want to click and get deeper content on how a product works. Household and demographic targeting helps advertisers connect directly with viewers based on their past behavior. And with contextual targeting, advertisers can connect their messaging to the content that just ran. 

Through all of this variation of creative, user behavior, and content fragmentation, the Olympics emerges as the perfect test case of CTV strategies as an extension of digital rather than as an extension of linear TV. To date, linear advertising has had more of an influence on CTV media buyers than digital, but as advertisers start to see how valuable it is to personalize advertising to the channel and user, that influence could quickly shift. 

LONDON—Olympic Broadcasting Services recently tested AI-enhanced multcamera replay tech from Alibaba Cloud at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai in preparation for deployment at the Olympic Games in Paris, July 26-Aug. 11.

The successful tests, which took place at the Shanghai event, May-1619, used machine learning and deep neural networks—powered by Alibaba Cloud’s resilient cloud infrastructure— to reconstruct competition scenes in sophisticated detail, offering viewers a compelling engagement experience. 

First introduced at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 for curling and speed skating events, the multicamera replay system was used to immerse fans in the action, allowing them to experience critical competition moments from a variety of optimal angles. With more AI features and deployment at more competition scenes, the innovation will elevate broadcasting of the Olympic Games to a new level, according to Alibaba Cloud.

Using specialized video processing within both edge and cloud environments, footage captured from strategically positioned cameras around the venues during the two-week event will be transformed into cloud-based 3D models with high-quality textures, enabling the creation of virtual frames from new viewpoints and making actions such as rotation more smooth and realistic, thus providing an immersive and cohesive 3D reconstruction of the competition scenes.

The AI-enabled replay system will be implemented at 12 competition venues for events such as beach volleyball, tennis, judo and rugby. The multi-angle video content will be made available through OBS’s production system, enriching coverage of the Olympic Games through cloud broadcasting with a range of dynamic and lifelike replay footage for global Media Rights Holders (MRH). 

“We are thrilled to collaborate with OBS to expand the use of our cutting-edge cloud-based AI technology, aiming to elevate sports broadcasting to new levels of immersion and engagement,” said Selina Yuan, President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. “As a pioneer in delivering intelligentsports solutions, we aim to work with OBS to redefine how global sports enthusiasts experience and engage with the Olympic Games. We look forward to further contributing to the Paris 2024 experience with our advanced cloud technologies.”

NEW YORK—NBCUniversal and Roku are teaming up to offer the “NBC Olympic Zone” on Roku, a new destination on the Roku Home Screen Menu. The dedicated channel will help subscribers of NBC’s Peacock streaming service access and explore more than 5,000 hours of NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, July 26-Aug. 11.

Subscribers will be able to browse through curated content rows of live and upcoming programming, discover events by sport type, click through event recaps, and so much more. The NBC Olympic Zone on Roku will also feature a dedicated replay row, clips, and highlight reels that take users directly to Peacock’s immersive viewing experience.

“Creating partnerships like the NBC Olympic Zone on Roku, which emphasize tentpole content in the user experience on our partner platforms, has proven to provide deeper engagement,” said Matt Schnaars, President, NBCUniversal Content Distribution. “NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Paris Olympics will be the can’t-miss event of 2024, and this partnership displays the type of experience we can create with partners like Roku to drive users into Peacock.”

“Our users are going to have an amazing summer with the NBC Olympic Zone on Roku, directing them to Peacock and all the highlights, replays, and live competition coming straight from Paris,” said Tedd Cittadine, Vice President of Content Partnerships, Roku. “This is a unique, exciting opportunity for us, streamers, and sponsors looking to align their brands with this global powerhouse sports moment.”

Roku users can visit the NBC Olympic Zone on Roku to:

• Discover live and upcoming events, allowing fans to quickly find and stream the NBC primetime show and individual sports, highlights, and replays
• Stay up to date with the Medal Count Module, where fans can keep track of medal standings of countries competing in Paris
• Watch pre-Olympics coverage including recaps and highlights, U.S. Olympic Trials, and more streaming live on Peacock
• Engage with athlete profiles and Olympic-related content

Peacock will also debut two new features coming to the platform: Peacock Live Actions and Peacock Discovery Multiview to help fans discover and engage with the Olympics and other live programming.

Panasonic has revealed some of its technology that will be used for the broadcast of this summer’s Olympic Games and Paralympics in Paris.

The company is celebrating 40 years as an Olympic partner in 2024.

At a press conference at NAB Show, Andre Meterian, director of Panasonic’s video systems unit for Europe, announced Panasonic is providing 150 cameras and 31 switchers, including Kairos, at the Games.

Each Kairos will perform production for up to three venues, said Meterian, reducing hardware installation costs and space by 60 per cent, as well as helping to make the Games more sustainable.

Panasonic will also be supplying PTZ cameras in 29 press rooms across the Games.

John Pearce, director of venue technical operations at Olympic Broadcasting Services, revealed Panasonic has also been part of the company’s move towards virtual outside broadcasting (VOB) which was trialled at the Olympic Youth Games in Gangwon earlier this year.

OBS worked with NEP and Panasonic to port software onto COTS servers as part of the broadcast workflow.

In Paris, OBS will deploy VOB at three venues, added Pearce, including Roland Garros, where eleven of the courts will be 100 per cent produced using VOB running on COTS.

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister publication TVBEurope.

NBCUniversal said on Tuesday it has sold $1.2 billion in ads for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer and is on track to reach  the all-time ad sales record for the Olympics. 

The revenue total includes about $350 million from new advertisers and about $100 million from International Olympic Committee (IOC) sponsors including Procter & Gamble, Visa and Toyota, which is up 18% from the Covid-restricted Summer Games in Tokyo in 2021, NBCU told Reuters. 

NBCU officials attributed the growth to this being the first Games since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 to allow full participation as well as its European local being a more favorable time zone for live coverage.

Last month, for the first time in Summer Olympics history, NBCU announced that all of its Olympics coverage will also be available on its Peacock streaming platform. NBCU said its digital ad revenue has already hit a record and that all ad inventory is sold out for the opening and closing ceremonies. 

You’ve barely had time to catch your breath after Tokyo and recently, the 2023 World Cup in Qatar, but you’re already deep into planning for the upcoming Summer Games.  

Around 10,500 athletes representing 206 National Olympic Committee teams will compete in Paris from July to August during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, deeming it the largest event ever organized in France to date.

Competing for Bandwidth
As a national broadcaster, it’s imperative that you’re there—your nation is expecting it. But logistics and connectivity  may be challenging—how will you be able to leverage existing networks when they’re highly congested? Is Paris ready for 5G? From fans capturing the Games on social media or calling their friends on the other side of the world to celebrate their nation’s latest medal, the network environment will be highly contested, leaving broadcasters vulnerable.

We’ve never had better or more abundant connectivity, and wireless networks like 5G provide even more ways to access reliable backhaul from remote locations. It’s convenient, it promises low-latency, fast speeds and it’s easily accessible. In some cases, it even delivers.

But not everything is as reliable as your country’s medal winners. And all too often, neither is 5G.

Not all 5G Are the Same
While early adopters of 5G like the UAE and South Korea are achieving median download speeds in excess of 500 Mbps, it is a different story elsewhere. Globally, 5G is still in its infancy and in fragmented regions like Europe, performance is especially inconsistent.

According to the GSM Association, there are more than 80 x 5G operators in Europe, and only a handful are capable of delivering speeds in excess of 200 Mbps. Thanks largely to their dedicated 5G spectrum and a supportive regulatory environment, the Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway, as well as Cyprus, are all capable of download speeds which qualify them as “High Performers” by connectivity specialist Ookla.

But in contrast, the five biggest European economies ─ Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain ─ are all struggling with spotty coverage and median downloads speeds as low as 98 Mbps.

And it’s not getting any better.

As more and more smartphones, wearables and IoT devices piggyback on Europe’s 5G infrastructure, the resulting network congestion means that median 5G speeds are actually decreasing every year. A report by the European Court of Auditors estimates that 5G deployment across the EU will cost around €400 billion, and with service providers already struggling to see a return on their existing 5G investment, future development into standalone 5G also looks doubtful.

For anyone who needs reliable, robust and high-bandwidth connectivity, 5G isn’t enough.

For mission critical functions, one connection is never enough which is why Dejero Smart Blending Technology™ leverages multiple connections to deliver more ways for people to access reliable connectivity, wherever they are.

Is Paris Ready for 5G?
In preparation for this summer’s sporting events in Paris, Dejero has already conducted 5G tests in the French capital with our latest EnGo 3 range of 5G mobile video transmitters, using a variety of SIM configurations across seven of the venues, including the South Paris Arena, the Emile Anthonie Stadium and the Stade de France. 

Setting the EnGo to 20 Mbps and 2 seconds of latency in fixed latency mode, we performed 5 minutes of streaming for each SIM combination. We found that 5G coverage is performing fairly well in the city core, but LTE is still the better option, especially the further out you go. Factor in crowd congestion and you could be in trouble if relying on a single cellular network carrier.

It’s safe to say that for live broadcasting and streaming at the Summer Games, one connection won’t be enough, which is why many live sports professionals will be relying on Dejero Smart Blending Technology that leverages multiple connections to deliver more ways for them to access reliable connectivity, at whichever venue they find themselves.

This carrier diversity delivers greater resiliency, and Dejero’s next generation 5G mobile video transmitters are already fully compatible with both standalone and non-standalone 5G. Combining 5G into multiple cellular networks, fiber and IP connections, as well as low earth orbiting (LEO) satellites, Dejero Smart Blending Technology creates a virtual 'network of networks' to deliver reliable low-latency connectivity.

We will be working closely with customers on-site in Paris to ensure they can secure the bandwidth required to transmit high quality HD and 4K video the connectivity they need. We give our customers the ability to go out and shoot what they want, where they want it, with the full knowledge that our technical experts are available on location to support their needs from the moment they arrive for set up, through to the closing ceremonies and wrap-up reports.

Diverse Networks in Diverse Environments
With uncertainty over the development of 5G even in advanced economies like Europe, it’s good to have more options when we need them. And we need them more than ever.

We’ve gone from sending video from point A to point B, to having everything connected over data. Dejero brings all this into one environment, combining video transmission with data connectivity to enable everyone from remote broadcast crews to emergency support teams to operate in the same way they would in an internal facility.

We’ve seen those limits consistently pushed; our equipment has been flown in helicopters and in planes; it’s been on the ground in the most inhospitable of locations; it’s been in rivers, floods and fires, and in areas affected by earthquakes. It’s worked with broadcasters in Ukraine warzones and in the Maui wildfires, and it is really rewarding to be able to help broadcasters on the front lines who are using Dejero technology for good. 

The landscape is constantly evolving, but in a world where there’s still a huge disparity in 5G connectivity, it’s good to know we don’t have to rely on just that and neither will the broadcasters and OTT platforms reporting from Paris this summer.

STAMFORD, Conn.—As movie theaters continue to struggle to maintain profitability, they're looking at new ways to fill seats. AMC, the nation’s largest theater chain, is adding an arrow to its quiver in the battle to attract new moviegoers by announcing this week that it will host NBC’s live coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer. 

Although ithe lineup doesn't include the opening and closing ceremonies (often the highest rated shows during the two-week event), select daytime hours of NBCUniversal’s live coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics will be shown in approximately 160 AMC locations nationwide, starting July 27 and running through Aug. 11. Tickets will be available for purchase through AMC and Fandango this summer.

The theater offering is part of what NBC promises to be unprecedented coverage of the 2024 Olympics. “Paris 2024 will have more programming hours on the NBC broadcast network than any previous Olympics, and in a Summer Games first for Peacock, the service will stream every sport and event, including all 329 medal events, for over 5,000 hours of live coverage,” the company said this week. Numerous NBCU cable networks and Spanish-network Telemundo will also carry coverage. 

On March 29, an NBCUniversal promotional trailer for its coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics will begin to run in AMC theatres nationwide.

“The Olympic Games always provide a wonderful, shared experience, and this summer communities across the country will have the opportunity to cheer for Team USA or their own hometown hero in local AMC Theatres,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “The afternoon broadcasts on NBC will offer many of the most compelling live moments from Paris, and we believe these gatherings will fuel overall enthusiasm for the Games.”

“We are excited to extend NBC’s daily live coverage of the Paris Olympic Games to AMC Theatres across the country, allowing fans to gather and watch the drama, intrigue, and spectacle of the Summer Games this July,” said Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO, AMC Theatres.

Due to its significant advancement in picture quality, HD video was instrumental in helping broadcasters captivate and retain audiences during the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. Fast forward to today, and High Dynamic Range (HDR) is playing a similar role, offering superior visual quality even to a casual viewer’s eye. 

But despite the introduction of HDR-capable televisions as early as 2016, the mass adoption of live HDR broadcasting has been slow to materialize. One significant factor in the hold-up was the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid lockdowns, the focus for broadcasters shifted toward adapting workflows to fully remote setups, effectively putting HDR on the backburner. 

However, with the return of in-person operations, the industry has once again set its sights on delivering more impressive programming with HDR technology. And despite facing multiple hurdles, the progress toward this goal has been substantial.

Shedding Some Light
HDR broadcasting tries to deliver a very large range of brightness to the viewer. In the real world, we encounter an enormous spectrum of brightness, extending from the darkest shadow in a corner to the overwhelming brilliance of the sun. In traditional “Standard” Dynamic Range (SDR) — utilized by the industry for the past seven decades — the output range of cameras was quite restricted, with the variance between darkness and light capped at approximately nine f-stops, which was also about the limit for the best CRT (and early flat-panel) TVs. 

Modern CCD sensors, LEDs, and other active display technologies offer a far more expansive range, which the HDR system is designed to support. However, this leap in brightness range introduced a significant problem — transporting the increased signal range through the existing television production and distribution infrastructure, particularly the ubiquitous 10-bit signal processing pipelines.

As with many problems in the broadcast industry, two technologies were developed to tackle the same issue: the hybrid log-gamma (HLG) and perceptual quantization (PQ) formats. These formats are both documented in ITU-R BT.2100 but were created by two groups that approached the issue from different perspectives. 

The HLG group concentrated on the scene light, focusing on the image’s brightness and its transformation into the representation on the wire. The team behind PQ took a reverse approach. They began with a reference display and examined what the human visual system could comprehend in terms of detail at varying brightness levels. 

Both formats are widely utilized, with HLG typically being employed during shooting and production and PQ more commonly used during distribution. Distribution systems such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision are based on the PQ standard. 

Final Hurdles
Another challenge on the road to widespread live HDR productions has been the absence of standardized workflows that ensure consistent results ― particularly for shooting an event that must deliver both HDR and SDR versions to the client ― enabling a production workflow that can be replicated with ease across different shows and live events. To better grasp the issue, it’s useful to again reflect on the switch to HD. 

When the industry first began the migration from SD, two separate trucks were used: one for each format. In a similar vein, the initial test HDR productions required separate trucks, crews, and cameras. In both cases, it quickly became apparent that for economic reasons, broadcasters needed to consolidate their operations into a one-truck setup that would produce both HDR and SDR versions. 

If executed well, the SDR version would also offer better image quality than it previously did. This approach is known as a single-master workflow, and every broadcaster recognizes it as their ultimate goal. 

Over the past few years, one of the more significant advancements in HDR has been the publication of a single-master workflow by NBCUniversal, which they utilize for high-profile events. The set of documents for this workflow is freely available to the industry.

A final hurdle in live HDR production involves delivering content seamlessly to viewers. While a majority of TVs sold in the past few years are both UHD and HDR-compatible, terrestrial television delivery of HDR (ATSC-3 and DVB-T2) is still in the trials phase.  

For cable and satellite operators, HDR content can be delivered to consumers’ homes, but it requires specialized set-top boxes and enough consumer interest to offer them as a service. 

Over-the-top (OTT) delivery services like Amazon Prime and AppleTV+ are in the best position to deliver HDR content. This is due to their ability to separately deliver HDR and SDR signals via the internet, without incurring significant additional costs. 

Conversely, satellite and cable operators would need to allocate separate transponder bandwidth for those two signals. In addition, OTT services can offer VOD-based HDR content for consumers to select from.

Ready for Showtime
With the advances that have taken place since the pandemic, the 2024 Paris Summer Games have the potential to be a watershed moment for live HDR productions. As broadcasters strive to deliver more modern and interesting content, the upcoming games represent a crucial opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of this technology. 

UHD and HDR signals for certain events will be available from the host, and each rights-holder is considering how to integrate HDR and UHD into its operations. UHD and HDR features are readily available in current-generation video processing equipment. In addition, most cameras sold in the last two or three years come equipped with an HDR feature, which can be easily activated by purchasing a license. 

Everything is in place for the Paris games to mark a pivotal point in HDR’s journey, potentially sparking the consumer’s demand for more HDR content delivery in the future.

Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has revealed some of its plans to bring next year’s Summer Olympics to TV screens around the world.

Media Rights-Holders (MRHs) from around the world gathered in Paris last week to attend the second World Broadcaster Meeting ahead of next year’s event, which takes place July 26-Aug. 11.

OBS revealed plans to provide more than 11,000 hours of content from the Games, including more athlete-centric coverage and behind-the-scenes material, pre-and post-competition.

The organization announced it will use cinematic lenses for the first time, with shallower depths of field to further bring the viewers into the heart of the action. OBS said it also intends to deploy technology to enhance storytelling with access to more data and provide more immersive solutions, including an increased number of multi-camera replay systems as well as dynamic graphics such as live pinning and biometrics data.

Attendees at the meeting were also told of OBS’s plans to support broadcast operations in and outside of Paris, along with a versatile suite of cloud-based tools enabling live signal distribution, and remote production.

OBS said technology has enabled it to achieve “more with less,” offering broadcasters smarter, more agile, and efficient solutions while drastically reducing physical space and power demands at the venues and the IBC.

Paris 2024’s IBC will be located in the existing Paris Le Bourget Exhibition Centre Halls 2B, 3, 4 & 5. The temporary overlay of the facility has begun, with the handover to OBS due to take place in January 2024 when the OBS fit out will begin. The first media rights holders are expected to start moving into the facility in May, with the centr due to become a 24/7 facility on June 26.

OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos told attendees that “beyond the scale of the event, there is always an underlying desire among broadcasters for the Games to be different, innovative, creative, surprising, and exciting. The anticipation and enthusiasm for this approach are palpable, and I believe this is where Paris will truly shine and set new standards.

“We eagerly look forward to witnessing the outcomes of this creative vision, and I am optimistic that Paris 2024 will deliver in flying colors, surpassing expectations with its distinct and extraordinary approach.”

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.

PARIS—With just under two years to go until the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has revealed its initial plans for the event.

OBS played host to a number of Rights Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) in Paris at the end of July, where they offered a first look at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at Le Bourget.

The IBC is located in the north of Paris, 13km south of the Charles de Gaulle Airport and 8km east of the Olympic and Paralympic Village.

It occupies a total of four halls (one currently under construction), and will feature a total net area of 45,300 sqm. During the Games, it will house a variety of technical and administrative facilities for both OBS and the RHBs.

The IBC handover is scheduled for January 2024, where the fit-out process will begin under the direction of the OBS construction team. This space will then be transformed from an empty shell into a working environment where every detail has been designed to enable OBS and the RHBs to seamlessly deliver the broadcast of the Games, said OBS.

For Paris 2024, OBS said it is aiming to produce an “unprecedented” amount of content and deliver it to the RHBs in a wider range of options. Broadcasters will be able to rely on an expanded service offering and cloud technologies to deliver their content to their home territories in a more efficient fashion, said the organization.

Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet, told the RHBs: “The athletes, fields of play, spectators, and beauty shots are just some of what is needed to tell the Paris 2024 story. What the athletes and fans also need is you, the broadcasters. We at Paris 2024 value your role immensely.”

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Intel has announced plans for a 5G-based VR, 3D and 360-degree platform for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

In collaboration with SoReal, Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors will bring immersive experiences to the Olympics, including 5G-based VR/AR solutions, experiences and training assistance, as well as esports events and even a theme park.

Rick Echevarria, Intel sales and marketing group vice president and general manager of Intel’s Olympics program, said: “Intel is committed to help bring technologies including AI, 5G platforms and VR into the Olympic Games to provide innovative experiences for athletes, participants, spectators and stadium operators, as well as demonstrating how technology promotes successful business transformation.

“Working with an organization with deep expertise in VR/AR-related technology development as well as VR/AR content production, combined with Intel’s VR/AR expertise and 5G technology, we are confident in helping to bring more immersive experiences to participants.”