AI may grab the headlines at Paris 2024 but OBS aims to democratise access to human stories with an inclusive approach to broadcast, digital and social engagement.
The IOC’s broadcast of the 2024 Olympic Games will be bigger, faster, leaner and more data-fuelled than ever before, no doubt reaching a record-breaking audience online and on TV too. But for all the panoply of tech tools trained on athletes, spectators and vistas in Paris, there is one deceptively simple mission for the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) - to communicate the Olympic spirit.
“Unlike traditional broadcasting, which was one broadcaster talking to mass audiences, now we also have capacity to collect individual reactions,” enthuses Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of OBS. “For me, this opportunity is fascinating because it can lead to a gradual and complete democratisation of storytelling. It can mean the virtual participation of every single person in this common human narrative. That is the Olympic Games.”
Exarchos’ Olympic journey began assisting the Athens bidding committee in 1997. He helped set up the host broadcasting operation for the Athens 2004 Games and subsequently the IOC’s own host operation, OBS, which it took in-house to better manage the sheer scale and complexity of the job.
Exarchos has long wrestled with what it would mean to the viewer experience - and the fate of...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.
FIFA World Cup: A cyber criminal’s cash cow
Alongside financially motivated cybercrime, politically motivated hacktivists are also likely to target organisations linked to the tournament through distributed denial-of-service attacks, website defacements, and disinformation campaigns.
AI and sports piracy: “It's whack-a-mole, except now the mole is running an algorithm”
Illegal sports streams in Britain have more than doubled to 3.6bn in the past three years, according to a recent report from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling. But is there any correlation between the increase in piracy and advances in tech? Is AI more effective as the sword or the shield? Anna Tobin reports.
From screens to spaces: The rise of immersive experiences in live events
From AR-powered sports coverage to immersive theatre and AI-driven fan engagement, broadcasters, organisers, and rights holders are rethinking how live experiences are created and extended beyond the event itself.
.jpg)
SVOD vs AVOD: The reinvention of live sports viewing
The live sports landscape is the crown jewel of entertainment, and as it evolves, streaming platforms are driving its next phase of growth.
Content Everywhere: The long and the short of it
Short-form video platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have transformed how audiences consume content. According to recent data from YouGov, rather than replacing traditional viewing, short-form clips are becoming an important step in the viewing journey, helping audiences discover shows and inspiring them to tune in.
