The next Olympic games are quickly approaching, and preparations for coverage are well underway for the summer.
Paris is hosting the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games from July 26 to Aug. 11.
This vision they want to capture this year is the “Games Wide Open,” with coverage set to be the most immersive in Olympic history.
“The International Olympic Committee (IOC), through Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), is preparing to bring the magic of sport to fans’ screens in a way that’s never been seen before at the Olympic Games,” IOC said.
Already in the works for the coverage of the games is 11,000+ hours of broadcast coverage planned. IOC is planning greater insights through more data, more camera angles and new graphics. It will also introduce cinematic lenses to bring fans closer to the action.
All of this will we done with more cloud-based technology which will work to reduce the overall broadcast footprint and power requirements for broadcasters.
Each new element is using new technology or technology in a new way to “redefine how viewers experience this global event.”
Over recent years rating numbers in the Olympic games has seen a steep drop.
“Between 2012 and 2020, the global TV broadcast audience of the Olympic Summer Games declined,” Statistica said. “The 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, which actually took place in 2021, had a global audience of approximately 3.05 billion, down from 3.2 billion five years earlier.”
The trend of decinling viewership continued with the most recent winter games in Beijing in 2022.
NPR reported that the China games “drew the smallest TV audience in history.” With an average total audience of 11.4 million viewers the numbers dropped more than 40% since the prior winter games numbers.
However, those numbers do not contain any online numbers, and according to a Washinton Post article, it could still very well be the ““one of the most-viewed video events in U.S. history.”
“NBC hasn’t disclosed how many digital viewers it has, in part because it hasn’t been able to track all of the clicks on its Olympics content, especially on social media. But the online audience is ‘huge, growing and additive’ to the number watching on a TV set,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of television and streaming at NBCUniversal, to the Washinton Post.
OMS is continuing in increase the scale of their production and diversity the content it brings audiences.
“Combined with behind-the-scenes footage, athlete and coach interviews, and comprehensive pre- and post-competition coverage, fans will be able to get even closer to the Games, across all platforms,” IOC said.
With the months counting down before the Paris Olympics begin, “OBS will continue to fine-tune its production.”
The Opening Ceremony will mark the beginning of the games on July 26. The XXXIII summer games will run until Aug. 11.
