Orchestrating Olympic broadcasting

Manolo Romero, CEO of Beijing Olympic Broadcasting speaks to Host City about perfecting audiovisual coverage to entertain record numbers of viewers

What Manolo Romero doesn't know about Olympics broadcasting probably isn't worth knowing. Regarded as one of the most influential figures in international sports television, the managing director of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and chief executive officer of Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB) boasts several decades experience in television coverage of the Olympic Games.

Manolo Romero at the Turin Olympics

Romero has occupied a similar position for seven previous Olympic Games. But his enthusiasm to produce the best ever Olympic broadcasting in Beijing is as strong as ever. “I hope we can deliver excellent coverage and working facilities for broadcasters,” he says. “I hope they will take the best of the Games to viewers and listeners. If broadcasters are able to bring that home, the Games will be a success.”

Digitising Athens
The former president of Athens Olympic Broadcasting, the host broadcaster of the 2004 Games is drawing on the achievements of Athens, where he presided over a hugely successful broadcasting operation. More than 300 television channels provided more than 35,000 hours of dedicated Olympic Games coverage over 17 days; images from Athens 2004 reached a global audience of 3.9bn people in 220 countries and territories. According to an International Olympic Committee report, Athens delivered a dramatic increase in live and prime-time Olympic coverage on previous Games, while a substantial rise in around-the-clock coverage in key markets enhanced the Olympic viewing experience for TV viewers tuning in.

The host broadcaster produced a record unbiased feed of 3,800 hours of sports competitions and ceremonies in high-definition television (HDTV). Athens 2004 also raked in record broadcast revenues – the Games generated USD 1.48m (RMB 10.4m) in rights fees revenue.

After the Games, IOC president Jacques Rogge said Athens had set a new benchmark with the highest audience, images of spectacular quality, expanded coverage of sport, new technologies and a high level of satisfaction amongst the IOC's rights-holding broadcast partners.

Romero casts a fond eye back on Athens: “I can say the Athens Games was magnificent from all points of view, in particular the broadcasting.”

Behind this excellence was the implementation of a number of new technologies, special cameras and new devices. A long cable-cam was installed over the Olympic Stadium which took stunning aerial images. “It provided many of the wonderful shots that were used during the Games, in particular for ceremonies.”

Similar camera technology was deployed at the cycling and swimming venues to provide unique images of elite athletes performing at the peak of their abilities.

Images were also distributed in digital TV for the first time, another major improvement on Sydney 2000 where Romero says there was still a lot of analogue technology used.

“The quality of pictures was very good in Athens,” he says. “Basically, Athens represented a milestone in coverage of sports on television.”

Better Beijing broadcasting
Now Romero has his eye firmly fixed on the Beijing Olympics, where he is confident of topping the achievements of 2004. “We try not to make a revolution; we try to make an evolution. We're trying to build on previous Games to do better and raise the bar in terms of technology and production so as to keep the Olympics as the standard of excellence by which sports television is measured.”

The Beijing Games marks the first time in the history of Olympic television broadcasting that the entire production will be done in high definition. Providing standardised HDTV images was the biggest broadcasting challenge to exercise the minds of Chinese organisers. Olympic broadcasters have passed this test and an estimated four billion television viewers tuning in to watch the Olympics will be treated to clear and crisp digital broadcasting of the Games.

“Completing the change to HDTV was the major challenge and we are able to see that now a few months before the Games,” Romero says. “Broadcasters feel good about what we are planning.”

Since Athens, advances in technology have led to a reduction in the size of TV cameras, which means they can be used to create innovative images in Beijing. “Some of the shots will be stunning. We hope to reflect the best of the athletes in action.”

Chinese organisers have been working hard on broadcast preparations for the Games for almost four years. Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB), the Sino-foreign joint venture funded by BOCOG and the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), was officially established on 6 September 2004.

The major advances made by China in television broadcasting are plain to see. CCTV (China Central Television) sent a team of just five reporters to cover the 1984 Games in Los Angeles; it had a crew of about 130 working at Athens 2004.

For this summer's Games, the Chinese crew will account for one half of BOB's 4,000-member international broadcasting team.

“We have had very good cooperation with CCTV, the domestic rights holder. In fact, we are using lots of facilities from CCTV – mobile units and production crews,” says Romero. He hopes the experience will leave behind a rich legacy, providing a much needed boost to sports television broadcasting in China.

BOB will use around 60 outside broadcast vans, 1,000 cameras and will operate approximately 1,600 commentary positions. Panasonic, a “TOP” sponsor of the Games, will provide a wide variety of support for broadcast coverage with its newest high-definition (HD) broadcasting products.

The International Broadcast Center (over 80,000 sq m) – one of the key non-competition venues for the Games – contains studios and production facilities for BOB as well as the rights-holding broadcasters and will produce approximately 4,000 hours of live Olympic coverage. Around 16,000 broadcasters from over 200 broadcasting organisations will use the IBC located in the newly-built National Convention Centre at Beijing Olympic Green. The hub of the Games includes the stunning 90,000-seat Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube aquatics complex. Olympic broadcasts will reach a cumulative worldwide audience of more than 30bn people via over 200 broadcasters.

An extraordinary event
Romero says the Olympic Games is a special case compared to televising other sporting events. “With multi-sport events such as the Olympics you have to deal with 28 sports. Each one of them has its own peculiarities and challenges so we have to cover all of them as best we can.”

Despite the sophisticated nature of Beijing's broadcast operation compared to Athens, Romero says the challenges of dealing with rights-holding broadcasters are similar for both Games. Along with the idiosyncrasies of different sports, the wide range of new venues for Beijing – 37 competition facilities in all – poses additional challenges.

Romero also stresses the imperative to run a slick 24-hour operation during Games-time to allow broadcasters from the 200-plus countries to deliver images at different times of the day and night to satisfy audiences back home.

“We have to try to do our best to make sure broadcasters are able to work and provide to viewers the best possible representation of the Games,” he says.

Beyond television
Meanwhile, established Olympic broadcast rights-holders such as America's NBC Universal network, led by Dick Ebersol, will transmit television coverage and also offer live and customised round-the-clock online broadcasts services of the Games. It will be an improvement on Athens, where the network presented 1,210 total hours of coverage across seven NBC platforms. This was more than the last five summer Olympics combined. The network's Athens coverage attracted 203m unique viewers.

Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, has made a major contribution to Olympics broadcasting over many years. Romero acknowledges a debt of gratitude: “He is an icon of American TV. Olympic broadcasting without Dick Ebersol would not be what it is today.”

But television is just one aspect of broadcasting. New media channels will be exploited like never before to cover this year's Olympics. The IOC has recognised the growing importance of new media outlets to extend the reach of the Olympics, particularly to the younger generation. For the Beijing Olympics, it awarded new media contracts to two companies, one in Hong Kong, the other in Taiwan. “These are companies who will cover the Games only on the internet and mobile technologies. It's already a first glimpse of what we will be dealing with in London and Vancouver.”

Given what NBC and other rights holders will be innovating in web broadcasting for Beijing, Romero recognises that new media companies will become a considerable force in the near future. “In certain markets in 2010 and 2012, it will be a very important element of Games distribution.”

While Vancouver gears up to become the first Winter Olympics broadcast in HDTV, he expects London 2012 to be the showcase for significant growth in new media coverage of the Olympics. Romero says the challenge lies in providing quality coverage of the Games across all media platforms. “This is what we are now thinking about, how better to provide different feeds with different qualities for different services.” Beyond 2012, Romero finds it hard to forecast what other new trends will emerge in Olympic and sports television broadcasting. Such is the rapid rate of technological advance.

What is certain is that Beijing will set a new benchmark. There's the achievement of HDTV coverage and the fact that the Olympics will generate an estimated USD 1.7bn (RMB 12bn) in Olympic broadcast revenue – just over 14 per cent more than Athens 2004.

“The Chinese, I think, are in love with the Olympics – the culture, sports and ceremonies. Hopefully by the time of the closing ceremony we should be able to say these were magnificent Games,” he concludes.