SE P T E M B E R/ OC T O B E R 2 0 1 2 V I D E O • A G E 42 For the July 27-August 12, 2012 London Olympic Games, the Madrid-based Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) took full charge of broadcasting affairs through OBS London (OBSL). OBSL is the local entity created by OBS in June 2008 to execute the project. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee (IOC) set up OBS in 2001 to serve as the host broadcaster for all summer, winter and youth Olympic Games and to ensure efficiency and consistency in Olympic production and broadcasting. OBS took partial control of the Games for the first time in 2008 under a joint venture with Beijing Olympic organizers. London 2012, however, marked the first time that OBS was the sole host broadcaster of the Summer Olympic Games. Before OBS was formed, the role of host broadcaster was given to the local organizing committee or third-party broadcasters. Spanish executive Manolo Romero is the departing CEO of OBS, which was tasked with delivering unbiased sights and sounds of all Olympic sports to approximately 147 rightsholding broadcasters representing 204 territories across the globe using 1,000 cameras and providing 5,600 hours of HD coverage. Various accounts from press reports, the IOC and NBC offered differing counts of the total number of sports events on the program at the Olympic Games, ranging from 26 to 36. Some 4.8 billion people were estimated to view the Olympics via broadcast. Some rights holders delivered the OBS TV feeds to multiple territories, as in the case of Miami, Florida-based Albavision, which covered 10 territories in Central and South America. Other countries shared the feeds: For example, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan and North and South Korea. The heart of OBS was the newly constructed London International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) and Main Press Centre. Located within the Olympic Park, outside the city limits, the IBC was less than half the size of its Beijing counterpart. Nevertheless, it housed up to 13,000 accredited broadcast personnel. For the first time, OBS implemented a multi-channel distribution system, which saw OBS distribute 12 channels of content via satellite worldwide. One channel, the Olympic News Channel, was capable of being received by various platforms. It aired sports news, Olympic-related content and studies about London, including footage OBS put together before the Games. Another OBS channel offered 3D images, making the London Games the first to be broadcast in 3D. This came as a result of the IOC and OBS’s partnership with Olympic sponsor Panasonic, which installed the necessary equipment at each venue. More than 300 hours of content were available in 3D through the designated channel providing approximately 16 hours of coverage per day. On the critical side, the fact that coverage of the London Games was managed by Spanish executives raised some complaints in the U.K. production community. However, OBS contracted production teams with recognized expertise in their field to provide its host coverage of key sports as indicated in the sidebar at right. For more London 2012 coverage, see page 44. Olympics Broadcast in Facts and Figures T h e L o n d o n G a m e s Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff visited Record TV Network personnel at the IBC in Olympic Park. The president was accompanied by Helena Chagas, Minister of Social Communications and Aldo Rebelo, Minister of Sports. OBS Teams: Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo, Modern Pentathlon (Swimming), Basketball, Equestrian, Fencing, Handball, Sailing, Shooting, Beach Volleyball, Wrestling BBC (U.K.): Boxing, Rowing, Canoe/Kayak (Sprint), Tennis, Football YLE (Finland): Opening/ Closing Ceremonies, Athletics (Integrated/Track/Throws) SVT (Sweden): Athletics (Jumps) SBS (Korea): Archery, Taekwondo Fuji TV (Japan): Judo TVE (Spain): Canoe/Kayak (Slalom), Triathlon, Marathon, Aquatics (Swimming) CCTV (China): Modern Pentathlon, Badminton, Gymnastics, Table Tennis NOS (the Netherlands): Cycling (Road Race, Time Trial), Athletics (Walks/Marathon) STV (Slovakia): Hockey ICRT (Cuba): Volleyball ERT (Greece): Weightlifting VRT (Belgium): Cycling (BMX, Track, Mountain Bike) STREAMING VS. BROADCASTING The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) provided European public sector broadcasters with 47 live streams from42 EBUmembers every day of the Olympic Games. The site (www. eurovisionsports.tv) provided 34 million streams over a total of 6.7 million hours of playtime. The EBU site was viewed in 82 territories across Europe and North Africa with up to 590,000 unique visitors per day. The BBC sports site alone attracted a daily average of 9.5 million global viewers and 7.1 million U.K. viewers and 1.7 million unique visitors per day with up to 24 live streams. In terms of broadcast viewership, the BBC’s top figure was 27.3 million viewers for theOpening Ceremony and 20 million for the men’s 100-meter final. In France, 34 million people watched at least an hour of the Games on France 2, France 3, France 4 and France Ô. In Germany, ZDF averaged 3.59 million viewers with a 24.9 share. In Spain, 5.68 million viewers (a 47.2 percent market share) tuned into TVE for the men’s basketball final. InCanada, 28million viewers watched at least some part of the Olympics coverage on the three channels that comprised the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium. Olympic broadcaster CTV reported a 74 percent increase in viewers compared to Beijing in 2008. The Closing Ceremony broke records, drawing in 7.5 million Canadians. Unlike the U.S., Canada didn’t rely on tape delay. Instead, they aired major events live, then aired repeats during primetime. In Mexico, Televisa and Azteca shared coverage of the London Olympics. Coverage was available on Televisa´s Canal 5 and Azteca 7 on weekdays and Televisa´s Canal 2 and Azteca 13 on weekends. The Opening Ceremony (broadcast on both networks) recorded a total of 11.6 ratings: 7.8 on Televisa’s La Jugada coverage and 3.8 on TV Azteca’s Pasion Olimpica.
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