By Shirish Nadkarni
What can we consider to be the most amazing innovations in the history of Olympic TV broadcasting? Do you know that there were only a grand total of three cameras to capture all the actions of the first televised Olympic Games held in Hitler’s Berlin in 1936 … and the audience had to be within a radius of a few kilometres from the stadium.
Since those early days of television broadcasting, 85 years ago, Olympic broadcasts have come a long way. If TV coverage of the Rio Olympics in 2016 is considered wunderbar, as some 7,000 hours of sporting action were beamed to a worldwide audience, the figures for the Tokyo Summer Olympics are even more amazing.
OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) teams expect to film around 9,500 hours of Olympic footage, around 30% more than the Games at Rio. Tokyo 2020 is being broadcast globally to a potential audience of over five billion people, with more coverage by broadcast partners than any previous Olympic Games across both linear TV and digital.
As a result of the COVID pandemic that has forced the Japanese authorities to impose severe restrictions, there are no fans in the stands, and fewer media personnel permitted on the ground. Hence, broadcasters are now relying on innovative technologies to offer viewers a more vivid experience.
OBS have been in charge of filming and broadcasting the Olympics since 2008, but there has never been an event quite like the current one.
“The main commitment after the postponement of the Tokyo Games by a year was that we would not reduce at all the scope of what we are doing,” said OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos. “We have gone in for the most modern technology, and the footage is being distributed to television stations around the world that have broadcast rights.”
Broadcasters have been promising viewers an experience augmented with a range of new technologies. Among them is 3D Athlete-Tracking, a system developed in collaboration with Worldwide TOP Partners Intel and Alibaba, which is being used by OBS at the Games taking place in Japan. It takes images from multiple cameras and combines them using artificial intelligence to show the sporting action from almost every angle.
“Take the 100 metres dash, for instance. You can go back after a few seconds and recreate the whole race by identifying the different peaks or speeds,” Exarchos said. “You start understanding how such a fast race, lasting under ten seconds, was actually run. This provides additional colour for commentators, but especially helps viewers to really understand what goes on behind these incredible performances.”
Intel’s True View cameras, which offer, for the first time, immersive replays for all basketball matches, are in use in Tokyo. True View builds three-dimensional, 360° video through an array of cameras installed high in a stadium or arena.
OBS is filming the entire Tokyo Games in ultra-high definition (4K), as many Japanese viewers have installed the very latest television sets that allow them to immerse themselves while watching the Games in 8K. NHK is a leader in the 8K field, and has been using such cameras with new enhancements.
“One of the strengths of 8K is that it displays the details of the way bodies move in unprecedented detail on the screen,” said Takayuki Yamashita, head of NHK’s Technological Research Center.
French national broadcaster France Televisions’ innovations for the Games include visual effects that will make the studio appear to be floating on Tokyo Bay.
“We have created a virtual glass bubble through which viewers see Tokyo’s most beautiful buildings,” said France Televisions’ Director of Sports, Laurent-Eric Le Lay. “A lot of work has been involved in bringing this set to life.”
In addition, there are specific techniques in place to compensate for the lack of spectators at a Games where organisers have barred almost all fans because of strict anti-virus rules. OBS have used recordings from previous Games to create ambient sound adapted to each sport for use during the competition.
Working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Olympic broadcast partners (Rights-Holding Broadcasters, or RHBs), OBS have also created a suite of digital tools as part of the “Share the Passion” project. It has permitted athletes to engage with friends and family in the venues and allow fans all over the world to be actively involved in supporting their sporting heroes.
The Fan Video Matrix allows fans to be a genuine part of the Games experience by sharing their reactions to the sporting action in five-second video selfies, which are being displayed as a video matrix inside the venue.
A virtual “cheer” button has been embedded on several broadcasters’ digital platforms. Fans can watch the broadcast feed of an Olympic event and virtually clap or cheer by clicking the button. The system collects all the cheers and renders a global map of “cheer activity”. The map is sent as a video stream to broadcasters and showcased on venue video boards.
Then there is the ‘Athlete Moment – Family & Friends’. At selected venues, Olympians have been able to interact live, straight after their competition with their family and friends back home through dedicated “Athlete Moment” stations.
In conclusion, the list of OBS’s Top Ten Tech innovations for the ongoing Tokyo Summer Games can be set out as follows:
- OBS has had a full native UHD-HDR production, with 5.1.4 immersive audio (only the coverage of the seven outside tennis courts have remained in HD). OBS has transitioned its contribution and distribution networks to an all-IP infrastructure to support the UHD HDR production workflow.
- The Games have seen more content in more formats than ever before. OBS has produced additional Multi-Clip Feeds (MCFs), as well as fast-turnaround sports highlights, short-form content and mobile-generated clips.
- As part of its efforts to provide more content in more formats, OBS is also delivering a record 9,500+ hours of content in support of the rights holders’ multi-platform strategies.
- New technologies deployed include: Multi-camera replay systems (several sports); 3D Athlete Tracking (Athletics 100m) in partnership with Intel and Alibaba; True View (Basketball) in partnership with Intel; Biometric data (Archery) in partnership with Panasonic; Live and on-demand immersive 180° stereoscopic and 360° panoramic coverage (several sports); Virtual 3D graphics (Sport Climbing); 2D image tracking (several sports).
- Remote production, both to ensure safety and to provide more coverage, is a big part of the tech game plan. OBS has covered the seven outside tennis courts, as well as certain press conferences, via remote production. The remote production gallery has been set up at the International Broadcast Center (IBC).
- Behind the scenes, in an effort to provide more flexible workflows that will allow it to deliver a much wider array of content in more formats to more platforms, OBS has rolled out a set of cloud-based solutions specifically designed for high-demanding broadcast workflows, called OBS Cloud, which allows for greater flexibility and remote production in partnership with Alibaba.
- As part of its embrace of cloud and IP technologies, OBS has transitioned part of its broadcast workflows in the cloud. The OBS video server has been extended to the cloud with increased capacity and worldwide accessibility.
- Amid growing concerns about climate change and carbon footprints, OBS has been looking for efficiencies in the design of the IBC, notably introducing mini data centres known as Centralised Technical Areas (CTAs).
- OBS has introduced new positions close to the field of play and in back-of-house areas at selected venues to help rights holders to engage their audience on social media.
- OBS has created an innovative digital fan engagement suite, which allows remote viewers to interact with live events in Tokyo and right holders to connect athletes with their fans.
“Our ambition was to bring the magic of the athletes’ achievements to the world on an unprecedented scale,” Exarchos concluded. “Technology has played a critical role and allowed us to bring fans ‘inside the venue’ virtually. We believe these new digital innovations will leave a legacy which we will build on at future editions of the Olympic Games.”