Olympic Broadcasting Services S.L. (OBS) is a limited liability company which was established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001 in order to serve as the Host Broadcaster organisation for all Summer Olympic Games, Summer Paralympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, Winter Paralympic Games, Summer Youth Olympic Games and Winter Youth Olympic Games, maintaining the standards of Olympic broadcasting between each edition. Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, the company operates as a subsidiary of Olympic Broadcasting Services S.A. (Lausanne, Switzerland), which is owned by the International Olympic Committee through the Olympic Foundation.
Functions
As host broadcaster, OBS is responsible for delivering the pictures and sounds of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to billions of viewers around the world. It produces and transmits unbiased live radio and television coverage of every sport from every venue. This feed is called the International Signal, or the World Feed, and is distributed as a service to all broadcast organisations who have purchased the television and radio rights to the Games (known as Media Rights Holding Broadcasters or MRHs).
In collaboration with the Local Organising Committee, OBS supervises the development of the necessary infrastructure (particularly the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), which serves as the primary base of broadcast operations for OBS and the Media Rights Holders (MRHs) during the Games) and facilities at the various Olympic venues to ensure the successful broadcast production of the Games. OBS also offers additional services, equipment and supplies to the MRHs to assist their unilateral productions.
History The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver marked the advent of OBS as host broadcaster. Previously that role was delegated to the local organising committees or even third-party broadcasters, a situation which necessitated a total rebuild of the omnibus broadcast operation each edition of the Games.
OBS technology For each edition of the Olympic Games, OBS has introduced new production technologies and methods aimed at improving broadcast efficiency, enhancing content delivery, and expanding access across platforms. These developments have supported MRHs in reaching wider audiences through both traditional and digital channels.
Notable innovations by Games edition include:
Vancouver 2010: First Olympic Winter Games fully produced in high definition (HD) with 5.1 surround sound. London 2012: Introduced live 3D coverage and trialed 8K Super Hi-Vision (SHV). Sochi 2014: Digital coverage surpassed traditional TV for the first time. First use of drones and launch of the Olympic Video Player (OVP), for multi-platform live and on-demand access for MRHs. Rio 2016: Debut of virtual reality (VR) and 8K UHD-2 for select events. First fully tapeless Olympic Summer Games. Deployment of mini high-speed and point-of-view (POV) cameras. PyeongChang 2018: Launch of Content+, a cloud-based short-form content delivery platform for MRHs. Tokyo 2020: First Games produced in native UHD HDR with immersive 5.1.4 audio. Introduction of the Athlete Moment station, for live post-competition athlete-family interaction. Beijing 2022: First use of live 8K VR coverage. Full 5G network coverage at all venues. Paris 2024: Cloud-based live distribution used as a primary method. First live 8K streaming over the internet. Use of cinematic cameras and an augmented reality (AR) studio in the Olympic Village for live remote athlete interviews. Milano Cortina 2026: First use of first-person view drones during live event coverage.
OBS operations by Olympic Games
Beijing 2008
OBS's operations began with the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, where Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (BOB), a joint venture between OBS and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, acted as the host broadcasting consortium (along with the state television network, China Central Television, which is one of the host nation broadcasters of the Olympic Games).
For the first time in history, an Olympic Games' edition took place in China and OBS provided a then-record more than 5000 hours of coverage, 32% more than for the Olympic Games Athens 2004.
The BOB team of more than 6000 professionals was the first Games to be covered fully in High Definition and 5.1 surround sound.
Beijing 2008 marked the introduction of the Olympic News Channel (ONC), a sports news programme made available to broadcasters. It consisted in regularly updated 30min program that ran around the clock offering the sports news, as well as other Olympic-related news stories.
Vancouver 2010 For the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010, a wholly owned division, Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver was established. These Games were the first in which the host broadcasting facilities were provided entirely by OBS. A total of 2700 hours of content were produced by OBS, a 170% increase from the Olympic Winter Games Turin 2006.
Following Beijing 2008, which coverage was fully in HD and 5.1 surround sound, Vancouver 2010 was the first Winter Games edition to offer the same for all events.
The Olympic News Channel (ONC), a round the clock sports news programme made available to broadcasters introduced at Beijing 2008, was reconducted and enhanced with additional content, in particular athletes’ interviews directly from the venues. MRHs were able to receive the ONC via satellite worldwide. The service comprised a number of other feeds including live finals and recorded content as well as selected competitions, two daily highlights programmes and the opening and closing ceremonies. This multichannel distribution helped bring Games coverage in areas where they were not traditionally broadcast and would be referred to as the Multichannel Distribution Service (MDS) in future Games.
London 2012 For the first time, OBS served as the host broadcaster at an Olympic Summer Games. At London 2012, OBS produced 5,600 hours of coverage of which 1,300 hours were dedicated to live sports and ceremonies, across 30 competition venues. Over 1,000 HD cameras were deployed, including approximately 50 High Super Slow-Motion (HSSM) cameras, 3D cameras, and Super Hi-Vision (8K SHV) cameras, with SHV live coverage provided in collaboration with Japanese broadcaster NHK. At Eton Dorney, a 2,500 m cable camera was installed for the rowing events, offering sweeping 360-degree aerial views from up to 95 m above the water.
The International Broadcast Centre (IBC), located in the Olympic Park in Stratford, accommodated nearly 5,900 OBS personnel and hosted multiple public viewing areas for 3D and SHV coverage.
The Games reached 3.6 billion viewers globally and marked a major expansion of digital and multi-platform broadcasting, with audiences accessing content via TV, computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
Sochi 2014 The Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 marked the beginning of the tenure of Yiannis Exarchos as the new CEO, who replaced the retired Manolo Romero. The Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 represented the largest broadcast operation in Olympic Winter Games up to that time. OBS deployed more than 450 cameras, including 12 cable camera systems, 31 High Speed Slow-Motion (HSSM) cameras and a drone used for the first time as part of the coverage of snowboard and freestyle skiing events, to ultimately produce 3100 hours of coverage, including 1300 hours of live sports and ceremonies coverage.
In total, 464 television channels broadcast Sochi 2014, almost double the number from Vancouver 2010, and more digital platforms offered coverage than at any previous Winter Olympic Games with 155 websites and 75 apps showing events live from Russia.
Due to the increased number of channels and digital platforms for Sochi 2014, there were more hours broadcast globally than any previous Winter Games with 114,367 hours broadcast around the world, compared to 56,902 hours at Vancouver 2010. For the first time in Olympic history, the amount of digital coverage exceeded traditional television broadcasts with 60,000 hours available on digital platforms, compared with 54,367 hours on television. The Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 were the first to be predominantly digital, with OBS contributing to the expansion of online coverage through the launch of the Olympic Video Player (OVP). Offered to MRHs on a subscription basis, the platform operated in 95 countries and combined live and on-demand coverage of competition sessions with news content and integrated data. The OVP also expanded the reach of the Winter Games into new territories, notably parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and the Arab world.
Rio 2016 For Rio 2016, OBS produced 7,100 hours of coverage, an increase of 27% compared to London 2012 (5,600 hours). Rio 2016 represented the most television coverage of any previous Olympic Games, with 275,301 total hours broadcast globally, far exceeding the 181,482 hours that were broadcast for the London 2012 Games. Additionally, coverage was aired across more platforms than ever before, as 584 television channels and 270 digital outlets conveyed the Olympic Games around the world.
The Olympic Video Player (OVP) was used for the first time in the Olympic Summer Games. The OVP broadcast the Games to 56 territories including highly populous areas such as India, Latin America and Thailand, providing live and on-demand HD video of all competition sessions as well as short-form highlights and real-time statistics with enhanced interactivity.
The digital broadcast hours of 161,847 exceeded the TV broadcast hours of 113,454. Compared to London 2012 the number of hours of digital coverage almost tripled (+198.6%).
In total, OBS deployed more than 1,000 cameras, including approximately 160 Super Slow Motion (SSM) and High Speed Slow Motion (HSSM) cameras. Additionally, drones were used for live coverage for the first time, covering sports such as Rowing and Canoe Sprint.
Rio also marked the first time Olympic content was available in Virtual Reality (VR). Overall, OBS produced more than 85 hours of live VR coverage, captured by custom-developed 360-degree camera systems, to a total of 14 RHB organisations, representing 31 territories and with total views topped 1.3 million. OBS provided VR coverage as Video On Demand (VOD) and highlights packages available for the opening and closing ceremonies, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Fencing, Track and Field, Basketball, Diving and Artistic Gymnastics.
8K Super High Vision (16 times the resolution of High-Definition) was also used for the first time in Rio in collaboration with Japanese Rights Holder NHK. OBS-NHK distributed 8K and down-converted 4K (distributed with one-hour delay) to several RHBs that took the 8k/4k feeds. Approximately 100 hours of live coverage was produced including the opening and closing ceremonies and a selection of disciplines (Athletics, Basketball, Football, Judo, Swimming).
Pyeongchang 2018 In cooperation with Intel, OBS utilised a VR platform that created a 360/180-degree virtual reality environment for viewers.
Certain sports events and the ceremonies were produced natively in Ultra High Definition (4K UHD), for the first time, providing participating subscribers with a pixel resolution four times that of High Definition (HD) – the current standard. Furthermore, other events were produced in 8K Super Hi-Vision (SHV) through partnership with Japan’s public service broadcaster, NHK. Up to 10 cameras, including 8K Super Slow Motion (SSM) cameras, were deployed for live production, twice the number used at Rio 2016.
The OBS Production Plan included more than 450 cameras to produce more than 5,400 hours of coverage, of which 867 hours were dedicated to live sports. OBS launched a new cloud-based content delivery platform known as Content+, allowing Rights-Holding Broadcasters to download more than 6,000 short form digital/social media clips.
Tokyo 2020