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Planning for the broadcast operation behind the Olympic Games Rio 2016 began in October 2009, almost as soon as the Brazilian city won its bid to host the world’s greatest sporting event. The technical and logistical challenges of broadcasting 28 sports to all corners of the globe cannot be overstated, but in an age of rapidly evolving technology and changing patterns of consumption, this effort would take on added diffi culty and complexity for Rio 2016. So after the dust settled on the Olympic Games London 2012, broadcasters turned immediately to how Olympic coverage in a fast-changing media landscape would be tailored to the idiosyncrasies of Rio de Janeiro. Leading this process was Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001 to serve as host broadcaster for each edition of the summer and winter Olympic Games. Over the years, OBS’s chief responsibility has been to provide the neutral images and sounds of the Games as a service to all broadcast organisations that have purchased Olympic television and radio rights, through a feed called the International Signal. However, this has recently evolved into a two-part role, with OBS now delivering an increasing number of technical services and content to complement their traditional coverage, enabling Rights Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) to deliver as much content as possible to their viewers across a range of platforms. This approach worked wonders at London 2012, but the records established there were broken in Rio, in what can be described as the biggest broadcast operation the world has ever seen. More than 350,000 hours of broadcast coverage were made available by the offi cial Olympic broadcasters – up from around 200,000 hours four years earlier – across more than 200 countries and territories. It is anticipated that half the world’s population watched some coverage of the Games and were able to enjoy the spectacular performances of the athletes with one of the world’s most photogenic cities forming the backdrop.An estimated nine out of 10 Brazilians who had access to television coverage Above There were more than 350,000 hours of broadcast coverage of Rio 2016TOTAL HOURS of content produced by OBS and provided to the broadcasters7,100+OLYMPIC BROADCASTING34 OLYMPIC REVIEW