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ÔOUR GOAL IN RIO WAS TO SHOW EXAMPLES OF HOW VR WORKS FOR DIFFERENT SPORTSÕSOTIRIS SALAMOURIS, OBS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICERThe Games have historically been a key testing ground, or accelerated laboratory, for emerging broadcast technologies – from the advent of colour television in the 1960s, to the introduction of high-defi nition (HD) TV at the Olympic Games Seoul 1988 – and Rio 2016 was no exception. According to Exarchos, the Games are the ideal place to debut new broadcast innovations, which are then given a platform to become established beyond Olympic coverage and beyond sport altogether.“The viewership fi gures are very big, so every innovation can make an immediate impact, and that in turn can give some messages to the wider industry,” he says. “For example, many of the techniques used in sports have been widely adopted in fi lm-making; many of the steadicams, cablecams or drones, which were developed with sports in mind, have found different uses and means of expressions.”A key example at Rio 2016 was the experimentation, by OBS and some RHBs, with Virtual Reality (VR), which was the technology on everybody’s lips before the Games. Experienced with a headset or goggles, VR transports the user to the heart of the action via high defi nition 360-degree video, providing a completely different way of enjoying the Games. For Rio 2016, users were able to gain unique vantage points for the live Opening and Closing Ceremony productions or get an unrivalled view of Simone Biles’s gravity-defying gymnastics routines, as the customised VR camera systems were located in strategic areas on the fi eld of play. In total, OBS produced more than 85 hours of live VR coverage, and Chief Technology Offi cer Sotiris Salamouris believes this rewarding experiment could help shape future use of VR in sports broadcasting. “This fi rst full-scale test has enabled us to explore the technology’s potential and to offer this valuable insight to the world’s broadcasters,” he says. “VR is generating serious interest in the broadcast industry, and our goal in Rio was to show examples of how VR works for different sports, assess which conditions were necessary to make the most out of this new technology and determine what kind of enhancements to the overall viewer experience this new technology can bring.”As OBS now turn their attention to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, they can do so in the knowledge that they have supervised the most successful broadcast operation ever seen, judging by the record-breaking fi gures and the positive feedback from RHBs and viewers across the globe.As digital technology continues to emerge and redefi ne the broadcasting landscape, OBS continue to learn and experiment – but Exarchos believes his organisation is well-equipped, and has the capacity, to keep improving the quality of Olympic coverage. “Rio 2016 has laid the groundwork for the future of Olympic broadcasting, with its delivery mix and distribution approach,” he says. “Along with the use of advanced technologies, we believe this experience has helped defi ne how we will move forward in the digital era.”With such huge improvements in Olympic coverage achieved in such a short space of time, fans can now look forward to experiencing the Games in higher resolutions across an ever-expanding range of platforms, enabling them to get closer and closer to the stars of the show: the athletes. ■Above The OBS workforce at the Games comprised more than 7,200 staffLeft Viewers enjoyed stunning shots of the boxing events from ringsideApproximately 80 per cent of OBS broadcast equipment was new for Rio 201680%OLYMPIC REVIEW 39OLYMPIC BROADCASTING