Manolo Romero, Olympic Broadcast Legend and 2022 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer, Passes Away at 81 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 27, 2022 - 10:13 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Manolo Romero, who was CEO or general director for the host broadcast operations on 10 Olympics beginning in 1992 and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer earlier this month, passed away on Dec. 24 at the age of 81.
As each Olympics production grew in technical complexity as well as helping popularize formats like HDTV or stereo (or even color TV) on a global scale, Romero played a part in turning promise into reality.
Manolo had to all but invent the host-broadcast concept in 1982 for World Cup and for ABC in Los Angeles and then, in reality, in 1992 in Barcelona, says David Mazza, SVP/CTO, NBC Sports and Olympics and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer. He is the driving force behind modern Olympic coverage.
Romero's career was defined by working with the likes of Mazza and others to make sure the host-broadcast feed meets the needs of a global sports-distribution and -production community that sometimes has very different capabilities but always has a wide range of budgets. Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) was able to sit in the middle and create a rising tide that lifted the quality of Olympics coverage for sports fans everywhere.
We had no limits, Romero said in an interview earlier this year. And we had to go one step forward [for each Olympics] and help the major broadcasters and the smaller ones incorporate technologies.
Romero grew up in Seville, Spain, and, like most who follow the engineering path, was a tinkerer, someone who enjoyed taking things apart and learning how to put them back together. He earned a degree from the University of Madrid, majoring in telecommunications engineering with a minor in economics.
His career began in 1965 when he landed a job in the engineering department of Spanish TV network TVE. While there, he was appointed chair of an EBU working group focused on how to exchange TV programs internationally via satellite, a role that would lay the foundation for a future in which he would work with dozens of broadcasters on the world's biggest sports event.
I was able to work with many international broadcasters as we tried to set up common standards for transmission, Romero said. And that helped me as I needed to learn how to make sure they understood me. But also I understood them; I got to see how things were done in other parts of the world. The EBU invited me to work on the EBU pool for the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 and we had to organize all the transmissions from the different venues, which were covered by different broadcasters - like ABC [from the U.S.], the CBC [Canada], NHK [Japan] and the EBU. That opened my eyes to the world of sports as I had very close collaboration with the guys from ABC.
In 1982 Romero oversaw Spanish Television operations at the World Cup which was held in Spain. And in 1984 he would work ABC in 1984 as director of European Operations and head of the international operations for the 1984 Olympics.
I learned so much from them, he said of his time working alongside some of the legends in sports broadcasting.
The 1984 Los Angeles Games essentially gave birth to the host-broadcast model: ABC Sports had its own IBC, and the international broadcasters had theirs. The IOC liked the result because rightsholders were able to more easily get the type of coverage they desired.
This was a model that was followed by the IOC for several Games, like Barcelona and Atlanta, he explained, noting that the organizing committees were responsible to have a host broadcaster.
In 1994, Romero organized a new company called European Sports International. Owned by the EBU, it covered the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. In 1996, he followed that up by overseeing them for the Atlanta Olympics and, in 1997, established International Sports Broadcasting, serving as president/CEO. Under his leadership, ISB was host broadcaster for the 1999 World Alpine Skiing Championship in Vail and both the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (it was also host broadcaster for the Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Athens, and Torino).
He was in charge of the whole operation and host-broadcaster organization, says Terry Ewert, former coordinating producer and head of production, Atlanta Olympic Broadcasting, NBC Olympics, and I found his feed to be exceptional, like everything that he produced.
Tom Sahara, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer and former, VP, operations and technology, Turner Sports, worked on the 1996 Atlanta Games and worked closely with Romero. Attention to every detail is just one of the many lessons that Manolo taught those of us who worked for him, he says. He demanded that we perform as well as the athletes. In many ways, we were his Olympians.
In 2003 Romero was named CEO of OBS and in 2006 was responsible for the successful broadcast of the Torino Winter Games, serving as CEO of the Torino Olympic Broadcasting Organisation (TOBO).
When the IOC created a host-broadcaster organization, said Romero, there were gains because you would not need to reinvent the wheel [for each Olympics]. We had a team in place with ISB, and some of them were transferred to OBS.
For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Romero and the OBS team were responsible for the successful production of more than 5,000 hours of television coverage, all provided in high definition and 5.1 surround sound, marking a first in Summer Games broadcast coverage.
We made the extra effort to get everything in native HD, Romero said prior to those Games. If we aren't 100% HD, we'll be very close, with the possible exception of a couple of POV cameras. Our goal aft
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
Manolo Romero, Olympic Broadcast Legend and 2022 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer, Passes Away at 81 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
