Carving powder: Austrian broadcaster ORF on the challenges of bringing the Alpine Ski World Cup on the Rettenbach Glacier to viewers By Heather McLean
Friday, October 11, 2024 - 09:31
Print This Story
ORF is the host broadcaster for the Alpine Ski World Cup 2024, S lden, Austria
The winter season is starting once again at S lden in Austria, where the F d ration Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup is set to take place for the 30th time on the Rettenbach Glacier for the Alpine Ski Championship Season Opener.
With the women's giant slalom set to take off down the glacier on Saturday 26 October and the men's competition on Sunday 27, the athletes will compete against the mountain, the clock and themselves.
Rettenbach Glacier with one of the steepest pitches on the tour is one of the select few on the World Cup circuit to hold both the ladies' and men's events. Austrian national public broadcaster, ORF, is the host broadcaster for FIS at the Alpine Ski World Cup.
The camera plan for S lden in Austria, where the F d ration Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup is set to take place for the 30th time on Rettenbach glacier for the Alpine Ski Championship Season Opener CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VERSION
Moving targets
Unlike any other championship that ORF is the host broadcaster for, the glacier causes issues for the broadcast setup, as it is literally always on the move.
Says Michael K gler, ORF head of directors: It's a really demanding scene as it's a glacier and the glacier is always moving each year, so we have to adapt our set up there. We have to adapt the positions every year according to the new circumstances. I'm always going there in between to try and gauge what the situation is.
K gler comments on other challenges the glacier creates for the broadcast during set up: For us, the glacier is a real demanding situation for everybody because for the technical crew to build the setup, it can be foggy, it can be really bad circumstances. So it's always a challenge to be ready in time with all the setup and all the things, because it's a lot of stuff to bring up to the mountain, a lot of cabling.
K gler notes that unlike other mountainous ski events, because of Rettenbach and its annual movement, this is the only one ORF carries out where there is no cabling infrastructure ready to plug into.
He states: Compared to some other great races like Kitzb hel [the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race, Hahnenkamm World Cup Races, Austria] where we have a lot of fibre lines already in the mountain, you cannot do that on the glacier.
Every single cable has to be brought to its position, and this is a lot of work to do, continues K gler. And it's also challenging because the racecourse is really slippery and icy, and so if the people are not able to walk and to work, especially under this circumstance, it's difficult. It's not like the soccer field. Soccer fields, you go in, it's a plain stadium. You have your outlet there, you have the pre-cabling. So skiing itself, like a biathlon or cross country, is one of those events which are really demanding for the technical staff, especially for the crew to set up. I give them a really big round of applause for what they're doing, because whatever the wish is, they try to make it possible. So this is the challenge we have there.
Rettenbach glacier causes issues for the broadcast setup for ORF, as the glacier moves every year so no permanent cabling can be put in place. Everything must be taken up the mountain in the two days prior to the Alpine Ski Championship Season Opener
Austrian enthusiasm
The technical crew will arrive on site for the setup on the Tuesday prior to the event, then they have Wednesday and Thursday to get everything up the mountain and set up on the glacier, with test day on Friday.
K gler adds: The positive thing there is that people are enthusiastic especially in Austria about these winter sports and alpine races. We have a complete arena in the finish area for the people to watch, which is integrated into the lift station. There are stands, there is a complete setup there; this is really packed and crowded with between 15,000 and 20,000 people in the finish area. And this finish area is on a parking lot, so there is concrete there which makes the situation easier for us to work in, and for fans to congregate in.
Although this season we have a complete change of the setup from the side where we put the cameras in the finish; we were previously on race's right side but this year we go back to the race's left side, which we were doing about 10 years ago, but then for the flow of the audience they had a different concept. But now we are back on the left side, which for us is a big advantage because using a crane camera, we can get a shot like in a soccer stadium with a big crowd in the back.
This is great for us because now we have the celebrating audience in the back and the athletes in the front, so this is giving another dynamic shot for the audience.
On site production
Solden is produced entirely on site, with OB 1, ORF's own truck. Says K gler. This has to be an OB event; it doesn't make sense in this case to say no, I would go with this or with that remote production, we can save money or whatever, because you always have to move and adapt on ski. The handheld positions, for example, I go down on each racecourse before the race and according to the setup of the racecourse, I decide where to put the handheld cameras. You always have to renew the plan and you always have to adapt, and actually the second challenge for cameras is also the safety challenge. You are not allowed to go in certain positions due to safety issues, even though you would have a better angle
North America Stories
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking DP for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Director of Photography for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy Feature Film- I...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Location, Sound for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Location/Sound for Low Budget Dramed...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Film - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026 with its Most Powerful Hardware...
18/03/2026
Oscar Nominated Two People Exchanging Saliva Posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio handle...
18/03/2026
Boston Conservatory Presents Celebrated Musical Satire Urinetown Performances for this Center Stage production will take place at Boston Conservatory Theater ...
18/03/2026
Charlie Puth Joins Switched On Pop at Berklee NYC The Berklee alum spoke with host and Berklee NYC professor Charlie Harding for a live taping, answering audi...
17/03/2026
NASA+'s Rebecca Sirmons and Brittany Brown offer unique look at live streami...
17/03/2026
The transition to IP has fundamentally reshaped professional media infrastructures. Video, audio, and increasingly metadata now circulate as independent, precis...
17/03/2026
Live sports streaming can push every element in your video delivery chain to its limit, exposing every potential weakness in seconds. When the Super Bowl, the O...
17/03/2026
Texas Athletics sought to modernize its media production, enhance fan experience...
17/03/2026
Ikegami USA will demonstrate the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast...
17/03/2026
TNA Wrestling and iHeartMedia announces a new multi-platform collaboration that will integrate iHeartMedia across TNA's premium live events, weekly televisi...
17/03/2026
The goal was to transform Hard Rock Stadium into a global leader in sports and e...
17/03/2026
Spectrum has announced the launch of its new Multiview feature in the Spectrum TV App, giving customers the ability to watch up to four NCAA men's or women&...
17/03/2026
Genius Sports deal also covers data technology, AI, fan engagement, and performance analysis....
17/03/2026
Net Insight is supporting the rollout of a new state-wide centralized operation with Rede Massa, which is an SBT affiliate, the Brazilian regional television ne...
17/03/2026
Featuring audio from practice sessions, qualifying races, and Grand Prix races, the film represents Apple's sports-media ambitions
At Sunday night's Ac...
17/03/2026
Live broadcast has always been one of the most demanding environments in media a...
17/03/2026
DirecTV is introducing several new viewing features, including a multi-screen March Madness Mix channel and an updated Sports Central mobile app hub, ahead of...
17/03/2026
Deltatre has announced a multi-year partnership with ATP Media, the media arm of the ATP Tour, covering broadcast graphics, data, and production across the 2026...
17/03/2026
The Detroit Pistons have announced a third consecutive season partnering with Sc...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced the launch of a public beta for its new 3D asset streaming platform. Miris is building the infrastruc...
17/03/2026
As media organizations face mounting pressure to produce more content, faster, while maximizing value and operational efficiency, Tedial, a leading provider of ...
17/03/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is launching the newest version of its platform, Brainstorm Suite 7,...
17/03/2026
Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.2, the second platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform ...
17/03/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, showcased its latest broadcast and V...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202
Brie Clayton March 16, 2026
0 Comments
The Multi-platform Remote Gues...
17/03/2026
Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 16, 2026
0 Comments
Sonnenfeld enhances the controlled interplay between warm and c...
17/03/2026
New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be...
17/03/2026
Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educa...
17/03/2026
Back to All News
Fantasy Action Series Agent from Above' Puts Contemporary...
17/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Trailer for the Final Season of Turn of the Tide
Entertainment
17 March 2026
GlobalSpainPortugal
Link copied to clipb...
17/03/2026
As AI native applications scale to more users, agents and devices, the telecommu...
17/03/2026
The features on social media apps like Snapchat evolve nearly as fast as what...
17/03/2026
The paradigm of consumer computing has revolved around the concept of a personal...
16/03/2026
DAZN will allow fans in select international territories to watch the NCAA men&#...
16/03/2026
IDM and The Skate Board Association (SBA) have announced a partnership with Coop...
16/03/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the Net I/O ST 2110 Bridge at NAB 2026 (booth C6907), a standalone unit that converts between ST 2110 and Dante audio formats...
16/03/2026
Marshall Electronics (Booth C8339) is introducing its first all-IP 4K POV camera, the CV574-WP, at NAB 2026. The camera carries an IP67 weatherproof rating for ...
16/03/2026
Sony Electronics' Camera Verify (beta), a feature of its Camera Authenticity Solution which enables news organizations to share content authenticity informa...
16/03/2026
FloSports has announced a partnership with Storied Sports, a content and IP studio founded by former espnW and The Players' Tribune executives, to develop s...
16/03/2026
Montreux Jazz Festival has announced a multi-year collaboration with Gravity Media, who will become the Festival's Audio Visual Production Provider followin...
16/03/2026
USSI Global, a provider of customized network, broadcast and digital signage systems and services, has announced Ralph Annunziata joined the company on Jan. 5 a...
Carving powder: Austrian broadcaster ORF on the challenges of bringing the Alpine Ski World Cup on the Rettenbach Glacier to viewers By Heather McLean 
