Beijing 2022: NBC Olympics' Chip Adams Reports on New Tech at Venues, Living Life in Closed Loop' COVID and extreme cold challenge an already complex operation By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - 3:13 pm
Print This Story
Every Olympic Games has its own set of new and unique challenges, but the onsite operation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games has faced the unprecedented hurdle of operating in a closed loop. Designed to prevent the spread of COVID, this bubble has made NBC Olympics' onsite operations even more complex than usual.
Despite these challenges, NBC Olympics has deployed interesting new technologies and workflows at venues across Beijing: the Figure Skating/Short Track venue, Genting Snow Park, the National Alpine Center, and more.
SVG sat down with Chip Adams, VP, venue engineering, NBC Olympics, to discuss how venue operations have gone so far, how NBC is handling ops for some of the key venues in Beijing, returning to venues from the 2008 Summer Games, the biggest challenges he and his team are facing, and how NBC Olympics' venue ops have evolved over the years.
How have things been going with respect to venue operations?
Our venue operations are proceeding along basically as expected. Of course, there are the differences in operating within the closed loop: the required mask-wearing, temperature checks, and testing that are part of the protocols outlined in the IOC Playbook. Those are the biggest changes to our operation, along with operating in a very cold winter climate in the mountains.
NBC Olympics' Chip Adams: For the people that have gone through the gauntlet of tests to get here], the prevailing attitude is one of pride and focusing on the task at hand.
Can you provide an overview of some the key venues, and how you are handling operations for these venues?
At Figure Skating/Short Track, we had a challenge getting our flypack [provided by NEP Singapore] delivered and set up. It was a tight compound with a circuitous route to get to it. Our cabins are double-stacked, which adds a little extra effort getting the equipment up to those rooms. We did keep most of the heavy racks in the ground-level cabins.
The National Speed Skating Oval is the only new venue built for the Winter Olympics on Beijing's Olympic Green, the Olympic Park that housed the 2008 Games.
The other challenge is transitioning from the Figure Skating configuration to the Short Track Speed Skating configuration. We need to remove the cameras along the side of the rink for Figure Skating daily to accommodate the Short Track schedule. We had both Figure Skating and Short Track on one day, and that was a busy, long day!
Genting Snow Park is an existing ski resort and serves as the home of Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding events (apart from Big Air) during Beijing 2022.
At Genting Snow Park, we had three finish areas for the nine different disciplines, with several sessions occurring on the same day. That made for a busy reconfiguration of the mobile unit [Game Creek Larkspur] to get it prepared for the different competition sessions. We also installed extra camera equipment that helped with the quick turnarounds. We relied on OBS and the fiber infrastructure they installed at the venue to help with our RF-camera receive locations and cabled cameras at the venue.
For the National Alpine Center, our larger NBC flypack provided the facilities to cover three courses with two separate finish areas for the 13 events held there, utilizing both NBC and OBS cameras. The challenging schedule there had us re-patching daily to accommodate the OBS split-feed changes between the three courses. Here, we also relied on the OBS fiber infrastructure to help make the reconfiguration a little easier.
After hosting the volleyball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Capital Indoor Stadium is home to the Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating competitions during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Many of the venues used in 2008 are making a return appearance. Have they been updated at all? If so, how has that helped you and the NBC team?
National Indoor Stadium, National Aquatics Center, Wukesong Sports Center, and Capital Indoor Stadium are the 2008 venues that have been repurposed for these Games. The most interesting change is at National Aquatics Center, where they have put four curling sheets on top of the pool that was there in 2008.
All the mountain venues are new facilities, along with the National Speed Skating Oval, which is in the Beijing Olympic Park area.
The National Stadium, The Bird's Nest, is essentially unchanged from 2008, except for the new overlay to accommodate the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
The mountain cluster is always unique when it comes to venue setup and operations? How have things been going up there?
Things have gone well up in the mountains. The venues are well-prepared for the competition. The only minor inconvenience is related to where things are delivered at the venue - some of the loading zones are in the TV compound and some quite a distance away - but the OCOG has provided facilities to help move items into our compounds.
Located in the Xiaohaituo Mountain Area in northwest Yanqing, the National Alpine Ski Centre comprises seven courses, with the largest vertical drop reaching 900 meters.
What have been some of the biggest challenges? What has gone better than expected?
The struggle at the mountain venues is the weather. The temperature ranges from -30C to -5C, and, with a little wind, it's cold! When it's that cold, everything slows down and gets a little more challenging. From patching fiber to moving equipment to other positions, it just takes a lot more time and patience to get things ready.
How has your team performed under very challenging circumstances? How proud are you of all th
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
28/01/2026
Top L-R: The Liars, Jazz Infernal, Living with a Visionary
Second Row L-R: Paper Trail, The Baddest Speechwriter of All, Crisis Actor
Third Row: The Boys and ...
28/01/2026
Music discovery should feel intuitive and personal. That's why we're continuing to give you more control, so you can ask for what you want, shape what y...
28/01/2026
Today, Charlie Hellman, Spotify's Head of Music, shared the following note on the Spotify for Artists blog that the company paid out more than $11 billion t...
28/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), in partnership with the Oudtshoorn Municipality, invites aspiring and emerging filmmakers to apply for the Sediba...
28/01/2026
As demand for more complex live sports coverage grows, Balkan broadcast specialist MVP has upgraded its flagship HD1 progressive OB truck with the installation ...
28/01/2026
Airlines, cruise and tour operators double down on ad spend as Australians' prioritise travel
Sydney January 28, 2026 - New Nielsen Ad Intel data shows a...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Marshall Electronics launches the CV420-27X, its next-generation ultra-high-definition (UHD) IP camera, at ISE 2026 (Stand 4N900). Engineered for modern IP-base...
28/01/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Television Mobiles Ltd. (TVM), one of Europe's leading independent outside broadcast providers, has carried out a major refu...
28/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities
FOR-A is bringing remarkable new technologies to FOMEX, the Future of Media Exhibition (ex...
28/01/2026
Continuing a longstanding collaboration, Riedel Communications and Nordic media technology company Media Tailor have once again joined forces to deliver a state...
28/01/2026
Pebble has appointed Paul Nagle-Smith as vice president for customer fulfilment, strengthening its senior leadership focus on customer delivery and operational ...
28/01/2026
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset has announced that leading Mexican broadcaster, TV Azteca is using Veset Nimbus on AWS as a disaster recovery (DR) playo...
28/01/2026
Ensuring it can keep pace with a rapidly evolving live sports market, Balkan broadcast facility provider MVP Most Valuable Production has upgraded its flags...
28/01/2026
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud solutions provider that powers and protects life online, and Yospace, the leader in dynamic ad insertion tec...
28/01/2026
The renowned Reykjavik City Theatre (RCT) recently underwent a major intercom system upgrade using Clear-Com solutions. This milestone project utilizes Clear-C...
28/01/2026
Luxembourg, January 26, 2026 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading space solutions company, acknowledges the credit rating action announced by Fitch to...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
28 01 2026 - Media release Screen Australia refreshes Market & Audience approach...
28/01/2026
Boston Conservatory Orchestra Premieres a New Piano Concerto by Peter and Leonar...
28/01/2026
28 Jan 2026
VEON Notes Kyivstar Group Publication of Selected Full Year 2025 Fi...
28/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host 2026 edition of its online event Demystifying EMC Rohde & Schwarz invites the global EMC community to join a crucial discussion on pre...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
The Wait Is Over: Teaser Trailer Drops for Jo Nesbo's Dete...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces a Fictional Miniseries Inspired by the Marta del Castillo Case
Entertainment
28 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to ...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Santiago Mitres New Film Starring Ver nica L...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Teaser Trailer for Berlin and the Lady wit...
28/01/2026
Stadtwerke Wolfhagen Modernize Customer Management with AEP.energysuite from Arv...
27/01/2026
Click for Japanese version
Tokyo, Japan - January 27, 2026 - Akamai Technolo...
27/01/2026
L-R: Jonathan Cuchacovich, Sonia Kennebeck, Alan Fischer, Daeil Kim, Andrew Sta...
27/01/2026
Today, Spotify is proud to support our partner Backline, an industry-leading men...
27/01/2026
With nearly 29 million monthly listeners and clear momentum on Spotify, Net n Ve...
27/01/2026
January 14, 2026
We are proud to share that 25 Ontario, First Gulf's commercial project located just two minutes from our head office, has been recognized ...
27/01/2026
January 22, 2026
First Gulf is excited to share that a full-building lease has been secured at 625 Bronte Rd in Oakville, part of Bronte Station Business Park,...
27/01/2026
January 23, 2026
First Gulf continues to demonstrate its commitment to high-performance, sustainable real estate with 351 King Street East achieving BOMA BEST ...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
Beijing 2022: NBC Olympics' Chip Adams Reports on New Tech at Venues, Living Life in Closed Loop' COVID and extreme cold challenge an already complex operation By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
