Paris 2024: OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos on striving for gender parity in Games coverage By George Bevir
Monday, July 29, 2024 - 13:14
Print This Story
There has been a seismic change in the way that women's sport is covered during Paris 2024, says Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) chief executive Yiannis Exarchos who has outlined how the host broadcaster is working to ensure that gender parity on the field of play is reflected in coverage of the Games.
For the first time at an Olympic Games, Paris 2024 will see an equal number of men and women competing, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) devising a more gender-balanced programme with the competition schedule made up of 152 women's events, 157 men's events and 20 mixed-gender events.
The new generation of sports media broadcasters in France is going to be just slightly predominantly female, and that is a great thing.
Speaking during Sunday's Paris 2024 IOC Daily Briefing, Exarchos described sports broadcasting as one of the weakest in terms of gender equality. He said: The achievement that we celebrate on the sporting front the equal participation of women is not enough for us. We wanted to make sure that the actual sports content also reflects this equality.
OBS chief executive Yiannis Exarchos (Pic: IOC)
Paris 2024 organisers have made adjustments to the event schedule, which Exarchos said has traditionally been biased towards highlighting men's events. For example, for the first time since its inclusion in the Olympic programme in 1984, the women's marathon in Paris will take place a day after the men's event and will conclude the athletics programme.
In addition, the order of events for many of the combat and strength sports are now based on weight category, allowing the men's and women's events to alternate. Previously, the women's competitions would be scheduled in the morning and the men's in the evening, when there are typically more viewers.
Exarchos said there had been commitment and support from rights holding broadcasters to providing more balanced coverage of the Game, with US broadcaster NBC singled out by the OBS chief executive. He said: We have been talking with our colleagues from NBC, who are obviously a very, very important partner for us. They have a full commitment of showcasing in their primetime coverage in equal measure women's and men's competition. When you look at other major sporting events it helps to understand what a seismic change this is.
In order to achieve this, it has been very important to make sure that our teams also reflect as much as practically possible gender equality. We have to be very transparent, and I don't have any issue in saying that our sports broadcasting industry is one of the weakest on this front, and we need to do things [to address that].
Exarchos said that when OBS was established back in 2001, the gender split was not good at around 80/20. Now, in terms of our permanent staff of 161 from 30 countries, 47% are women and 53% are men and I believe within the next year this will be 50%. We also have more women in senior positions; almost half of my direct reports very soon will be women.
Exarchos also spoke about the gender balance in roles at the Paris 2024 games, highlighting that two third of Paris 2024 broadcast venue managers are women, with a similar split among those working in the OBS Broadcast Operation Centre.
Prior to the Games, OBS also led some initiatives focused on more technical positions, including a training programme in November for 70 female camera operators. In addition, the OBS Broadcast Training Programme, which is providing 1,200 local students with hands-on experience and insight into how the Olympic Games are broadcast, is comprised of 57% women.
The new generation of sports media broadcasters in France is going to be just slightly predominantly female, and that is a great thing, said Exarchos.
Updated Portrayal Guidelines
There has also been a focus on storytelling and narratives for the Paris 2024 Games. Said Exarchos: A lot of unconscious bias still exists, because it's not enough just to make sure that the volume of content is there.
I still see unfortunately in some events that they are filmed in a way that you can identify that there are stereotypes and sexist approaches, even from the way some camera operators are framing differently men and women athletes women are there because they are elite athletes, and they should be showcased in the same way.
Exarchos explained that OBS and the IOC had worked in detail about what it means to showcase athletes in an equal and fair way, with the findings reflected in the third version of the IOC's Portrayal Guidelines. First published in 2018, the guidelines have been updated for the 2024 Games to foster more inclusive and respectful sports coverage .
Those are guidelines we're not forcing [rights-holding broadcasters] to use them. OBS our producers, directors and commentators will use them, and we have invited broadcasters to embrace the ideas that are contained there, said Exarchos.
Read more Paris 2024: BBC Sport on its remote production workflow for the Summer Games
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
Paris 2024: OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos on striving for gender parity in Games coverage By George Bevir 
