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 ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Paris 2024: OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos on striving for gender parity in Games coverage By George Bevir 
