Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Paris 2024: Inside WBD's Olympics Broadcast Operation

03/09/2024

Paris 2024: Inside WBD's Olympics broadcast operation By George Bevir

Friday, August 30, 2024 - 10:24

Print This Story

Studio 1 at WBD House with a view of the Eiffel Tower

Matt McDonald, group SVP EMEA Broadcast Services for Warner Bros. Discovery, explains how the broadcaster delivered thousands of hours of Paris 2024 content to linear channels and online platforms across Europe.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) enjoyed a stellar Summer Olympic Games, reporting record viewership and engagement across its many platforms and channels.

Shortly after the closing ceremony on Sunday 11 August, WBD said it had achieved a cumulative reach of more than 215 million in Europe viewing Olympics content on WBD's platforms (23% more than Tokyo 2020), including Max and discovery+, as well as its Eurosport TV channels and free-to-air networks in Norway (TVNorge), Sweden (Kanal 5) and Finland (Kutonen, TV5).

In total, WBD aired more than 3,800 hours of live content, providing outputs to 47 rights territories, with 59 linear channels including 46 Eurosport channels across Europe in 19 languages and a digital offering (Max, HBO Max or discovery+, depending on territory) provided viewers with every moment - peaking at 54 parallel events on the busiest day. Plus, specifically for Paris 2024, seven HD pop-up channels and one UHD pop-up channel made available to 34 affiliates and partners across Europe.

Capturing, managing and delivering all that content was a mammoth task, and leading the department responsible for broadcast operations and technology across Europe was Matt McDonald, group SVP EMEA Broadcast Services for Warner Bros. Discovery (pictured above).

Our operations teams executed brilliantly to enable our editorial teams to tell the stories of the Games

Speaking with SVG Europe at the WBD House studio facility at Hotel Raphael during the Games, McDonald says there were two main elements to preparing for Paris 2024: the on-site prep (including the build of WBD House and the other on-site production facilities such as the mixed zones, venues, and the NOC houses), plus the scaling up of WBD's European sports platform.

He says: We have an enormous 2110 capability based upon two tech hubs, one in London and another in Hilversum in the Netherlands. They support our two main operational hubs, in London (Chiswick) and Paris (Issy-les-Moulineaux) that provide core capabilities for all EMEA. These hubs also provide studios and galleries, plus we also have 10 other production hubs across Europe (Munich, Milan, Stockholm, Oslo, Lisbon, Madrid, Hilversum, Warsaw, Copenhagen and Stockley Park) and for Paris 2024, we also had engineering support and some post-production out of Atlanta in the US.

The main thing for us is that the two main operational hubs run everything bookings, MCR, ingest, media management, playout so those are the centres of the operation and Paris has made all the difference for us during the Olympics, he says.

With previous Games taking place in China, Japan, South Korea and Brazil, Paris 2024 was a home fixture' for WBD, which has its EMEA HQ in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the south of the city. The fact it was a local Games not only provided a boost to viewing figures thanks to the favourable European time zone, but because WBD already had such an established site and ready-made production facility in Paris it also provided the opportunity to reduce its presence at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC).

WBD's base at the IBC on the other side of the city consisted of a small footprint manned by 28 staff across two shifts to provide the on-pass of host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Services' (OBS) feeds of the Games.

Stand up positions: Eurosport presenters prepare to go live

The Paris location also provided a chance for WBD to showcase the city's landmarks, with WBD House overlooking the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. With four studios used by production teams from the UK, Sweden, France, Poland, Italy and Germany as well as three stand-up positions used by WBD's global news network CNN, and live broadcasts for Spain, Finland and Denmark, plus a bar area with three RF cameras and a Technocrane, the studio was a sizable facility. This was in addition to Eurosport France operating a separate studio at Club France in the Parc de la Villette.

And it was the build of the rooftop studio that provided McDonald and his team with arguably their biggest challenge, he says. It's a working restaurant on top of a prestigious hotel, so we had a very, very limited period to take everything off the roof and then get everything up here that we needed, and then assemble it. The build was four days, so that was a challenge of planning and organisation that involved a lot of pre-build, and then there was a plan that literally went in 15-minute blocks over four days to make sure everything happened seamlessly.

From its position on the 7th floor of the Hotel Raphael, WBD House was treated as an extension of WBD's core network with each of the 11 territories producing content in WBD House able to remote produce from their homebase galleries, for example for Germany via Munich, and Poland via Warsaw.

We're fully 2110 for this Olympics for the first time and I think what we're seeing now is a much more mature, reliable, robust state, so that it works in an end-to-end fashion. It's a lot more hardened, a lot more secure, a lot more robust.

Camera racking and vision control for WBD House was managed remotely from Stockley Park, while audio line-up and control was managed remotely from Chiswick Park. AR graphics were remotely managed from Stockley Park apart from the Swedish team which remotely managed a spin-off of WBD's Cube studio technology from their home-base setup in Stockholm, with live tracking data being r
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/paris-2024-inside-wbds-olympi...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Solid State Logics Berny Carpenter on Expanding System T With Virtual DSP, Cloud Workflows

Solid State Logic is advancing its System T platform with a stronger focus on IP...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Dolbys Giles Baker on the Growth of Dolby OptiView, Immersive Vision and Audio for Live Sports

From immersive audio to live streaming, Dolby Laboratories is focused on the fut...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design's Bob Caniglia on Implementing Cinematic Looks in Live Broadcasts

Shallow depth-of-field cameras have taken the industry by storm. Its debut a han...

22/04/2026

NAB 2026: Eastern Kentucky University deploys campus-wide ST 2110 network with Riedel and Bridge Digital

Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) announced that Eastern Kentucky University (...

22/04/2026

SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2026, Day 4: Live Reports From the Show Floor in Vegas

The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...

22/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces URSA Cine 12K LF 100G

Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine 12K LF 100G, a new model in the URSA Cine family adding 100G Ethernet for SMPTE 2110 live production output up to ...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: NEPs Martin Stewart Talks 40 Years, the NEP Platform, and Scaling for FIFA World Cup

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, NEP is leaning into hybrid production with the...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: NEPs Dan Murphy on NEP Platform, TFC, and the Shift to Software-Defined Workflows

NEP VP, Platform Dan Murphy sits down at the 2026 NAB Show to unpack what NEP P...

22/04/2026

Spotify and WNBA's New York Liberty Bring Basketball and Music Together With New Partnership

Spotify and the New York Liberty are teaming up to give music and basketball fan...

22/04/2026

The story of the Focusrite ISA preamp

New 20-minute documentary explores iconic design The Focusrite Room in Mesa, Arizona, where John Aquilino hosts the Studio Console 005. In 2025, Focusrite co...

22/04/2026

EverSync SP-10 wireless from Cloudvocal

Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...

22/04/2026

Arturia release Augmented Persia

Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...

22/04/2026

Acustica Audio launch Salt 2

Combines three distinct analogue EQ emulations The latest addition to Acustica Audio's ever-expanding collection of analogue-emulation plug-ins combines...

22/04/2026

Analog Empire: Bass & Lead from Melda Production

Final instalment in vintage-inspired instrument series Analog Empire: Bass & Lead marks the final instalment in Melda Production's vintage hardware-insp...

22/04/2026

Strymon reveal the Canoga

Fuzz pedal joins all-analogue Series A line Given that Strymons reputation was built on unapologetically digital pedals, it was a little surprising to see t...

22/04/2026

SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge

SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge 22 April, 2026 Media releases National broadcaster also releases its second annual...

22/04/2026

The Frequency That Decides the Fight

Why Low Band Electronic Warfare Matters...

22/04/2026

Polish national football team play-off games top monthly programme list

The nation unites around football team's World Cup dream Warsaw, Poland, 20.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and media intell...

22/04/2026

Nielsen and the Polish Organisation of Advertisers announce strategic partnership to elevate marketing standards in Poland

Warsaw, Poland, 22.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data...

22/04/2026

Nielsen helps New Zealand brands expand internationally with greater clarity and confidence

New market intelligence offering gives businesses a clearer view of local consum...

22/04/2026

Glookast Unveils New UX, YouTube and Social Media Connectors, Premiere Panel, Cinnafilm Tachyon Plugin and More at NAB

Glookast Unveils New UX, YouTube and Social Media Connectors, Premiere Panel, Ci...

22/04/2026

Lightcraft Technology to Preview Spark Story at NAB 2026 with Interactive Previs Experience

Lightcraft Technology to Preview Spark Story at NAB 2026 with Interactive Previs...

22/04/2026

Bolin Demos New PTZ Cameras and Controller at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/04/2026

Anchor Audio Launches Beacon 3

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/04/2026

FCC Grants WSWB TV License Transfer to Sinclair

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/04/2026

Telemundo Puerto Rico Streaming Channel Launches On Prime Video

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/04/2026

Chyron Announces PRIME Translate

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/04/2026

TV Tech Announces Winners of Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/04/2026

VEON's Banglalink to Bring Starlink Mobile to Customers in Bangladesh

22 Apr 2026 VEON's Banglalink to Bring Starlink Mobile to Customers in Bangladesh Bangladesh becomes the third market where VEON and Starlink Mobile partne...

22/04/2026

FIRST LOOK FOR NEW U DRAMA SERIES HIT POINT

U have unveiled exclusive first-look images for their six-part police thriller Hit Point, starring Nick Blood (Day of the Jackal) and BAFTA nominee Saffron Hock...

22/04/2026

UKTV Highlights: Saturday May 9th -15th 2026

What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week? This week on UKTV and the free streaming service U, viewers can watch a range of new and returning programm...

22/04/2026

Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursary supporting players and grassroots football

Wednesday 22 April 2026 Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursa...

22/04/2026

This Earth Day, Discover the Sustainable Productions Behind Our Films and Series

Back to All News This Earth Day, Discover the Sustainable Productions Behind Our Films and Series Emma Stewart, Ph.D. Netflix Sustainability Officer Enterta...

22/04/2026

Retail Media Standards Are Expanding Into Commerce Media - Here's Why That Matters for Measurement

The move from Retail Media to Commerce Media is about broadening the scope of th...

22/04/2026

Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series, Expanding Immersive Audio Across Future Models

April 22 2026, 07:00 (PDT) Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series,...

22/04/2026

RT Licenses Stolen Sister to Pushkin

RT Documentary On One 7-part series breaks US market for first time RT Programme Sales has announced its first deal with a US distribution partner for its 7-...

22/04/2026

NVIDIA and Google Cloud Collaborate to Advance Agentic and Physical AI

NVIDIA and Google Cloud have collaborated for more than a decade, co engineering a full stack AI platform that spans every technology layer - from performance o...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: BitFires Colin Bonzey on Growing Spark Platform for Live Cloud-Based Productions

Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: AWSs Jason Dvorkin, Regina Rossi on Driving Innovation With Al-Based Workflows

The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: T-Mobile for Business' Jason Schnellbacher on Enhancing 5G for Sports Fans, Broadcasters

5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Appears Ed McGivern on Fox Sports Deal, New XM Platform, and VX Software Debut

At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Studio Network Solutions launches on-premise AI suite for media production workflows

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Suite Studios integrates file-streaming technology into Frame.io Drive

Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight integrates InSync FrameFormer into Nimbra Edge for media processing

Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...