Live From Paris 2024: NBC Olympics Venue Operations Shine at Aquatics, Gymnastics, and Athletics Dedicated unilateral resources ensure NBC Olympics can tell the best stories for fans back home By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - 5:20 am
Print This Story
NBC Olympics is relying heavily on the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) world feeds for a good portion of their event coverage in Paris, but for three specific venues where Team USA is frequently seen on the podium, NBC has deployed additional resources for those competitions so it can produce its own coverage. Through their relationship with OBS, these enhancements include various unilateral cameras and onsite production facilities provided by NEP which are located in the venue compounds.
The big three - swimming, athletics, and gymnastics - are where we have our biggest presence, says Chris Connolly, VP, venue technology and engineering, NBC Olympics. [These resources] help us concentrate primetime and the best moments from that days competitions, which air live on the networks of NBC and streaming on Peacock.
At the core of the operation is a fleet of NEP trucks at the trio of venues, including NEP Caspian and Albiorix at Stade de France for athletics, which moved from the Trocad ro to the stadium after Friday evening's Opening Ceremony; NEP Venus and Mercury at Bercy Arena for gymnastics; and NEP Ceres at Paris La Defense Arena for swimming.
NBC's unilateral handhelds at the women's gymnastic final last night allowed viewers in the U.S. to fell all the emotion surrounding team USA's victory.
With their own production teams on site NBC is putting a clear focus on American athletes. The production teams are utilizing OBS camera splits to help augment their own unilateral cameras to tell a more U.S.-centric story.
In addition, NBC has a domestic mobile unit at their headquarters in Stamford, CT specifically dedicated to Daytime Live Gymnastics and later for Semi-Finals & Finals of both Men's & Women's Basketball.
Of the three venues, the most challenging production will be athletics because there are simultaneous events happening with both track and field.
The three top venues also have dedicated editing facilities for turn around show editing. Those edit facilities will allow the NBC Olympics production team to edit the morning sessions and get them ready for primetime coverage on NBC (those events will also stream live on Peacock, leveraging OBS's original world-feed production). Although NBC Olympics has this added wrinkle of tech firepower, it will still be relying heavily on OBS's world feed coverage of athletics.
The three main venues will also have dedicated and direct connectivity back to Stamford via 10Gig circuits, but NBC has a massive amount of connectivity from the IBC to Stamford in order to get other event coverage signals back to the control rooms in Stamford that is handling the other events.
We have a total of 240G of connectivity that is sending video from the IBC to our U.S.-based control room, adds Connolly. We also have a full redundant network that goes between Stanford, 30 Rock [in New York City]; Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Denver, CO and Telemundo Deportes in Miami.
Diving deeper into the technical execution of primetime, NBC Olympics is using 32 total LiveU bonded-cellular flypacks to compile ancillary content that surround any of the venues as well as other feature elements around Paris.
At most venues and around the city of Paris, our ENG crews will tap into these devices to capture the atmosphere around the stadiums or show athletes upon their arrivals before they compete and display the amazing sites of Paris continues Connolly. These will also be used in mixed-zone interview areas for the smaller competitions to send these feeds back home.
The NBC Olympics aquatics production team has been busy producing tons of swimming coverage during week one of the Olympics.
This is Connolly's first Olympics heading up venue operations as previously he oversaw the transmission side of things. He still configured the transmission puzzle for Paris, but the being involved in venue operations gives him a new appreciation of the massive undertaking it takes to produce an Olympics.
Other tentpole event like the U.S. Open, Ryder Cup, or the Super Bowl is one event where you can put all of your resources towards that one production, he says. I never realized how difficult it is to coordinate a dozen productions at one time and make sure that every single thing goes correctly.
One good bit of news for this Games is that because Paris had so many pre-existing venues (only two of the 35 venues, the 5,000-seat Aquatics Centre and Le Bourget Climbing Wall, are the only permanent venues that had to be built) Connolly and the team could visit venues earlier and make request for things like camera positions much earlier.
From a venue preparation standpoint, it was really nice to be able to get an idea of where our camera positions were going to be, continues Connolly.
It Takes an [Olympic] Village Most importantly, the planning and outlining by OBS is a major factor as to why NBC Olympics is able to upgrade these specific venues. Without their overall guidance, this layer of the production wouldn't be possible.
It's key to have the relationships that ensue that things get executed as well as know the right person to go to [for help], says Connolly. This takes a lot of effort, and I'm not sure you can ever fully explain it to anyone that's never experienced it before.
Internally, Connolly leans on the experienced staff of co-workers that have been to previous Olympic Games or have had their skills put to the test.
Ultimately, you have to trust that you're hiring the right people, he adds. I have a great gro
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
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...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and gaming, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI - building across...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
14/07/2026
Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...
14/07/2026
Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...
14/07/2026
New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...
14/07/2026
ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...
14/07/2026
Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...
14/07/2026
Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
As broadcasters con...
14/07/2026
Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...
14/07/2026
Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...
14/07/2026
FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...
Live From Paris 2024: NBC Olympics Venue Operations Shine at Aquatics, Gymnastics, and Athletics Dedicated unilateral resources ensure NBC Olympics can tell the best stories for fans back home By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
