
Kitzb hel 2024: How live drone shots helped ORF produce immersive coverage of the 84th Hahnenkamm Races By Will Strauss
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 - 10:19
Print This Story
The Streif racecourse in Kitzb hel, Austria, is the ultimate downhill skiing challenge. A highlight of the FIS Men's Alpine Ski World Cup, and home to the Hahnenkamm Races, the steep and winding route starts at 1,665 metres above sea level and propels the skiers at speeds of up to 90mph. The first jump, the Mausefalle', has a gradient of 40.4 degrees and sends skiers flying 80 metres through the air. It's icy. It's fast. It's dangerous. This is not a race for the faint-hearted.
For many years, TV viewers have been able to enjoy the spectacle from the comfort of their living rooms, thanks to coverage provided by host broadcaster ORF Sport. Broadcast cameras have always captured the action brilliantly, but two-dimensional images haven't always been able to reflect the speed of the skiers and how steep the course is. That is, until drones were introduced.
In 2022, ORF Sport head of directors Michael K gler, the man at the helm of the host coverage, took a punt on a drone. By this year's race, three UAVs were providing what K gler describes as an enormous insight into how fast the skiers go, and what kind of skills they've got to have.
However, very much like finishing the race itself, getting to this point wasn't easy, as Andr Theis (pictured, below), CEO and founder of wireless video systems company theis.media, the man responsible for the provision of the drones in Kitzb hel, explains.
We had to build trust, says Theis. We had to prove to everyone that what we were doing and how we were working was safe.
The reason for the caution is well known. In December 2015, a race skier almost got hit by a falling drone.
Reports the Guardian newspaper at the time: The downhill skiing champion Marcel Hirscher escaped unharmed after a drone carrying a camera fell from the sky and narrowly missed him on his way down the slope during a race in Italy. The Austrian, who has won the overall World Cup title for the past four seasons, was on his second run of the slalom event at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy when the machinery smashed into the snow metres behind him.
Theis's background is in broadcasting as a video engineer. Now, he specialises in wireless systems, including on-board cameras, POV bodycams, and FPV (First Person View) drones.
To be with' the skier is really something. These are pictures that television viewers have never seen before. It has unleashed the camera. We don't have to follow the same track every time. It's something new and amazing.
His company builds and operates its own equipment, including its own telemetry systems, lightweight receiver boards and transmitter backpacks. To get everything as light as possible, they modify transmitters, build their own housing and get OEM parts directly from the manufacturer.
The lengths that Theis has gone to in order to get the drones accepted are impressive. He explains: We have our own drones. We build the frames. We have a GPS rescue system so if we lose contact then the drones come back to us.
We also decided to use 6 or 8 propellers so that in case one breaks, there would be no problem. We successfully tested this.
But perhaps the biggest issue was having good pilots who could make sure that they kept their distance [from the racer] or that they kept an angle. So if they go nearer, they have to be in at an angle so that if something goes wrong, the drone will fall to the side or behind the racer. And, of course, the quality of the broadcast has to be high. So all these these things we have to show.
To make this possible, Theis created a FPV drone that could capture live shots, that weighed less than 800 grams and that was safe, broadcast quality and piloted by experts that know the sport.
It has taken us some time to find FPV Pilots that do good framing, he adds. They read the sport and they fly with the guys. This was a big step. As soon as we got all this together, the safety, the quality of the broadcast, and also the pilots, then we could approach Michael K gler.
Hahnenkamm is always the place for doing something big, and K gler is the one for doing something big, of course. We did some tests and after just one flight he said: That's it. The search is over.
With permission granted by the Kitzb hel Ski Club and Austro Control, the organisation responsible for air traffic throughout Austrian airspace, theis.media provided one live drone in 2022. The year after it was two drones one between Lerchenschuss and the edge of the Hausberg, the other from the traverse to the target slope.
That was something special, continues Theis. The first drone followed [the skiers] coming down the hill, and then on a long straight, and then a little bit further down the hill. From that point, we had the next drone following almost to the finish zone. But we cannot fly through the finish zone because of spectators. You need to have a minimum of 50 metres from the spectators. Despite this, the feedback was [very good].
For 2024, they moved things on further still. The opening shot at the start of course was captured with a crane in previous years. It provided a good but limited picture. To improve it, ORF opted to use a third drone.
And this is really what we saw at the start of this year, says Theis. It was crazy and something special. It really shows the angles, the speed, and everything. So this is a very good position.
The essence and benefits of the drone shots are clear for Theis. It provides a more immersive experience (as can be seen in the clip above from the SVG Europe Sky Sport Austria Summit 2024).
You can feel the speed and how dangerous parts of the race are, he
North America Stories
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...
09/09/2026
Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...
09/09/2026
Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...
09/09/2026
Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...
09/09/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...
09/09/2026
swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...
09/09/2026
NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...
09/09/2026
LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...
09/09/2026
Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...
09/09/2026
Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...
09/09/2026
Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...
09/09/2026
Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...
09/09/2026
Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...
09/09/2026
ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...
09/09/2026
Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...
09/09/2026
NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...
09/09/2026
Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...
09/09/2026
ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...
09/09/2026
Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA
Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...
09/09/2026
Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...
09/09/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...
09/09/2026
NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...
09/09/2026
Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks
Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...
09/09/2026
IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22
At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...
09/09/2026
Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...
09/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...
09/09/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...
09/09/2026
Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...
09/09/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...
09/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
09/09/2026
LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...
09/09/2026
AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics Introduces Its First Fisheye Zoom G Lens
Brie Clayton September 8, 2026
0 Comments
Compact, lightweight SEL814G Full-frame lens deliv...
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21.1
Brie Clayton September 8, 2026
0 Comments
Major update adds AI assistant integration, expanded camera...
09/09/2026
Cuez Integrates AI into a Unified Broadcast Production Workflow
Brie Clayton September 8, 2026
0 Comments
Cuez announces the expansion of its cloud-ba...
09/09/2026
At the IBC conference, running Sept. 11-14 in Amsterdam, the creative, technology and business communities are coming together to turn ideas into action and dis...
08/09/2026
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...
08/09/2026
Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...
08/09/2026
Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...