Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Kitzbhel 2024: How Live Drone Shots Helped ORF Produce Immersive Coverage of the 84th Hahnenkamm Races

22/02/2024

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
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/kitzbuhel-2024-how-live-drone...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

30/04/2026

Ocean Blue Software Launches ATSC 3.0 Inspector for Smart TVs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Digital Azul positions Lisbon as a remote production hub...

Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...

30/04/2026

V Nova Brings DTV Deployment LCEVC Ecosystem Progress and...

Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media. DTV (TV 3.0) ...

30/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work. April 29, 2026 B...

30/04/2026

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...

30/04/2026

Study: Rokus Low-Cost, Ad-Free Howdy Streamer Hits 1 Million Subs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

MLS Innovation Lab Selects AI Partners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NRB Files FCC Complaint Over Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Monologue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

D.C. Court Denies Emergency Stay of Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NAB Criticizes FCC for Ordering Early Renewal of ABC-Owned Stations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

FCC Approves Station Swaps Between Scripps and Gray Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Telestream Introduces Pulse - a Software-Defined Test an...

A flexible monitoring platform designed to simplify ST 2110 operations, consolidate vendor tools, and support modern live production environments. See it at NAB...

30/04/2026

Langlev Takes Run Amok to Sundance with Zeiss Supreme Pri...

Sundance-premiering Run Amok is an expressive, unconventional take on today's teen experience, replete with musical numbers. When cinematographer Shachar ...

30/04/2026

Studio Technologies Elevates Jacksonville State Universit...

JACKSONVILLE, AL, APRIL 29, 2026 Jacksonville State University, known as Jax State and a proud NCAA Division I member of Conference USA, has transformed its a...

30/04/2026

Knowledge Network selects ThinkAnalytics to launch AI-pow...

Transforming viewer and content data into real-time intelligence to deliver relevant streaming experiences at scale ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-pow...

30/04/2026

Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB

Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB Andy Marken April 29, 2026 0 Comments Hero image source: NAB One of the neat things about trade shows i...

30/04/2026

It's Gonna Be May: 16 Games Hit the Cloud This Month, With More NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Power

It's gonna be May - and the cloud's in full festival mode. 16 games ar...

30/04/2026

April 29, 2026

Scripps Research ranks third in 2026 Cure Innovation Index April 29, 2026 LA JOLLA, CA Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation In...

29/04/2026

Churchill Downs Racetrack Lifts Curtain on New Big Board Ahead of Kentucky Derby Week

It was a delicate job in a 150-year-old venue laden with traditions. Begun at th...

29/04/2026

How the MLS Innovation Lab Enhances Everything From Athlete Performance to Production to Ticket Sales

In annual event, the league gives startup companies the opportunity to prove the...

29/04/2026

Save the Date: SVG Venues & Teams Summit Travels South to Miamis Kaseya Center on Aug. 12

Panel discussions, networking, and a facility tour will take place in the renova...

29/04/2026

The Cast and Crew of Conbody VS Everybody Have Each Other's Backs for Life

(L-R) Derek Drescher, Coss Marte, and Syretta Wright have each other's backs. (Micheal Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Veronika Lee Cla...

29/04/2026

YEP Spotlight: Julissa Padilla

Some people stumble into their passion. Julissa Padilla walked straight into a film vault. For her, entertainment was never just about the movies themselves. It...

29/04/2026

Clear-Com Promotes Brian Grahn, Ben Turnwell to Expanded Roles

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

The CW Unveils Major Streaming Deals with ESPN and Roku

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

Clear-Com Announces New Roles for Brian Grahn and Ben Tur...

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...

29/04/2026

Reduce Workflow Complexity with nxtedition at MPTS 2026

nxtedition is bringing its range of consolidated production tools to MPTS 2026, with new developments spanning transcription, editing, graphics and AI-assisted ...

29/04/2026

Telxius taps Synamedia to unlock seamless global multi-CD...

Quortex Switch to boost the streaming experience for Telxius customers, reaching millions of viewers worldwide Synamedia and Telxius, the leading global connec...

29/04/2026

freispace and Projective Announce Joint Showcase of Integ...

freispace, the leading ERP-as-a-Service platform for media and entertainment production, and Projective, a leading provider of post-production collaboration tec...

29/04/2026

DHD Celebrates 30th Anniversary at 2026 NAB Show

DHD reports strong interest in its broadcast audio product range, exhibited at the April 19th-22nd NAB Show in Las Vegas. The event attracted a claimed 58,000 a...

29/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Alan Catz

Student Spotlight: Alan Catz The Argentine film and game composer talks about working on League of Legends, receiving Berklee's BMI Award, and the lifelon...

29/04/2026

Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen

Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other...

29/04/2026

Paramount Will be 49.5% Foreign Owned After WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: AI, Vertical and BPS Dominate Broadcasters' Discussions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

IAB Tech Lab Announces New OpenRTB Attributes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

'SUPERNOVA: GENESIS' Reached a Peak Audience of More Than 6.5 Million Viewers on Netflix

Back to All News SUPERNOVA: GENESIS Reached a Peak Audience of More Than 6.5 Mi...

29/04/2026

April 28, 2026

Jin-Quan Yu elected to the National Academy of Sciences Yu is recognized for his pioneering work in synthetic organic chemistry. April 28, 2026 LA JOLLA, CA S...

28/04/2026

Sound for the NFL Draft Show Balances Often Conflicting Goals

The audio team for the entertainment event must blend speech intelligibility with full-range music reproduction while considering the broadcast Last week's...

28/04/2026

Pac-12 Releases New Primary Mark Ahead of 2026-27 Season

The Pac-12 Conference has released an updated primary mark and logo as the starting point of the new league's brand identity. The mark was soft-launched acr...

28/04/2026

DP World Tour to Become First Professional Sports Organization to Use Amazon Leo Satellite Connectivity

The DP World Tour and Amazon Leo have signed an agreement making Amazon's lo...

28/04/2026

Pixellot and HELIOS Announce Automated Hockey Shift Video Integration

Pixellot and HELIOS have announced an integration that automatically converts full-game hockey video into individualized shift videos for each athlete, without ...

28/04/2026

Daktronics Installs New LED Video Display at Asheville Tourists Ballpark

Daktronics has partnered with the Asheville Tourists to manufacture and install a new LED video display. The installation was completed in late 2025 and is now ...

28/04/2026

Eutelsat and PCTV Renew Long-Term Video Distribution Partnership in Mexico

Eutelsat has announced the renewal of its partnership with PCTV, a content aggregation and distribution company in Mexico and part of Megacable Holdings, for co...

28/04/2026

Gary SouthShore RailCats Install New Daktronics LED Display at U.S. Steel Yard

Daktronics has partnered with the Gary SouthShore RailCats to install a new LED video display at U.S. Steel Yard, replacing the previous Daktronics display inst...

28/04/2026

Telos Alliance and College Radio Foundation Award Omnia.11 Processor to Wright State Universitys WWSU-FM

Telos Alliance and the College Radio Foundation have announced that WWSU-FM of W...

28/04/2026

Inside the Mix: A1s Florian Brown and James Deason on Golfs Biggest Broadcasts

Golf viewership is growing. The 2025 Ryder Cup drew five million viewers in the UK, a 45% increase over the 2023 event. The US Open was the most streamed golf e...

28/04/2026

The CW Network Acquires Exclusive Broadcast Rights to WWE NXT Premium Live Events

The CW Network and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), have announced t...

28/04/2026

NAB 2026: AIMS Wins NAB Show 2026 Product of the Year Award for IPMX

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced that the Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX) suite of standards and specifications has been named...

28/04/2026

NAB 2026 SportsTechBuzz in Review: A Look Back at the Big News From 150+ Companies in Vegas

The 2026 NAB Show is in the books and the show once again served up a cavalcade ...

28/04/2026

Gray Media, RAJ Sports Launch New Womens Sports RSN in Portland - Rose City SportsNet

Gray Media and RAJ Sports have announced Rose City SportsNet (RCSN), a new netwo...