Paris 2024: A Look Behind the Scenes of NBCs Daily Gold Zone Production By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, August 8, 2024 - 4:18 pm
Print This Story
NBCUniversal has offered up no shortage of ways to consumer the Paris 2024 Olympics. From live coverage streaming on Peacock and airing on NBC, USA Network, or E! (plus CNBC on weekends) during the day to curated, deeper storytelling at night on NBC's Primetime From Paris, fans have a multitude of flavors to get their Olympics fix.
The Gold Zone studio in Stamford is manned by four hosts, including Scott Hanson (seconf from left)
However, with little argument to be had, the most buzzed-about and beloved medium has been Gold Zone. The daily whiparound show reminiscent of NFL Redzone offers fans non-stop action ranging from Athletics at Stade de France to Handball at Stade Pierre-Mauroy to water polo at Paris La D fense Arena and anywhere else where key moments and potential medals are to be had.
It's all about the idea of discovery, says Amy Rosenfeld, SVP of Olympics and Paralympics production. We want to expose people to more sports than just [the big events like] swimming, gymnastics, and track and field. Gold Zone shows key moments in equestrian, Judo, and fencing. Hopefully, through that discovery, we're growing Olympic fans for that sport.
A 16-box multiviewer is available to the Gold Zone on-air talent and production team to monitor the action.
While the concept of Gold Zone is nothing new - NBC first debuted the coverage model at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics - the comprehensive execution has taken things to a new level for Paris. And the eyeballs have followed.
There's so much live competition going on that there's simply no way you could sit in front of one screen and drink it all in, says Darryl Jefferson, SVP, engineering & technology, NBC Sports & Olympics. So with Gold Zone, we're able to quick cut to whatever action is most exciting or relevant at any given moment. Maybe we just heard something hot is happening over at water polo or rugby - we just cut to that feed and you're right in the middle of the action. So it's a really high energy show.
The Gold Zone production team is split into two shifts: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. and 12-5 p.m. ET with a shift change at noon that takes under two minutes. Each shift has one director and two producers - one producer is in the chair executing, the other is directing traffic and keeping an eye on everything taking place in in 16-box Multiview. Several other traffic cops help guide the organized chaos , while ADs monitor what feeds are going into the router at any given moment.
It is organized chaos in the most beautiful way possible because so many feeds are coming in, says Rosenfeld. What's amazing is, we ran out of space on the router in that room so these folks are like Liberace, trying to pound on the router and get stuff in the right place. We go through some stretches when we'll have one gold medal after another every few minutes, so you better have great chemistry with your colleagues. There's no time to think; you just have to react.
Housed in PCR 12 - one of two new fully ST 2110 IP control rooms (along with) at NBC's Stamford, CT broadcast center - Gold Zone is by far the most fast-paced in NBC's army of Olympics production units with as many as 60 feeds streaming into the control room from Paris at once.
It's been one of the more interesting productions because it's just a different tempo and pace than our other shows, says Jefferson. It's a bit ADHD with everything always moving, moving, moving.
PCR12 serves as the Gold Zone control room
PCR 12, which was built primarily for NBC's golf remote productions, was specifically designed to look and feel like a production-truck environment. This makes it ideal for the quick-cut style needed for Gold Zone.
Studio 3, a new state-of-the-art facility normally housing NBC's Premier League coverage, serves as the home of Gold Zone. The 360-degree studio is equipped with a jib and a Steadicam, which allow for plenty of movement inside the studio, as well as a slick new LED floor.
It's great for Premier League because it gives you multiple areas to get up and move around the studio between the home base, the hero standups, and the telestrator area says Tom Popple, VP, Studio Operations, NBC Sports. For Gold Zone it's even more unique because it's such a fast-paced show. The flexibility in there is awesome and it looks spectacular.
Since a lot of it is voicing over live feeds and it's not all on camera, they have a lot more flexibility in how they can use that studio - both [on-air] and as a way to track all 16 feeds coming in, continues Popple. They can shoot this 360 and are ok with [the audience] seeing researchers, runners, and producers right on the floor during the show. They're not protective of seeing certain things on the camera, which I think adds a fun different kind of element.
NBC's four Gold Zone hosts Matt Iseman, Jac Collinsworth, Andrew Siciliano and Scott Hanson are able to see both the 16-box Multiview on a massive LED wall display as well as a four-box breakout on a monitor right in front of them.
With as many as 40 events happening at once, it's up to the team in the control room to split the 16-box Multiviewer up based on the most pressing action, while the host can call for specific feeds in their personal four-box multiviewer.
Studio 3 is typically home to NBC Sports Group's Premier League coverage.
We understood how challenging the show would be to execute, and particular people were put on the show very purposefully because this takes a certain type of personality and skillset, says Rosenfeld. The show has been incredible so far and keeps getting better ev
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...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
Paris 2024: A Look Behind the Scenes of NBCs Daily Gold Zone Production By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
