World broadcasters meet to prepare for 2028 Olympics and Paralympics

OBS, with the Olympics organising committee, hosted media rights-holders (MRHs) from around the world for its World Broadcaster Meeting (WBM), held last week in Los Angeles, where the Games are due to take place in two years.

Over 150 broadcaster representatives from 44 MRH organisations attended the event, which set out plans to deliver over 3,800 hours of competition and ceremony coverage across 51 Olympic sport disciplines.

OBS detailed the use of first-person-view (FPV) drones, real-time 360° and stroboscopic replays, point-of-view (POV) cameras, microphones on officials and coaches, dynamic graphics, back-of-house access, and enhanced digital content to help bring audiences closer to the action and the athletes.

OBS also presented several innovations currently being explored for LA28, including expanded cloud services, AI-assisted production workflows, enhanced digital content delivery, and new approaches to content distribution.

At the opening of the event, Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of OBS, welcomed broadcasters alongside Reynold Hoover, CEO of LA28, and nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis.

LA28 provided updates on key operational areas, including plans for the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at Warner Bros. Studios’ The Ranch Lot in Burbank, which will serve as the operational hub for OBS and MRHs for the Games.

Additional updates covered venue readiness, competition schedules, accreditation, accommodation, transport, security, communications, and workforce planning. 

Broadcasters also visited several key competition venues. Two days were also devoted to one-on-one planning sessions between MRHs, OBS, and LA28 to discuss production, operational, and technical requirements in detail.

The Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 will take place from 14 to 30 July 2028, followed by the Paralympic Games from 15 to 27 August 2028. 

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are to delay their $110bn merger due to pending lawsuits from US states and the Writers Guild of America. Discover more here.