NBC Clears HD Hurdle for Beijing

Tag : Broadcast Equipment
Before a single Chinese pasi gong has sounded on the opening ceremonies on August 8, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games is already proving to be groundbreaking television.

The games have inspired riots around the world, set off political infighting, led to broadcast equipment delays, promised to pull in a record-breaking financial windfall for the International Olympic Committee, and cost broadcasters $2.5 billion in the three years leading up to this year’s event.

All before a single competition has gotten underway.

The physical broadcast of the world’s most famous sporting event is expected to be groundbreaking as well. For the first time for viewers here in the United States, the Olympic Games will be produced and broadcast as an all-HD affair.

That leaves a monumental task in the hands of the host broadcaster, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, and to NBC, the U.S. broadcast rights holder of the Olympics through 2012.

While NBC has been in these shoes before—most recently in Torino, Italy for the 2006 Winter Games—the Beijing Olympics have brought unique challenges, such as security snafus with broadcast equipment, the difficulty in shipping multi-ton OB trucks halfway across the world, and simply the challenge of setting up a world-class broadcast environment in a nation not known for openness and an ease of operation.