Manolo Romero says 2010 rights holders will not sacrifice production facilities or personnel to save money. (Getty Images)The chief IOC broadcasting executive said the recession will not impact the quality of broadcasting for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“The coverage will be as massive as it was supposed to be,” said Manolo Romero, the Madrid-based CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services.
Romero oversaw meetings in Vancouver for the European Broadcasting Union and world broadcasters Feb. 23-27.
“Those that are public service and do not depend on revenues from advertising, obviously they are less touched,” Romero said. “Those broadcasters that depend on commercial advertising revenue, it will have an impact no doubt. We are trying to help as much as we can to make the operation as flexible as possible.”
Romero said rights holders are seeking ways to save money on travel, but are not going to sacrifice production facilities or personnel.
“I do not see any dramatic change,” he said.
He added that 99 percent of broadcast accommodation needs have been solved. Moving personnel around remains a challenge. Access to the IBC at the Vancouver Convention Centre, which is surrounded on three sides by water, is a major concern.
“Regarding transportation plans, we are still in a preliminary stage from VANOC and we hope to have a better idea in a couple of months,” Romero said.
The Vancouver Games will be the first Winter Olympics with full high-definition from the source. Romero said 22 mobile HD trucks have been sourced from Canada, U.S. and Europe.
The financing and construction scheduling problem at the Vancouver Twenty-two mobile HD trucks have been added for increased HD coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. (Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)Olympic Village "has never been discussed. We are assuming there will be a village and there will be athletes.”
The Games begin and end inside B.C. Place Stadium. Romero is not worried by recent reports of rapid air pressure drops and equipment troubles. He conceded the ceiling “does not look too good” for those who attend exhibitions and trade fairs, but “it will look splendid” by Games time.
“I am sure VANOC will do what’s necessary to keep it, I cannot imagine the roof falling,” Romero said.
“We know that this roof has certain limits and parameters in weight, things you can hang from it.”
The Games’ showcase venue is the Richmond Olympic Oval speedskating arena which has massive north-facing windows that offer a distant view of the North Shore mountains. Romero said the windows would be covered during competition to prevent outside lighting from influencing the indoor setup.
OBS and VANOC conducted tours of Whistler venues and the mountain IBC on Feb. 23 and a general planning update on Feb. 24 for more than 100 EBU delegates. Tours of the city venues, including the main IBC, were on Feb. 25. The Feb. 26 general session with 70 world broadcast delegates was followed by unilateral meetings on Feb. 27.
With reporting from Bob Mackin in Vancouver.
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