PARIS.- The director of OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services), the subsidiary of the International Olympic Committee (COI) in charge of televising the Olympic Gameswelcomed the competition’s worldwide audience numbers in an interview with AFP on Thursday.
“In France, audiences are at record levels. (…) In the United States, these Games are among the most successful in recent times. In China, Japan, in the rest of Europe, it is extraordinary,” said Yiannis Exarchos, director of OBS, who did not, however, give exact figures.
Asked about the opening ceremony and its difficulties in carrying it out, Exarchos dismissed the criticism.
On Sunday, the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, had estimated that British director Simon Staffurth had “neglected many moments”.
The ceremony, which stretched for 6 kilometres along the Seine, was, according to the director of OBS, the “largest and most complex” live coverage that the production company has ever carried out, with more than 110 cameras deployed and five boats built for the occasion and equipped with robotic cameras.
However, he regretted having had to abandon the eight drones and three helicopters planned due to the rain.
Resounding success
“It is one of the most successful opening ceremonies on television worldwide. (…) There may be opinions about different parts or creative aspects of the ceremony, but the truth is that as a whole it was massively accepted and viewed around the world, thanks to the coverage we did,” insisted Exarchos.
Created in 2001, the OBS company is responsible for providing images to television stations around the world that have bought the broadcasting rights. The opening ceremony on the Seine was the first to be held outside a stadium and required much larger organisation.
Source: AFP