Innovative broadcast coverage bringing fans closer to action than ever before at Milano Cortina 2026

While fans around the world enjoy these new perspectives, for OBS the focus remains firmly on how innovation can strengthen storytelling and enhance fans’understanding of the athletes’ performances.

“Technology increasingly offers us a lot of opportunities,” explains Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of OBS. “But the Olympic Games are not about showcasing technology. They are about finding the most engaging ways of telling the stories of the biggest athletes in the world in the most efficient way possible.”

One of the most visible innovations at Milano Cortina 2026 is the expanded use of drones across outdoor sports. A total of 25 drones, including 15 first-person-view (FPV) drones, are operating across all outdoor sports and selected indoor sports such as speed skating, capturing dynamic angles that were previously not possible at the Winter Games.

“We saw an opportunity to bring the coverage of the sports into a new dimension,” says Exarchos. “Especially for some of the winter sports, it was a great opportunity to really show and make people feel what it is actually like to practise these sports at this level.”

FPV drones now trail athletes along the course and track, offering viewers a more vivid sense of the speed and technique involved.

“For the first time, many of the athletes could really say: ‘Now people can experience what it feels like to ride a bob, to race in the luge, or to go downhill,’” adds Exarchos. “They can get the same exact feeling.”

The integration of drones has been developed in close consultation with athletes and International Sports Federations, with safety as the priority throughout.

“The single most important thing was to ensure safety and to be convinced that the athletes themselves embraced the idea and felt comfortable. And this is the case – they were excited,” Exarchos explains.

“For every single sport where we use them, we did a series of tests in collaboration with the International Federations and introduced the drones to all the athletes.”

Extensive testing programmes and venue-specific procedures have ensured that drone operations are fully aligned with competition requirements, allowing athletes to focus entirely on performance while viewers benefit from the new perspectives.

In addition to the use of drones, artificial intelligence (AI) is also enhancing coverage at Milano Cortina 2026, particularly through replays and on-screen data visualisation designed to make complex sports easier to understand.

Next-generation Real-Time 360°Replay systems and stroboscopic analysis, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s AI algorithm, break down movements into clear visual sequences, offering additional insight into technique and execution. In biathlon, AI-driven camera systems allow Media Rights-Holders to spotlight national athletes, offering personalised, real-time coverage of shooting lanes with live data and split-screen options. In figure skating, computer vision technology measures jump height, airtime and speed, with performance data displayed instantly.

The objective, Exarchos explains, is to serve the entire Olympic audience.

“In the Olympic Games, probably more than half of the audience are casual viewers,” he says. “This is part of the value and the beauty of the Olympic Games – that they become the showcase of all sports.

“For us, it’s not sufficient to produce very high-quality coverage just for dedicated sports fans. We have a very short period of time to make the sports understandable and attractive. We need to get people engaged.”

Across the venues, cinematic cameras with a shallow depth of field are delivering tighter close-ups and distinctly cinematic visuals, complementing live coverage and providing a greater sense of emotion. At the same time, OBS continues to expand its cloud-based production infrastructure and modernised broadcasting operations, working with Worldwide Olympic Partner Alibaba. Building on the success of OBS Cloud, first launched in 2020 and further enhanced for Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 is benefitting from more flexible, cost-efficient and sustainable cloud-based workflows. These innovations enable Media Rights-Holders to access, edit and deliver Olympic content remotely, reducing the need for on-site equipment and lowering the overall operational footprint of Games-time broadcasting.

Together, these innovations at Milano Cortina 2026 mark the latest step in the evolution of Olympic broadcasting, focused on delivering engaging and technically advanced coverage of the Games to audiences worldwide.

Find out more about how the IOC’s Worldwide Olympic Partners are supporting innovations at this year’s Olympic Winter Games in the official IOC Marketing Media Guide.

Further details about OBS and its work can be found in the OBS Media Guide.