Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has pledged to enhance gender-balanced coverage at Paris 2024, aiming to provide "fair and balanced storytelling for all athletes".
OBS is the permanent broadcaster for the Games, producing the live television, radio and digital coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Yiannis Exarchos, OBS CEO, has emphasized the push to empower women across various broadcast roles to foster inclusivity saying: "Recognising the gender gap found across various broadcast roles, OBS is determined to make a change and set an example for the industry at large."
“By empowering women with the skills and experiences needed to thrive in production, editorial or technical roles, we hope to contribute to a more inclusive and diverse broadcast environment in sport.”
Olympic Broadcasting Services is ensuring that the next generation of talent in the media industry is gender balanced.
Training programmes are being run to ensure women are given an equal opportunity.#GenderEqualOlympics #IWD2024 #RoadToParis2024
Read: https://t.co/9SVe6Bqe8N pic.twitter.com/NQE3NWApMA— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 10, 2024
Ahead of Paris 2024, OBS has implemented key enhancements which include boosting female commentator roles to nearly 40%, occupying two-thirds of Broadcast Venue Manager positions, and achieving a 50/50 split in senior staff at the Broadcast Operations Centre - this represents a nearly 80% increase compared to Tokyo 2020 and a more than 200% increase from Rio 2016.
The increased representation will also extend to venue production teams, aiming for more equitable portrayal of male and female athletes at the Games.
To enhance awareness and advocate for gender equality and fair representation of athletes in media, OBS collaborated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to develop the Portrayal Guidelines. These guidelines serve to assist broadcasters and communicators in promoting equitable coverage and unbiased portrayal of athletes, embracing their diverse backgrounds and achievements.
OBS also implemented training initiatives, such as the "Framing the Future" camera training program, aiming to bring more women into the operational side of the broadcasting industry. The programme took place in Paris, where more than 70 aspiring female camera operators participated. Top trainees from the course will be provided with freelance roles at Paris 2024.
Olympic broadcasting: More women in key broadcast roles at Paris 2024
Ensuring gender-balanced coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is one of the objectives of Olympic Broadcasting Services.
Full story: https://t.co/yIWrdY521N#GenderEqualOlympics | #IWD2024 pic.twitter.com/R4n2YC7tRH— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 6, 2024
Retired and active athletes are also being offered "Olympic Commentary Training" by OBS, developed to equip athletes with practical broadcast and commentary skills. A significant portion of commentators for Paris 2024 will be female athletes.
The longstanding "Broadcast Training Programme", which has been helping to inspire new generations of broadcast professionals around the world for more than 30 years, has continued to be a success. For Paris 2024, 57% of students selected are women.
With the primary goal of achieving gender balance in both live and recorded content on Olympics.com, there's a concerted effort to highlight women's voices and narratives. Presently, the global content on Olympics.com comprises 36% dedicated to women, 33% to men, and 31% featuring a mix of both.
As Paris 2024 approaches, OBS has reaffirmed its commitment to gender equality, fostering an inclusive environment for athletes and fans alike.
