Earlier this week, Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos unveiled a lineup of AI-powered features that will transform the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics broadcast.
First up, AI-supported real-time 360° replays developed with Alibaba build on the tech debut at Paris 2024. By stitching together multi-camera feeds and stroboscopic analysis, this system delivers stunning multi-angle views, freeze frames and slow-motion sequences in seconds.
Fans will also see an AI-driven stone-tracking system for curling 🥌, which visualizes each rock's path, speed and spin with overlaid graphics to highlight strategic plays in real time.
Plus, the new Olympic GPT chatbot will supply real-time results, explain rules and share verified info on demand, keeping viewers in the loop during every match.
To help teams handle the massive live-video flow, the Automatic Media Description platform uses AI to break broadcasts into searchable clips, suggest shot descriptions and tag keywords—so storytellers can find key moments in a flash.
Remember those 100,000 highlights clips produced for Paris 2024? That same automated highlights generation system will make its Winter Games debut, delivering custom clips to broadcasters faster than ever.
Drones equipped with first-person view cameras will fly alongside bobsled and luge athletes at top speeds, putting you right on the track for a thrilling POV experience.
Behind the scenes, a shift to virtual OB vans running on cloud infrastructure promises to cut space and power use by up to 50% compared to traditional broadcast trucks—making Olympic coverage greener and leaner.
As the countdown to Milan-Cortina 2026 continues, one thing is clear: AI is set to redefine how we watch and feel every moment of the Games.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
