TSR and the Olympics on the internet

Multimedia olympics

Faites vos Jeux:
TSR and the Olympics on the internet

For the first time in the modern history of the Olympic Games, TSR and the Swiss internet access provider Bluewin are to offer a few thousand Swiss "guinea pigs" the opportunity to watch the games on their computers, using high-bit-rate internet connections in Geneva, Zurich and Basel.

This experiment “foreshadows the television of tomorrow,” in the words of Gilles Marchand, the director general of TSR. “It is also emblematic of our approach, exploring how best to combine TV and the internet.”

For a fistful of francs

Christoph Brand, the CEO of Bluewin, and Philippe Mottaz, the head of i‑TSR, succeeded in obtaining the agreement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the right to broadcast images of the Salt Lake City games on the internet no mean feat considering the IOC keeps a very tight grip on these rights. For territorial constraints (broadcasting outside national territories is not allowed), no provider is allowed to broadcast footage of the games over the net. “The IOC agreed to support our project provided the pictures could only be seen in Switzerland, and provided we obtained the agreement of the national broadcaster,” confirmed Philippe Mottaz.

For a total sum of 10 Swiss francs, users can click on and access the choice of offers. The full-screen image will be of video quality, broadcast in real time and, in addition to the pictures broadcast on television, Faites vos Jeux will also show all the footage received from Salt Lake City unedited. Users can further consult all the image analyses produced by Dartfish, enabling them to follow the progress of two skiers at the same time, or consult athletes’ biographies, the running orders or competition results. The archives will be accessible for a period of three months.

Interest from the IOC

The whole operation, however, raises a large number of questions. On the subject of whether it will compete with television coverage, TSR managers state that the two media platforms are complementary. As far as they're concerned, traditional broadcasting and television on demand do not fulfil the same role. The first generalizes and makes the event exist live; the second personalizes, banishes the constraints of time and serves as an archive.

This is, for the time being a pilot project and not full-on commercial exploitation, but things could change. Digital terminals, plugged into televisions, could bring interactive television into homes. And that could have a significant impact on the world of television broadcasting.

Other information on Salt Lake 2002

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Eurovision's complete Olympic coverage
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The EBU technical plan - Interview with Hervé Labussiere, EBU engineer
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Jean Stock visits NBC and a number of EBU Members
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