The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics start today, and Olympic Broadcast Services is deploying a serious amount of cutting edge technology to cover it.
It’s difficult to underestimate the importance of the Olympics when it comes to the technology we use day in and day out in the industry. It is considered to be both the final proving ground of established technology and a bridgehead to future workflows, and so much kit is needed to mount a successful broadcast that entire product development and marketing roadmaps are centred round when the events are held.
The Winter Olympics might not have quite the scale of the Summer Olympics, but they are still larger than anything else you’ll come across. In fact we’ve got so much information about the Games, and there’s so much going on, that this is probably the first in a series of articles about Milano Cortina 2026.
It’s almost an epochal event for the live broadcast industry as it pushes large-scale sports coverage further toward immersive, cloud-native production. More on that some other time. First though, let’s talk about capturing the action and the over 800 cameras that are going to be deployed across the Italian slopes and arenas to capture movement in sport.
AS OBS says: " It’s about capturing the motion of the athlete – not just the result, but the sensation of speed, the tactics, the technique, and the environment in which they compete."
In 1956, the Winter Olympics were held in Cortina d’Ampezzo. It was the first Winter Games to be broadcast live, the signal reaching 22 European countries in those pre communications satellite days.
70 years ago, Italian broadcaster RAI used less than 10 cameras to capture the games. For Milano Cortina 2026, Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) will use over 810. Apart from the standard workhorse units capturing every aspect of the games in 4K HDR, here’s how they break down (NB. Historically OBS doesn’t mention individual manufacturers and actively discourages them from doing so themselves.)
32 cinematic cameras
Shallow depth-of-field cameras used across all sports to deliver tighter, filmic close-ups within live coverage. These are becoming more popular across all sporting events, and in the Olympics were first used at Paris 2024. Their use is now doubled with two cameras at every venue. For the first time, cinematic cameras will feature on-screen graphic overlays, such as athlete names, seamlessly integrated into the live coverage.
140 robotic cameras
Deployed in difficult or inaccessible positions, including Alpine and ice venues.
251 mini cameras
Used for POV angles, athlete access, and confined positions. Live cameras will mounted inside all four athletes’ goggles to capture the hectic action for the ski and snowboard cross
50 jibs & cranes
Large-scale movement shots for ceremonies and major venues. A free-roaming, remote-controlled dolly promises some electrifying shots from the speed skating
15 railcam systems
High-speed tracking shots not just alongside athletes but above them as well, with a new overhead railcar added for the curling coverage.
12 cablecam systems
Long-distance aerial movement, particularly in outdoor venues.
12 live beauty cameras
Dedicated cinematic landscape and atmosphere capture.
10 drones
Mainly providing scenic and transitional coverage
25 FPV drones
Provide first-person perspectives, including sliding sports for the first time at a Winter Games. Each drone team consists of three specialists: the pilot, the director, and the technician, working in sync via a dedicated communication channel to manage flight paths, timing, and technical adjustments.
We don’t know much about the lenses used on the main OBS operation, as it hasn’t talked much about them. But Canon is a technology partner with NBC and has stated that it is supplying the US broadcaster with 115 Canon UHD broadcast lenses for its production of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
This raises an important point. The cameras listed above are for the OBS operation alone. There are also 21 Media Rights Holders and 110+ broadcast organisations covering the games, who are bringing 8000 people and plane loads of their own equipment to Italy. OBS’s 810 cameras might seem a lot, but you can probably easily treble that for the whole Games — and that’s just the broadcasters. Well be talking to one of the Getty Photographers working at the Games about what’s in their kit bag soon.
Previously we have rightly called sports broadcast camera operators Jedi Knights for the skills they bring to their respective specialities. If you’ve ever tried following a golf ball with your eyes, try doing that while pulling focus through a massive broadcast lens.
For the Winter Olympics, as well as the drone teams mentioned above, there are even more specialists deployed. OBS highlights three:
Ice Hockey
The cam ops who step onto the ice
On-ice camera operators are crucial to ice hockey coverage. Stationed discreetly in the penalty boxes, they step onto the ice whenever the action pauses, as per the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). This unique vantage point provides close-up, immersive views of players entering the rink warming up lining up for national anthems and during key game moments.
Short Track Speed Skating
The cam op who skates with the athletes
OBS deploys a handheld camera operator who films from inside the rink. Skating alongside athletes, they capture every turn, twist and celebration from within the track oval. Dressed in white to blend seamlessly with the ice, this operator becomes part of the environment delivering dynamic close-up footage that immerses viewers in the action. Their lens offers a unique perspective, from warm-ups to the final lap, once reserved for the skaters themselves.
Alpine Skiing
The cam ops who navigate the same technical slopes
Alpine skiing venue camera operators face a unique challenge: navigating the same steep and technical terrain as Olympic skiers. Carrying heavy equipment, they ski down icy slopes with precision and care often in extreme weather. Some positions require climbing tall scaffolding towers to reach elevated vantage points where operators secure themselves against strong winds for safety and stability. Their work demands technical expertise, physical endurance and a deep understanding of the sport’s dynamics, capturing every turn jump and finish line moment with accuracy and impact.