Daily Media Briefing (11th Feb)
Broadcast focus
Official Highlights
MILAN -
Comments from IOC Spokesperson Mark ADAMS (GBR),
Milano Cortina 2026 Games Operations Communications Director Luca CASASSA (ITA)
Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) Chief Executive Officer Yiannis EXARCHOS (GRE)
Mark ADAMS - IOC Spokesperson
On whether Vladyslav HERASKEVYCH (UKR) will be disqualified if he continues to wear a banned helmet featuring photos of victims of the war in Ukraine:
"We will contact the athlete. We will reiterate the many, many opportunities he has to express his grief. He can do it on social media, in press conferences and in the mixed zone. We want him to compete. We really want him to have his moment. That's very important. And we want all athletes to have a fair and level playing field."
On resolving the matter with HERASKEVYCH privately:
"From my point of view, we don't want to 'prosecute' this conversation in public if we can help it. We hope we can deal with this on a human level. We will have conversations with HERASKEVYCH to try and explain that it is in everyone's interest for him to compete, and for him to be able to say what he wants to say (outside of competition). I am not saying we have a solution, but it is better for people to talk to people, and for human interaction to win the day."
On whether HERASKEVYCH will be disqualified if he wears the helmet again:
"We beg him, we want him to compete.
"I don't think it is helpful in this situation to look at hypotheticals since we are trying to get him to take part. We want him to compete. Without labouring the point, there are rules and regulations the athletes want us to enforce. In the end, it would be an IOC matter (if HERASKEVYCH competes in the helmet again)."
On protecting the field of play from political messages:
"Our athletes' guidelines were agreed upon by 4,500 athletes. They want that specific (sporting) moment on the field of play, and for it to be free from any distractions. We would encourage HERASKEVYCH to express his grief. Let me be clear, it is not the message, it is the place (where the message is relayed) that counts.
"We (the IOC) are in the backseat here. This message from the (4,500) athletes has been reiterated to us. There are around 130 conflicts going on around the world, and we can't have them all featured (at the Games), however terrible they may be, on the field of play.
"For us, and more importantly for our athletes, the field of play is sacrosanct. These athletes have decided their whole lives to do this, and they want their moment on the field of play."
On figure skater Maxim NAUMOV (USA) holding up a photo of his deceased parents after his routine:
"It was a very emotional, human and spontaneous gesture. Everyone can understand this, who has lost their parents, and in this case, in such a tragic way. It highlights what we are saying. The Ukrainian athlete (HERASKEVYCH) can do the same. He can have his helmet (outside of competition). He can walk through the mixed zone and talk to people, and we have loosened the rules. We can offer him a black armband to commemorate his friends and colleagues who have lost their lives.
"The case of last night (with NAUMOV) makes our position even stronger. The athlete competed, then afterwards he spontaneously expressed a human emotion. The rules will never work for every single case, but you can see a very clear difference (between NAUMOV and HERASKEVYCH). What we encourage is for athletes to express their grief before and after competition, as this skater did so eloquently last night."
On gender balance at the Olympic Winter Games and women's Nordic combined not being present at Milano Cortina 2026:
"We have 47% women (at the Games), so to all intents and purposes these are gender-balanced Games. We are having a look at it (Nordic combined) here (in Milan). Participants in Nordic combined are largely from a small number of countries, and the sport needs to be more universal, and strong for both genders.
"We will take a look at men's Nordic combined here, and look at it (the future of the sport) ahead of the next Winter Games."
Luca CASASSA - Games Operations Communications Director
On Tuesday's ticket sales:
"We sold 77,000 tickets across 12 different sports (on Tuesday). And it was an important day for the Italian team. Congratulations to them on the medals in the short track (speed skating) mixed team relay (where Italy won gold) and the curling mixed doubles (where Italy took bronze).
"And there was one important number coming from our social channels. We had 28 million in reach (impressions) and over 2.5 million engagements."
On football games at the San Siro potentially reducing the Olympic audience:
"Using the San Siro for the Opening Ceremony was one way of promoting the Games in the city of Milan. And I think hosting football matches this weekend (including Inter versus Juventus on Saturday) is a good thing. I believe the general enthusiasm of all sports, whether Olympic ones or not, can only be helpful."
On merchandise selling out at official stores, including mascot toys:
"We are talking with all our suppliers. We will have the goods back again soon. It is an example of the enthusiasm behind the Games that the official stores are practically sold out."
On suggestions from some short track speed skaters that the ice is too soft:
"We are aware of very few issues of this type. From our point of view, you can see by going directly into the competition venue that the ice masters measure the ice temperature. And the ice condition is constantly monitored throughout matches. We have received compliments on the quality of our field of play."
Yiannis EXARCHOS - OBS Chief Executive Officer
On the use of drone cameras as part of the broadcast output at the Games:
"The drones have drawn a lot of attention, not just from our media rights holders but also our audience. Many of our audience are what we call 'media casuals' (they don't follow the Games every day).
"We have a very short period of time to make the sport understandable and attractive to our audience. We are always looking for innovative ways (to do this).
"Technology increasingly offers us a lot of opportunities. I keep reminding myself and the team, the Olympic Games are not about showcasing normal things. It is about finding the most engaging ways of telling stories about the best athletes in the world, and in the most efficient way possible.
"We saw an opportunity to try and bring the coverage of the sport into a new dimension. We believe, especially for some of the winter sports, this is a great opportunity to show (our audience) what it is like to practise these sports at this level and get really close to the field of play."
On the size of the drone cameras:
"The drones are very small. They are usually around 250 grams, and we use 15 of them for the coverage here. Many of these drones have been modified for the coverage of specific sports. They are controlled by very experienced and trained pilots.
"Essentially, we use drones in three ways: to showcase the speed and the field of play. We also use them to help with the understanding of sports that rely more on judging. And we use traditional drones that fly a little bit higher to put the Games in context. The Games don't happen in a vacuum, and there is incredible beauty (to show) in northern Italy."
On safety measures taken when using drones:
"The single most important thing is to ensure safety, and that the athletes are happy and comfortable. We use them (the drones) more or less in every single sport, aside from figure skating, curling and ice hockey, where they don't make particular sense. We collaborated with international federations to do a series of testing. And we introduced all the athletes to the drones. For example, in the sliding, all 70 in the competition have been practising in the presence of drones. They have seen the results, and they loved it, and they understand how it works.
"The drones never fly on top or in front of athletes. They always follow the athletes. And if anything happens, the drone can fly away or go down or to the side. We have simulated situations (that could occur) in the actual venues, and developed all the relevant procedures for safety.
"The athletes and federations embraced the idea, and they feel comfortable. They were probably more excited than us because, for the first time, people (viewers) will know what it feels like to ride a bobsleigh or be on a luge. They have the same exact feeling (as the athletes).
"And one important thing is the human factor (behind the drones). All the pilots we use, and the spotter sitting next to them who guides them to any situations in the environment, have been trained in specific sports for a long time."
On whether noise from drones affects athletes:
"It is a reasonable question. We use 860 cameras to cover the Games, but we have 1800 microphones. You don't necessarily see them because we hide them in the snow or behind things. For the athletes themselves, practically speaking, this noise can't be heard. In sports of high speed, the drone is behind them and the noise they have to deal with comes from the wind. And the fact they wear helmets means we haven't heard that noise is an issue (for the athletes). I would say that it's more actually viewers on television (who have noticed the noise).
"I believe with Artificial Intelligence (AI), it might be possible to further reduce this noise from microphones (in the future)."
On whether drone cameras could be used at a summer Games:
"For every sport, you have to imagine what makes sense. Yes, there are a number of summer sports where it would make a difference if we used drones. But it can't be a forced thing. There are many sports and disciplines in the summer Games where we can imagine the use of drones, like marathons or the surfing, but it has to make editorial sense."
On whether OBS could cover events outside the Olympic Games:
"We are happy to see many of the things we do trickle down to the coverage of other sports (outside of the Olympic Games). On the discussion of whether we could do other events, OBS was created for the Olympic movement. If, at some point, the wider movement and the IOC decide this is a way in which OBS could support, we would be prepared to do it."
On football games at the San Siro potentially reducing the Olympic audience:
"Firstly, I'm not happy if Real Madrid is not playing. This is the first and most important thing (laughs). Secondly, the mixture of sports and the attention they bring and so on, I would say from an entertainment perspective, is not a bad thing.
"Following the success in Paris (at the 2024 Olympic Games), we did a red carpet before the Opening Ceremony in La Scala (Teatro alla Scala) where we had not just great legends of winter sports, but Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (SWE), Stanley TUCCI (USA) and Donatella VERSACE (ITA). It was great for the Games. I don't feel that that was a bad thing.
"I understand there may be a little bit of a distraction (if Serie A is ongoing at the same time as the Games), but we need to see all sports as part of a bigger picture (to help promote the Games)."
OIS bj/am/lcm
