By Tom Degun

bbc_coverage_09-06-11June 9 - Television graphics for the BBC's coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games next year are set to be provided by leading media services organisation deltatre in partnership with live broadcast graphics company Mammoth.


Over the next year, deltatre and Mammoth will develop a set of innovative broadcast graphics for the BBC's television output, as well as providing operational staff, equipment and technical support for live and non-live environments throughout the Games.

Speaking of the project, Jim Irving, head of video at deltatre Media said: "There are many technological, operational and creative considerations involved with developing television graphics for live sport, particularly for an event with the magnitude and complexity of the Olympic Games.

"We want to help make this event the most compelling and interactive live sports event to date and we are ready for the challenge."

deltatre has years of experience in major sports event graphics operations across football, athletics, rugby, golf, boxing and tennis, while Mammoth graphic operators have worked on many high profile events such as the Beijing 2008 Olympics, rugby, Formula One and cycling.

The BBC holds the exclusive terrestrial rights in Britain to show Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics and has shown live coverage of every Summer Olympics since the Rome 1960 Games.

This longstanding association between the Olympic Games and the BBC will run up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

However, the BBC lost the rights to show the London 2012 Paralympics to Channel 4 in a deal worth more than £5 million ($8 million), despite having broadcast every Games since 1980 and invested several million pounds into promoting disability sport.

At the end of last year, the BBC also lost the rights to show the IAAF World Athletics Championships to Channel 4, despite the BBC having shown every World Championships since they were launched at Helsinki in 1983.

The deal gives Channel 4 exclusive rights to the IAAF World Athletics Series for the period 2011 to 2013, including the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, later this year, which will be the last major athletics event before the London 2012 Olympics.

The BBC still has the rights to show Britain's leading domestic meetings but will be unable to cover the flagship athletics event of the year in the build-up to their London 2012 Olympic coverage.

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