This is how the JJ transforms drones. OO. Milan-Cortina 2026

After carrying out various tests in previous Olympic competitions, the drones acquire their maximum narrative and visual expression within the framework of the JJ. OO. Milan-Cortina Winter Festival 2026, an unprecedented deployment that provides live broadcasts with HD HDR signals sent in real time at more than 100 kilometers per hour.

The production team OBS wanted to structure its coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in around the concept “Movement in sport”. According to Mark Wallace, the company's content director, his goal has been to allow viewers to feel “the dynamism of winter sports, but not only through the performance of the athletes, but also through the way we capture and present it.”

Drones play a central role in this vision. In fact, they have already viralized plans monitoring of athletes in different disciplines, in which you can see pristine quality in the broadcast, with added telemetry and shots marked by visual spectacularity.

"Traditional coverage has been based on two main dimensions: fixed or semi-fixed cameras that provide stable perspectives at ground level, and cameras with cables, cranes or helicopters that offer linear and fluid tracking shots. FPV drones provide a true 'third dimension'”, they explain from OBS.

The drones of the JJ. OO. Milan-Cortina 2026

Two types of drones are being deployed at the Olympics. OO. Winter 2026. Ten units of traditional drones They provide the classic panoramic shots to provide a visual context to the broadcast, a display that is already common in all types of sports disciplines and in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.

However, the real technological disruption comes in the category of FPV drones: Fifteen units used to follow athletes at high speeds, both in open-air and indoor venues, offering an immersive perspective to spectators.

With a personalized design by the company Dutch Drone Gods, these teams have innovations such as inverted propellers, which improve aerodynamics and allow smoother turns; batteries designed for quick replacement with an autonomy of approximately two races or five minutes, and a system of COFDM transmission able to send video HD HDR in both progressive and interlaced to mobile units. Everything, encapsulated in just 243 grams and reaching a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

I CAME, I SAW, I WON 🥇

Franjo Von Allmen wins the FIRST GOLD of the Olympic Games @milanocortina26 in men's downhill in his first Olympic participation.

💢 Marco Odermatt, World Cup leader, off the podium. #MilanoCortina2026 pic.twitter.com/13fGyQqMMb

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) February 7, 2026

The Milan-Cortina disciplines with the deployment of drones

Sin cable limitations and with connectivity ensured through COFDM transmitters, FPV drones are being used in multiple disciplines. In it alpine ski, provide complete accompaniment on the slopes, capturing previously invaluable technical details in turns and route analysis, as well as real-time telemetry; in it freestyle skiing and snowboarding, allow a close shot to show in detail the height, rotation and amplitude of the jumps; in it ski jump, accompany the athlete along the starting runway until takeoff; in it biathlon, are displayed on the starting line to show the fight for starting positions, and in the sliding sports, such as Bobsleigh and Luge, demonstrate their maximum potential by reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h, entering and exiting curves to convey the sensation of speed that the participants experience.

After complex negotiations with the International Federation, the green light has also been given just a few weeks before the Games to offer plans in the test of indoor speed skating, which could open the door to the application of this type of tools in new disciplines in future editions of the Olympic Games.

Digital athletes, at the controls of FPV drones

To get the aerial shots at the Olympics. OO. Milan – Cortina Winter Festival, the drone pilots occupy a strategic location in each discipline from elevated areas. The rest is that, regardless of whether they use immersive devices to provide FPV vision, they can maintain line of sight with the athletes.

Near this position is a heated support cabin that serves as a base of operations. Equipped with a battery charging station, a spare drone, a receiver and two monitors, the configuration allows you to monitor both the signal integrity and the progress of the race in real time.

In total, the drone production teams are made up of three specialists: pilot, director and technician. Together, they coordinate flight routes, timings and technical settings, always in continuous communication with the producers of the mobile units, who will manage the different video filters to adapt to changing weather and light conditions.

A new chapter in Olympic coverage

For the OBS team, the integration of drones into the Olympic disciplines. OO. Milan-Cortina 2026 marks a before and after in sports production at all levels: “They provide unprecedented immersion in the athlete experience, they deepen the narrative vision and transform the visual experience into something more dynamic, attractive and visually captivating, drawing the public to the very core of the Games.”

Once approval has been obtained from the different federations and the relevant technical and logistical tests have been carried out, it is expected that drones will be able to play a new leading role in the JJ. OO. Los Angeles Summer 2028. The potential of this solution, whether from the perspective of improving resolutions, autonomy or even remote management, will allow us to continue developing the narrative of sports coverage, a mission that has accompanied OBS itself since its inception.