Buzz of the Olympics: How drone cams deliver high-pace visuals and add a new dynamic for TV viewers

Behind the Scenes: Drone Technology Revolutionizes Olympic Winter Sports Coverage

In the dramatic setting of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Martin Bochatay stands atop a tower overlooking the iconic Tofana schuss, a narrow passage between towering Dolomite rock walls. Unlike the athletes preparing to hurtle down the slopes below, Bochatay’s focus is not on a gold medal but on capturing the perfect shot.

“In my mind, I’m not flying a drone. I’m flying with the skiers,” Bochatay told The Associated Press. “It’s an immersive thing. The skiers don’t see us. But I’m right there with them. You become the drone.”

Bochatay is part of an elite team of drone pilots whose work has transformed how viewers experience the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Their remotely piloted aircraft follow athletes down slopes, tracks, and jumps, providing breathtaking perspectives previously impossible to capture with traditional camera setups.

These aerial cameras have become a staple across virtually every winter sport at the Games, from Alpine skiing and snowboarding to luge and ski jumping. The technology offers unprecedented intimacy with the athletes’ experience, revealing the true speed and technical challenges they face.

“The skill of those drone pilots is just phenomenal,” noted U.S. bobsledder and flag bearer Frank Del Duca. “It gets a really unique perspective.”

While viewers may have noticed the distinctive humming sound of the drones during broadcasts, Norwegian downhiller Kajsa Vickhoff Lie assured that it doesn’t affect competitors: “No, you just maybe hear them on the start, but you don’t hear them when you ski.”

The technology has come a long way since its inauspicious debut in Alpine skiing 11 years ago, when a primitive, much larger drone crashed and nearly struck Austrian skiing legend Marcel Hirscher during a slalom race. Today’s Olympic drones are engineering marvels—lightweight at just half a pound (250 grams), incredibly agile, and capable of accelerating beyond 100 mph (170 kph).

Safety protocols are rigorous. The drones must maintain a safe distance behind athletes and are never permitted to overtake competitors. This ensures both athlete safety and optimal camera angles.

The technology behind these flying cameras is sophisticated. Each drone carries two cameras—a high-quality broadcast camera controlled remotely by television production teams and a lower-resolution camera that feeds directly to the pilot’s goggles, allowing them to navigate.

Piloting these machines requires exceptional skill. Operators use a two-handed remote control with dual switches to manage the drone’s pitch, roll, yaw, and throttle simultaneously.

“There’s always these four,” Bochatay explained. “It’s not like you move one then the other. It’s everything at the same time.”

The operation faces practical challenges too. Battery life is limited, especially in the cold alpine environments, requiring a dedicated “pit stop crew” to quickly swap depleted batteries between athlete runs. These batteries must be kept in warming cases to maintain their efficiency in frigid temperatures.

Olympic broadcasting officials focused on two key priorities with this technology: showcasing the stunning beauty of the venues and capturing the athletes’ perspective. The International Olympic Committee has expressed delight with the results, as the footage brings viewers closer to the action than ever before—sometimes uncomfortably so.

“Looking at the screen in the downhill, I almost feel motion sickness,” admitted Pierre Ducrey, the IOC’s sports director. “That’s how much we are able to project ourselves thanks to this new way of broadcasting the sport.”

U.S. bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor shared similar sentiments: “I’m not concerned about the drone or anything like that, but I will say I was watching the luge footage the other day and I was like, ‘This is slightly nauseating.’ I don’t know if I could watch this all the way down the run.”

Despite occasional viewer vertigo, athletes appreciate how the technology showcases key aspects of their sports. As Norwegian skier Lie noted, “It’s cool to see the speed a little bit more for the spectators.”

The drone technology represents the latest evolution in sports broadcasting, offering unprecedented access to Olympic moments while highlighting both the natural beauty of the Italian Alps and the incredible athleticism on display at the Winter Games.