The opening ceremony of the Olympics was watched by a quarter of the world's population. The ratings were boosted, of course, by the fact that the games' host nation, China, the most populous country in the world, had almost all of its citizens watching. Accordingly, it is hardly surprising that worldwide ratings for the four-hour opening ceremony reached historical highs.
The number of people viewing the Olympics is of major interest to media companies, especially in the television sector, because that number largely determines the advertising revenues that the games will generate. Marketing research firms contend that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was viewed by more than 60% of the Chinese population.
The various media are very powerful tools that can easily transform a society. Various research firms contend that hosting the Olympic Games inevitably has the effect of increasing the host country's television advertisements. It is estimated, for example, that the advertising revenue for China, even after the Olympic Games are over, will increase to such a point that the nation will occupy the number two slot in worldwide television advertisement revenues. Live coverage is a particularly major revenue generator for television stations.
Job Opportunities in Television
To successfully beam the Olympics live on television, television stations normally recruit additional staff. This additional staff is recruited to complement the already existing staff. Television companies are, of course, business organizations that are profit-driven. The high ratings bring in additional revenue in the form of advertisements as well as licensing fees.
Live coverage of the Olympics not only brings a boom in business to television stations but to the media industry as a whole. The additional staff recruited for the coverage includes news anchors, journalists, technicians, and producers. These professionals are normally paid high amounts of money because more often that not they are hired from private television consultancy firms.
Motion picture camera operators are essential to television stations at this point in time. They are normally involved in the production of quality videos. The videos they are required to produce are for various adverts. Since advertisements form the backbone of total revenues earned, the videos produced must be of high quality. Other than quality, they should be very entertaining and drive the message home.
Marathon Programs
The Olympics generally force television stations to increase the hours of Olympics-related television material. Besides the games themselves, the world would like to know more about the host country. And so, feature correspondents and analysts are required by media organizations to bring that side of the story.
Overview
Generally, the Olympics create many job opportunities in the television industry, even though most are short-term and end immediately when the Olympics are over. They provide an avenue for television professionals to sharpen their skills as well as build on their experience for the future.
The jobs involved in the television industry during the Olympics include producers, executive producers, continuity presenters, video camera operators, electrical and electronics engineers, telecommunication engineers, graphic designers, editors, and media research assistants.
The fact that most companies do not employ additional staff on a permanent basis makes it easy to relieve them of their duties when the Olympic Games come to a close. However, it is during such hectic times as covering the games that new talent is normally discovered. Some people are initially employed on a short-term basis, but then manage to outshine those with permanent employment. Most media organizations then provide permanent employment opportunities for such talented short-term individuals.
It is not normally easy for a media organization to get organized for live coverage of the Olympic Games. Television stations normally spend several months preparing for the event. A media operation is very sensitive, and even a slight mistake made during this famous event could send your ratings tumbling. Everything has to be functioning almost to perfection.
