Fifteen of the 34 television and radio production teams for the Beijing Olympics will be Chinese, Yiannis Exarchos, senior executive officer of the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting Co Ltd (BOB), said on Wednesday.

BOB, the official broadcaster for the Olympics, will provide International Television and Radio (ITVR) signals for broadcasters across the world. It is a joint venture with the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) and the Olympic Broadcasting Services.

The figure is a dramatic increase - there was only one Australian team for the 2000 Sydney Games and three Greek teams for the 2004 Athens Games.

There will be about 5,400 people working for BOB during the Games and more than half will be Chinese, Exarchos said.

"This is a very impressive generation of young professionals. One of the most positive experiences we have had here so far is working with our young Chinese colleagues," he said.

The Chinese teams will produce signals for such events as football, badminton, table tennis, tennis and basketball. Members of the teams are mainly from CCTV, and a few other local TV stations.

During the Athens Games some Chinese TV staff produced signals for table tennis, badminton and the modern pentathlon, which impressed Exarchos.

"We were very impressed with the quality of work they did in Athens. I think the table tennis coverage set a new standard in Athens because of them," he said.

"I consider them as world-class professionals and I would like to see more of them participating (in broadcasting) in future Olympic Games."

Exarchos said Beijing will establish new a milestone in Olympic Games' broadcasting. They will be shown in high definition TV and all events and ceremonies will be in 5.1 surround sound.

BOB will also provide signals for the new media, such as the Internet and mobile phones, for the first time.

During the 17-day Games, BOB will produce about 5,400 hours of programs. In Athens it was 3,400.

"We have strong expectations that viewers of the Beijing Games will surpass that of Athens, with about 4 billion people watching," Exarchos said.

"In Athens, it was 3.9 billion. We are very confident that Beijing will surpass that figure. Interest in the Games worldwide has increased," he said.

Exarchos was vice-president and director general of Athens Olympic Broadcasting, the host broadcaster for the 2004 Games.

(China Daily June 27, 2008)