Beijing Olympics expect to attract four billion TV viewers

Updated：2007-06-13 From：Xinhuanet

SHANGHAI, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are expected to attract four billion viewers of TV relay around the globe, a top Olympics TV relay official has said.

"The figure will be one billion more than that of the 2004 Athens Olympics, and I believe we can achieve that goal," Ma Guoli, Chief Operation Officer of Beijing Olympics Dissemination Corporation Ltd., told a forum at an on-going TV festival in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Ma said that the company will use about 65 High Definition relay vehicles and 1,000 video cameras, build a broadcasting center with an area of up to 80,000 square meters, and produce live TV signals of 3,800 hours in 2008.

The company has signed contracts with 45 TV producers and more than 50 equipment suppliers from across the world, Ma said.

"High Definition signals will be used for TV relays for all 28 Olympics events," he said.

The company has 180 staff members for now, and one third of them are from 15 other countries and regions, according to Ma.

"By 2008, the number will increase to 4,000 and half of them will be from all over the world," he said.