LAUSANNE, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday that Manolo Romero, the founder of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), was "a legend and pioneer" in sports broadcasting field after learning the death of the Spaniard.
Manolo Romero, who was the CEO of OBS from 2001-2012, passed away on December 24 at the age of 81.
OBS operates all television, digital and radio coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The IOC said Romero "revolutionised the way large sporting events are delivered to the world and created the model upon which all future host broadcast organisations would be built."
"As the founder of Olympic Broadcasting Services, the host broadcaster for the Games, Manolo was a legend and pioneer in the sports broadcasting industry and respected worldwide for his vision, technological expertise and overall passion for the Olympic Movement. His legacy on the broadcast coverage of the Games will endure not only in the state-of-the-art techniques and broadcast innovations he introduced, but also through the thousands of broadcast professionals whom he mentored and influenced over his more than 50 years in the industry," said IOC President Thomas Bach, according to a news release from IOC.
Romero was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. ■
