Chinese tech firms are using AI to showcase innovative broadcasting at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. As American figure skater Ilia Malinin performed a quad jump, viewers saw a novel replay with orbiting frames. This reflects a push for global expansion amid domestic competition.
At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Chinese tech firms are using artificial intelligence to showcase their capabilities to a global audience. As American figure skater Ilia Malinin launched into a quad—a jump with four airborne revolutions—this month, millions of television viewers saw something brand new: a replay of the jump separated into frames that appeared to orbit the athlete.
Backed by Chinese AI firms, this also reflects a broader push for overseas expansion amid increasingly fierce competition in China. The real-time 360-degree replay tools, combined with stroboscopic motion analysis, are supported by Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s cloud AI systems, which have featured at multiple recent Games. Alibaba, a worldwide Olympic partner, is the owner of the South China Morning Post.
Besides helping viewers gain a better understanding of an athlete’s performance, AI-enabled camera technology has allowed broadcasters to focus on specific competitors, delivering tailored live coverage alongside split-screen views and up-to-the-second data in sports like biathlon—which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting—according to the International Olympic Committee.
“For us, it’s not sufficient to produce very high-quality coverage just for dedicated sports fans,” said Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos at a news conference on February 11. “We have a very short period of time to make the sports understandable and attractive. We need to get people engaged.”
