Salt Lake City — Biathlon, one of the most watched winter sports across Europe, with global audiences of over 24 million viewers on a typical weekend, recently completed its U.S. World Cup stop in Soldier Hollow, site of the 2002 Olympic Games. When the International Biathlon Union chose Soldier Hollow for an IBU World Cup in March 2024, it called on Utah’s Dragonfli Media as the broadcast services partner for host broadcaster Eurovision and the European Broadcast Union.

Working on behalf of Eurovision, the IBU, and the local organizing committee, Dragonfli Media oversaw production facilities and crew, facility construction, and management of the television compound. The footprint featured four production units, two uplink trucks, and six office and edit cabins. Its work included TV platform builds and cabling across a five-kilometer course. Dragonfli Media also worked closely with foreign broadcasters like ARD from Germany and six other nations that sent crews to Utah. The global production required staffing of over 55 persons per day for the seven days, more than 350
crew days total. While the production was global, 95% of the crew live and work in the state of Utah, providing a substantial economic impact.

“We were thrilled to be able to fill almost all our available positions with high quality candidates from Utah,” said Dragonfli President and company founder, Adam Comey. “More important than the savings we could pass along to our client with local labor, we proved to a very important Olympic broadcast rightsholder that there are high-quality local vendors and crew here in Utah that are very capable of delivering high-quality work for these sports and broadcasts.”

The production featured over 30 cameras, a live drone, and over 25 microphones to capture audio from the shooting range and race course. One of the big hits for European viewers was the ‘Cabin Cam,’ a shot that caught biathletes passing a 75-year-old hunter’s cabin at the top of the course. In Germany alone, more than 7 million people tuned in to watch the Saturday races highlighted by record viewership for the Women’s Team Race. Viewership across both Men’s and Women’s races was the #1 most watched sports programming in Germany that included a Bundesliga match.

“Dragonfli was a great Partner on this event and at every step of the way delivered excellent solutions all at budget,” said Calum Clark, COO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation and head of the Local Organizing Committee at Soldier Hollow. “To have this work performed by almost all local Utah residents and Dragonfli’s ability to deliver that crew gives us great confidence in continuing to program events leading up to what we hope will be a 2034 Games.”

Dragonfli Media’s work in partnership with an international sport federation and a globally recognized broadcaster and Olympic rightsholder showcased what Utah can offer ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2034.

For further inquiries, please contact Dragonfli Media at [email protected].

About Dragonfli Media:
Dragonfli Media Technologies is a modern-day marketing, media, and event production agency connecting brands to consumers through storytelling. For over 20 years, we have demonstrated our production capabilities, executing seemingly impossible events, engaging activations, and bold campaigns. We bridge the divide between brand storytelling and digital media solutions. Based in Utah, our company operates out of offices, studios, and warehouses in Salt Lake and Murray.

Learn more at dragonflimedia.com