Building on the multi-platform success of the Beijing coverage, this time there will be even more available 鈥� offering viewers almost virtually unlimited choice on all platforms.

鈥淚t鈥檚 serving audiences in a way we鈥檝e never been able to do before,鈥� explains Dave Gordon, 大象传媒 Sport鈥檚 Head of Major Events and the Corporation鈥檚鈥淢r Olympics鈥� 鈥� this being the 10th summer Games he will have worked on. 鈥淔rom even more extensive coverage on TV, radio and online to mobile phones and tablets, there鈥檒l be unlimited content available.

鈥淭he technology is now in place to offer the ultimate choice for our viewers and there will be times when we鈥檒l have up to 24 screens of sport,鈥� he continues. 鈥淲e鈥檙e

delivering 2,500 hours of unique sport which we鈥檙e streaming on the web and through other platforms, and that鈥檚 not to mention our 大象传媒 One and 大象传媒 Three output, our red button output, our HD output 鈥� and that鈥檚 just on TV! Then we have the three radio stations, and our web offering isn鈥檛 just the sport we鈥檙e streaming: there鈥檒l be features, stats and profiles to support what we鈥檙e doing, audio and video offering, sports news coverage; we鈥檙e more joined up than we鈥檝e ever been. Multi-platform means we can share this content and get the maximum value out of it. It鈥檚 very exciting.鈥�

Dave admits that he personally has been excited by this Games ever since the announcement of the award to London back in 2005.

鈥淚 was out in Singapore and the euphoria of it was just terrific. When I got home I said to my wife it was the best day of my life 鈥� and then had to furiously backtrack when she reminded me of our wedding day and the birth of our two children! But from my personal point of view I knew it would be my last Olympics for the 大象传媒 so what a way to finish.

鈥淚 get excited too by seeing the Olympic Park grow. Us journalists are terribly bad at telling good news stories but the way they have built the park and restored the whole area around Stratford is a huge British success story that goes beyond sport, so I take a pride in that.鈥�

And the 大象传媒 can contribute to that success, he says. 鈥淚 want this to be a real landmark in British broadcasting history. I鈥檓 sure it will be and I think we can play our part in making it so. The scale of what we鈥檙e doing is enormous, and hugely exciting, not just in sport but across all genres. The breadth of the offer for our audience is just fabulous. We鈥檙e trying to pull something off that we鈥檝e never done before 鈥� I wouldn鈥檛 say it鈥檚 terrifying but at times we鈥檙e daunted by ambition, and you do feel the added responsibility and the ownership of it, being in London.鈥�

Part of the responsibility is for the 大象传媒 to play its part in the sporting legacy of the Games.

鈥淯K Sport and the Government, for example, are looking to us because we are effectively bringing the Games to people and they understand that a lot of people get inspired by watching stars compete in major events, winning medals 鈥� that spurs them to take up the sport. We鈥檙e going to do a lot of complementary feature stuff on the web, so you鈥檒l be able to find out the nuances of the rules, how the competition works, how to take up the sport if you want to 鈥� we鈥檒l provide those links. We鈥檝e worked closely with the organising committee to play our part in developing the sporting legacy.鈥�

And for the first time there鈥檚 not a sport at the Games that will be underserved as 鈥� though it鈥檚 not feasible to bring all the action from preliminaries in every case 鈥� today鈥檚 technology enables so much more to be available.

鈥淧eople will be able to watch the conclusion of the fencing competitions, finals of all the shooting, the wrestling 鈥� some of the sports that have not received as much coverage previously as they鈥檙e not so embedded in the British public psyche,鈥� explains Dave. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 the perfect opportunity for aficionados of a sport to celebrate the competition at the Olympics and for other people to get their first experiences of some of these sports.鈥�

Though there鈥檒l be such a wealth of action available, it鈥檚 important that not too many big events clash. 鈥淥ne of my nightmare scenarios would be to have two British gold medals taking place at the same time,鈥� Dave says. And it鈥檚 also important to present the best of all that great sport conveniently for the audience. 鈥淣o matter how much you stream you鈥檝e got to tell all the stories of the Olympics somewhere in an easily digestible fashion,鈥� says Dave. 鈥淥ne of my labours of love is to shape it into something that鈥檚 going to make a great broadcast experience.鈥�

He鈥檚 hoping that his own personal Games legacy will be to provide that once again before he bows out 鈥� though not without a wistful look ahead to 2016. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to be in Rio 鈥� my interest in the Olympics doesn鈥檛 end when I leave the 大象传媒, it鈥檚 a lifelong passion. I鈥檝e been very lucky, I鈥檝e been to places I could never have dreamed of and met so many people.鈥�

His own favourite Games include Sydney and a favourite moment was watching Linford Christie win gold in Barcelona 鈥� although somewhat bittersweet as he was away for his daughter鈥檚 ninth birthday. And he admits that if Team GB does well it helps no end in creating a great experience for the viewers.

鈥淚n Beijing we had a succession of medallists into our studio, which was fantastic,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e always trying to do with our coverage 鈥� take our audiences to the heart of the Games, whether it鈥檚 5 live tapping into the national mood or taking them to the heart of the action on TV so they can sit in their living rooms and get the best Olympic experience possible. We want to give them the ultimate audience experience of the games.

鈥淭his is the sort of event the 大象传媒 was made for really and I want people to say at the end of a Games, 鈥榙idn鈥檛 the 大象传媒 do us proud鈥� 鈥� and anything short of that is failure as far as I鈥檓 concerned.鈥�