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The Santa Barbara radio DJ who is helping announce the Paris Olympics on international TV
Brad Jay has worked eight Olympics, and is currently part of the international broadcast team at the Paris Olympics.
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Courtesy Brad Jay
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Thousands of radio listeners know him as the evening host of a show on a Santa Barbara classic rock radio station.
But, people around the world know him for his Olympics announcing. Brad Jay is in Paris, as a part of the 2024 Olympics international broadcast team.
"This would be my eighth Olympics right now," said Jay. He's part of a broadcast team which supplies a feed to nations all over the world which don’t have a major network like NBC to produce telecasts.
"I do commentary for OBS, which is the Olympic Broadcast Service," said Jay. "What they are is the host broadcaster. OBS, they are a Spanish company out of Madrid...they put on the whole show. They send our commentary out to over 200 different countries."
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But, besides the international broadcasts, NBC will use some of his announcing. If it's an event that's not on NBC, but some of the network's cable or streaming channels, they will sometimes run the OBS feed.
Jay’s day job is hosting a regular show on Santa Barbara’s KTYD radio. He's actually doing his radio show from Paris, while he's there also working the Olympics.
Years ago, he worked as a DJ for some of L.A.’s major sports teams. including the Dodgers and the Clippers. That led him to announcing at events like the X Games, and the Olympics,
How the broadcasting works
Staff members work at the broadcast studios of the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) on August 1, 2024, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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Julien De Rosa
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
He said he’s had a front row seat to some unforgettable moments in sports history,
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At the Paris Olympics, he's announcing kayak and canoe slalom, three-on-three basketball, and BMX Freestyle.
The announcer says many people are surprised to find out about the logistics when he’s working an event. He’s actually broadcasting from a huge complex called the International Broadcast Center.
They're not at the sports venue. They have video feeds, as well as feeds of the scoring they use to do the play-by-play.
Jays says while there are a few main anchors, and field reporters at Olympic venues, most of the people you see doing the play-by-play on NBC are broadcasting from a massive studio complex in the United States.
Jay said working the Olympics has been amazing. "I get to see the world. You don't get to do it forever, so you might as well enjoy it," said Jay.
What's next: L.A. in 2028
He's excited that the Summer Games will be in Los Angeles in 2028, so he can show off Southern California to many of the friends he’s made around the world.
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He’s hoping to continue doing the games for another decade. His first Olympics was in Salt Lake City in 2002. The Games are returning there in 2034, and his goal is to return to Utah to work them before retiring.
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