By David Ureña Gómez, Head of Customer Success – North America
The Winter Games are among the most watched sporting events in the world. Being part of this production was a tremendous milestone—not only because of the scale of the event, but also because of the partner. NBC Sports selected Appear to provide the X Platform for its coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Personally, serving as Appear’s lead in Italy, working alongside NBC Sports, was an exceptional and highly rewarding experience.
I joined Appear in February 2022 as a Technical Specialist Engineer, based at our headquarters in Oslo, Norway. In September 2024, I moved to the United States to take on a new challenge—leading the post-sales function as Head of Customer Success. This project marked my first major assignment in my new role, after my relocation to the U.S., making it a particularly significant milestone in my professional journey.
NBC Sports selected Livigno as the location for Appear’s on-site support presence. While I was based there, Appear’s core infrastructure was distributed across multiple venues throughout Italy, supporting SDI, ST 2110, and satellite deployments. My responsibility extended beyond the Livigno installation to overseeing and supporting all X20 platforms deployed across the various venues, including the on-site operations in Stamford.
Teamwork and cross-organizational coordination were key to the success of the Games. Establishing strong connections with the Technical Managers and engineering teams at each venue, along with having access to NBC Sports’ systems, enabled fast and effective communication whenever support was required. The operational workflow connected all Italian venues for live contribution with Stamford, Connecticut, where distribution was based. My daily routine focused on ensuring a seamless live production chain—from contribution through distribution—and coordinating escalation, when needed, with the Technical Managers and a dedicated support team in Stamford. This included close collaboration with key team members Chris Parker, Sarah Boes, and Sanjay Sharma, whose expertise and significant operational responsibility were critical to the success of the overall workflow.
Challenges were present every single day. Being on site required a full understanding of the end-to-end workflow, continuous communication with multiple departments and third-party stakeholders, and rapid integration into a completely new team. Most importantly, it demanded constant readiness to take immediate action whenever and wherever it was needed, whether in Italy or in Stamford.
Success would not have been possible without NBC Sports’ professionalism, reliability, and the strength of the team they assembled. I genuinely consider NBC Sports to be one of the easiest and most efficient organizations to work with. That spirit of partnership makes a significant difference, particularly during events of this magnitude.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the NBC Sports team for the Milano Cortina Winter Games, and I hope to have the chance to work closely with them on site again in the future.