NEW YORK—As more live events move to streaming and streaming platforms work to boost their ad revenue, the digital advertising tech standards-setting body, IAB Tech Lab has released its Live Event Ad Playbook.

The proposed standards in the release were developed by IAB Tech Lab Working Groups in collaboration with Amazon, NBCUniversal, FreeWheel, and Index Exchange as part of their efforts to improve ad delivery for live streaming events. The proposed standards include the new Concurrent Streams API specification aimed at simplifying the monetization of live streaming events.

“Streaming is now the dominant form of television viewership in the U.S., and the rest of the world is rapidly following suit. Live events — whether sports, news, or cultural moments — are increasingly broadcast via streaming platforms,” said Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab. “Delivering a seamless live stream at scale is already a technical challenge. Seamlessly inserting ads during those peak moments of concurrency is even harder. The Live Event Ad Playbook and our new Concurrent Streams API are purpose-built to help the industry meet this moment — ensuring advertisers can act on high-impact opportunities without sacrificing the viewer experience.”

In releasing the Live Event Ad Playbook, the IAB noted that streaming services are expected to spend more than $11 billion on sports rights alone this year. Marquee sporting events like Super Bowl LX and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have driven mass viewership, demonstrating the power of live sports for advertisers looking to reach audiences at scale.

As more streaming services buy sports rights, IAB Tech Lab members felt there was a growing need for new standards and best practices. To address that issue, it formed the Live Event Ad Serving Working Group, which includes industry leaders Amazon, FreeWheel, Index Exchange, and NBCUniversal. The group is focused on leveraging its own learnings and best practices to create a more transparent supply chain for the live streaming ecosystem. The proposed standards aim to equip advertisers and streaming services with the tools needed to support live events with reliable and scalable ad delivery, the IAB Tech Lab explained.

To help the industry address live streaming challenges, the group has proposed the Concurrent Streams API, which provides real-time insights into how many viewers are watching a live stream. This allows publishers—either independently or through their SSAI partners—to send live viewership data to ad systems, enabling faster ad decisions and reducing the risk of missed ad breaks. For advertisers, this means better handling of traffic spikes and the ability to adjust campaigns in real time to capture high-value moments.

Several companies involved in the effort applauded the result.

“Between over a billion impressions during the 2024 NFL Playoff, and a 90% increase in advertiser participation in the 2024 Olympics, there's a very clear, booming demand for live sports,” said Mark McKee, general manager at FreeWheel, which is owned by Comcast. “By partnering with IAB Tech Lab, Amazon, NBCUniversal, and Index Exchange, we’re making it easier for advertisers to tap into these high-impact moments with scalable, seamless, and low-latency ad experiences.”

"Live streaming events represent a unique opportunity for advertisers. The premium nature of these environments requires thoughtful technical infrastructure that can adapt in real-time,” said Neal Richter, director, Amazon DSP. “By establishing common protocols and APIs, we're collectively moving toward a more reliable set of standards that benefits viewers, content creators, and brands.”

Another proposal on the horizon is an API that will provide projected viewership estimates for upcoming events over a rolling 2–3-week window, helping publishers prepare for traffic surges and enabling advertisers to fine-tune their budgets, deals, and delivery strategies, the Lab reported.

“NBCUniversal has been a leader in live streaming for several years, paving the way for advertisers to reap the benefits of tentpole live event programming across news, sports, and entertainment,” said Ryan McConville, executive vice president chief product officer, advertising platforms and operations, NBCUniversal. “With our extensive work in live event advertising, we have unique insight and expertise, and believe that the industry at large will benefit from the standards the IAB has put forward.

“The high degree of concurrency and unpredictability in live TV streams is both a challenge and a tremendous opportunity for the programmatic ecosystem,” said Catherine Cho, lead product manager, Index Exchange. “The goal of this effort is to tame the chaos with standards and make every streaming impression opportunity biddable and addressable by buyers.”

IAB Tech Lab said that all stakeholders including publishers, advertisers, developers, and technology partners can review the proposed guidelines at https://iabtechlab.com/standards/leap/

Netflix signaled its willingness this week to make a notable expansion of its live streaming efforts with a surprise deal to stream the large French commercial broadcaster TF1 in France.

While Netflix has been expanding its offerings of live sports and events, the deal for to offer a live feed of TF1 marks the first time Netflix has committed to a 24/7 live feed, LightShed Partners analysts’ Richard Greenfield, Brandon Ross and Mark Kelley explained in a note to investors.

“Consider TF1 a French experiment,” they wrote. “We’ll learn for the first time if a meaningful number of consumers want to watch live TV beyond sports and news on streaming.”

TF1 won’t launch until the summer of 2026, they stress, adding that investors should not “expect TF1 to be a template for other markets anytime soon. If it does work for Netflix, it would likely be replicated in international markets” but not the U.S.

“France (and other European countries) is also quite different than the U.S. broadcast TV market, as there are no affiliate TV stations,” they said. “TF1 is a singular TV station that operates throughout France. Netflix’s TF1 deal cannot be replicated in the U.S., where Netflix would need agreements with all of a broadcast network’s local station groups to incorporate local programming such as news and sports. That would be torture and hard to imagine ever happening.”

That said, they think the launch could be a win for both parties. “TF1’s scale in France is akin to aggregating ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC together [and] TF1 dwarfs everyone else on linear TV in France,” they argue. “Given that TF1 and TF1+ are free to all consumers in France, and the fact that Netflix will help meaningfully drive viewership of TF1 linear and on-demand programming in France, boosting ad sales, we suspect the cost of the deal is quite reasonable. There is also a meaningful brand benefit to TF1 being associated with Netflix that likely helps them acquire content in the future. … Since France is one of Netflix’s 12 ad tier markets, they likely want to use TF1 to further accelerate overall ad sales.”

Since the mass adoption of streaming platforms, cable has taken a back seat with one exception: live events. For decades, we’ve associated live events with linear cable. We’re used to seeing major league sports games, award ceremonies and reality competition shows broadcast live on cable networks. Cable providers rely heavily on the revenue generated from live events like sports; in 2022, live sports events comprised 94 of the top 100 most-watched cable telecasts. 

In an era of streaming increasingly reliant on advertising revenue, however, live events are taking over the OTT landscape. Netflix recently announced a live golf event with Formula 1 drivers and PGA tour pros; Max has launched a live sports tier to its platform housing coverage of the NBA, NHL, MLB, and more; Hulu’s OTT TV+ offering is now home to the Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys—the list goes on. 

Essentially, streamers are taking the best of the traditional TV model, where big moments bring in big audiences and a sense of cultural relevance, and applying it to OTT. The technological abilities of streaming enable content owners and rights holders to better engage and retain users while generating promising revenue for the brand. Below are four opportunities that live events provide for businesses and users alike.  

Advertising Revenue
In a business landscape where many streamers are reporting higher average revenue per user in their ad-supported tiers than their standard subscription tiers, ad impressions have become a more vital metric for success than subscriber numbers. Scheduled live events promote appointment viewership, which brings large audiences to the same place at the same time. This, in turn, provides a lucrative opportunity from an advertising and sponsorship perspective. Tentpole events like the Super Bowl, which generate roughly $500 million in ad revenue in a single evening, prove this point. 

This dual revenue stream (subscription fee + advertising revenue) imitates the long-successful business model of legacy TV, wherein income was tied directly to consumption. As streamers inch their way towards profitability in an aggressive market, live events both large and niche will prove valuable from an advertising perspective. 

Pay-Per-View Events
Beyond ads and subscriptions, pay-per-view (PPV) is another effective avenue to monetize content. Live PPV programming can be leveraged across industries; examples include WWE’s WrestleMania, esports tournaments like the League of Legends World Championship, or Amazon Prime Video’s single-purchase comedy specials. 

PPV provides a simpler, more predictable revenue model wherein content owners have the flexibility to price content according to its value. PPV offers the potential for significant revenue generation: in 2015, the highly anticipated Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight raked in 4.6 million PPV purchases and $410 million in revenue, making it the highest grossing PPV fight of all time.

Live E-Commerce
Livestream shopping has established itself as a successful model in countries like China, where live commerce accounts for 19% of all online retail sales. Although the U.S. market hasn’t reached 

Livestream shopping generates conversion rates up to 10x higher than that of traditional e-commerce, with the U.S. seeing an average conversion rate of 33%, and 40 to 54% of frequent live commerce users reporting they typically make a purchase during the live stream itself. These shopping events, most popular in the fashion and beauty sector, often take the form of runway shows, influencer or celebrity try-on hauls, or sit-downs with designers as they explain the inspiration behind their collections. 

With interactive capabilities like Q&As or live chats, livestream shopping is a great way for brands to not only generate revenue, but build hype, engage viewers, and nurture a relationship with the consumer. 

Live commerce can also be built into live events whose main purpose isn’t the shopping itself. During a livestreamed concert, for example, users could purchase the artists’ album or merch. And in sports, a fan could be prompted with an in-stream pop-up allowing them to purchase a jersey of the player who just scored. 

Interactive Community Features
One goal of streaming destinations today is to bring the user closer to whatever they’re watching, be it a game, a comedy show, or a fitness class. For users, real-time interaction—with one another, performers, merchandise, and more—is a large factor in feeling immersed in the experience. Live e-commerce is just one of the many interactive capabilities afforded by digital delivery models. On top of live shopping and Q&As, streaming platforms can also explore features like community chats, real-time analytics dashboards, and the ability for users to “react” with likes and dislikes. 

The metaverse provides a great example of what the future of interactive, immersive live events could look like: Ariana Grande’s virtual, in-game concert hosted on Fortnite, which amassed 78 million attendees, included a merchandise store and mini-games for users to interact with throughout.

The Bottom Line
By blending the best of traditional television with the interactive capabilities of the digital world, streaming platforms are redefining how businesses engage with their audiences. The multi-faceted live event approach, encompassing advertising revenue, Pay-Per-View models, e-commerce, and interactive community features, not only generates substantial income but also fosters a sense of real-time connection and engagement for users. 

As the streaming landscape continues to evolve, live events will reshape the future of digital entertainment, creating immersive, interactive experiences that captivate audiences worldwide.

NEVADA CITY, Calif.—Telestream has unveiled a virtual assistant in the latest release of Wirecast (version 16.0), its software-based live video streaming and production solution. 

Leveraging generative AI, the virtual assistant delivers real-time feature walkthroughs, technical advice and tailored troubleshooting in multiple languages, providing quick answers so creators can continue their work uninterrupted, the company said.

“We’re really excited about the new AI element of Wirecast and the rapid responses it offers users. Questions take seconds to answer, and we believe that Wirecast customers will enjoy the personalized approach of the new virtual assistant service,” said Telestream CTO Simon Clarke. 

“This is just the beginning for Telestream. We see countless opportunities for AI and machine learning across our entire portfolio. This is where the industry is headed, and we are thrilled to make this technology available to our customers.”

The latest release offers other new features, including custom Look-Up Tables (LUTs), video filters, shot editing, locking layers and Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) source and output features, the company said.

A variety of pricing plans are available, including a monthly Wirecast Studio subscription for $35; an annual subscription for $299; a monthly Wirecast Pro subscription for $46 and an annual subscription for $399.

More information is available on the Wirecast and Telestream websites. 

LOS ANGELES—MetaMedia, which specializes in delivering movies, premium content and live events to cinemas and other venues, has announced that it has been selected the exclusive live streaming provider for Theater Sports Network, which has a theatrical distribution agreement with ESPN to livestream regular season Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) college football and major New Year's Bowl games into U.S. cinemas.

The ESPN and Theater Sports Network agreement covers the New Year's Six Bowl games including the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, the Capital One Orange Bowl, the CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game, and the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T. In all, the agreement includes approximately 75 games during the 2023-24 college football season.

"We believe that Theater Sports Network has identified an unmet demand for families and fans to view live sports on massive movie theater screens and are thrilled to be selected as their livestreaming partner," said Jason Brenek, CEO of MetaMedia. 

ACC games that air on ESPN platforms are available for Theater Sports Network distribution in the away team markets– or in both home and away markets for neutral site games. The cost of attendance to watch the games will be determined by participating local theaters.

"We believe movie theaters are the next great frontier for live sporting events, and we are elated with this unprecedented agreement with ESPN," explained Scott Daw, president and COO of Theater Sports Network. “We look forward to bringing these games to ACC football fans. We believe that theaters have the ability to generate excitement around live sporting events. These events will replicate the feel of a football stadium experience as fans gather and fill theaters to watch the games on the big screen. As we move forward, we hope to add games from additional college football conferences as well as other live sporting events."

For more information and a schedule of games in specific areas, fans can visit theatersportsnetwork.com.

MetaMedia bills itself as the world's first global, cloud-based entertainment delivery platform for cinemas, drive-ins, and other out-of-home venues. Currently connected to more than 5000 screens across the US and Canada in all the top 50 cities, MetaMedia seeks to expand and redefine the cinemagoing experience. 

VIENNA—Bitmovin will provide playback health analytics to complement the existing analytics offered as part of Amazon Interactive Video Services (IVS), Amazon’s managed live streaming AWS solution that makes it easy to build live streams and interactive video experiences, the company said.

The Bitmovin Analytics helps to optimize playback health and support data-driven decision making for content and ad strategies. They supplement Amazon IVS’ stream health analytics with playback health to bring a deeper understanding of each viewer’s streaming experience, the company said.

Bitmovin Analytics fully monitors the health of video streams in near real-time, including key performance metrics, such as video start time, average bitrate, view time, buffering and top errors, it said.

“Amazon IVS is powering live interactive video experiences for use cases that span social media influencers to retail, household consumer brands and public institutions, and so it’s a huge honor to add to the service's existing metrics with the announcement of Bitmovin Analytics,” said Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder of Bitmovin. “Bitmovin Analytics with Amazon IVS is a robust solution, providing deeper session analytics that can pinpoint playback issues and provide actionable insights to resolve them to ensure IVS-powered streaming services are delivering exceptional viewer experiences to their audiences.”

Bitmovin Analytics complements Amazon IVS to provide a complete understanding of audience preferences and viewing habits with insights into audience retention, geographical distribution and device utilization to inform decision-making on investment into new content and the prioritization of what’s popular with audiences, the company said.

Bitmovin’s Analytics delivers near real-time operational monitoring to optimize video and ad workflows based on viewer experiences across all platforms. Bitmovin Analytics also offers benchmarks across different performance metrics to gain industry insights, it said.

More information is available on Bitmovin’s website.

WALTHAM, Mass.—Zixi has released Zixi Edge Compute (ZEC), a high-performance managed live video edge streaming system that unlocks the full benefits of the company’s Software-Defined Video Platform, Zixi said.

Designed to meet the rapidly evolving needs of live video distribution and supporting diverse delivery workflows with higher performance and greater uptime, ZEC is installed on-premise as a Zixi endpoint, replacing legacy Zixi Feeder and Zixi Receiver software, it said.

“The release of ZEC provides our worldwide, market leading customers and partners the ability to deliver cutting edge, broadcast-quality live video deployments and new business models at reduced cost,” said Zixi vice president of products Tim Baldwin.

Installed on infrastructure at the network edge, ZEC facilitates a high-performance connection to Zixi Broadcaster, managing connections in and out. With ZEC, all sources and target destinations are connected with the Zixi Protocol, continuously and dynamically optimizing video delivery to achieve ultra-low latency, reliability and security. ZEC connects any industry edge device with dedicated monitoring and mission critical reliability, the company said.

ZEC software offers a robust feature set and can be configured to function as a Zixi Feeder for contribution, as a Zixi Receiver for distribution or as both a Feeder and Receiver. Additional local protocol support is available for workflows where HLS, RTMP, RTSP and other protocols are used to contribute from the local network over the public internet to the cloud, it said.

The new system can ingest streams on the local network and use the Zixi protocol to contribute to the cloud. Similarly, if another protocol is needed on the receive side, ZEC allows use of the Zixi protocol to pull the stream down from the cloud, saving on egress cost. It then can make the stream available in another protocol on the local network.

ZEC also provides protocol diversity along with richer API options for interoperable integrations and advanced telemetry and analytics with Zixi ZEN Master. ZEC licensing can be upgraded to enable fixed or temporary provisioning for additional normalization and curation with the SDVP Broadcaster platform. Programmatic REST APIs allow for schedulable cloud infrastructure provisioning, and ZEC provides agility to be commercially upgraded to a fully functional SDVP, the company said.

It allows Zixi Broadcaster to serve as an IPTV/OTT packager, offering transmuxing to HLS, LL DASH and RTMP to the user’s CDN origins for distribution. ZEC also future proofs any need for SCTE to out-cues and vice versa with any of the mentioned protocols, the company said. 

More information is available on the company’s website.

WEST CHESTER, Pa.—Qurate Retail Group's OVC and HSN services have reached an agreement with Vizio to launch their free, interactive streaming shopping service on Vizio smart TVs. The launch marks the first livestream shopping app to become available on Vizio.

The QVC+ and HSN+ streaming experience combines QVC's and HSN's five linear broadcast channels  (QVC, QVC2, QVC3, HSN and HSN2), offering 50+ hours a day of live vCommerce content, with three digital-only linear channels (In the Kitchen, Fashion Finds and Outdoor Escape) and approximately 200+ original, streaming-only show episodes.

"QVC+ and HSN+ brings our most comprehensive livestream shopping experience to Vizio Smart TV users," said David Apostolico, senior vice president of platform strategy, development and distribution, vCommerce ventures at Qurate Retail Group. "We already have many fans enjoying QVC and HSN on Vizio WatchFree+. Now, Vizio users can access our live, on-demand and streaming-only content all together in one place, making it even easier to discover and shop the products they love."

This launch is part of Qurate Retail Group's strategic effort to expand its vCommerce experiences across new media and digital platforms. The QVC+ and HSN+ streaming experience is currently available to more than 100 million internet-connected homes across the U.S. 

QVC and HSN reach more than 200 million homes globally via 14 linear TV channels, which are widely available on cable/satellite TV, free over-the-air TV, and digital live streaming TV. QVC and HSN also reach millions of homes via websites, mobile apps and social pages.

"We believe that shopping is an integral part of our daily lives, and we are committed to bringing convenience and innovation to Vizio Smart TVs," said Chris Tanquary, senior director of business development at Vizio. "With the addition of the QVC+ and HSN+ shopping app, Vizio users will have seamless access to a world of curated products and shopping experiences in both live and on-demand formats."

As part of the launch agreement, the QVC+ and HSN+ streaming app will have a featured placement on the home page for the first three months following the launch. 

POZNAN, Poland—OTT solutions provider Insys Video Technologies and video stream infrastructure provider BitMovin have partnered to provide an all-in-one solution to stream live content and secure videos with Cloud DRM by integrating Cloud Video Kit and the Bitmovin Player, the companies said this week.

Insys Video Technologies’ Cloud Video Kit makes it easy to prepare video for streaming as well as transcodes video to VOD formats with quick, scalable deployments thanks to Cloud DRM. The Bitmovin Player and Analytics are now integrated with the kit. The integration gives users access to a multifunctional and simple all-in-one tool. Pre-integrating the Cloud Video Kit with the Bitmovin Player adds video playback and ad support, they said.

“Together, Bitmovin and Insys Video Technologies will provide customers with a powerful, all-in-one solution that minimizes complexity, ensuring they can deliver superior viewing experiences to audiences worldwide. We’re incredibly proud to be collaborating with Insys Video Technologies and continue raising the standard of video streaming with innovation-led partnerships,” said David Rushton, Director, EMEA Channel at Bitmovin.

The first collaborative project was the implementation of Bitmovin Player and Analytics integrated with Cloud DRM for the Austrian public broadcaster – ORF 

“The partnership with Bitmovin is an opportunity for Insys Video Technologies to tap into new markets,” said Insys Video Technologies co-CEO Piotr Czekala. “The integration of our video streaming and transcoding product, Cloud Video Kit, with Bitmovin Player creates a solution for customers to easily prepare their video content for streaming and secure their video content with Cloud DRM, all in one easy-to-use panel.”

More information is available on the Insys Video Technologies and Bitmovin websites.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—AMD has unveiled the AMD Alveo MA35D media accelerator with two 5nm ASIC-based video processing units (VPUs) supporting the AV1 compression standard and will show the card at the NAB Show, April 15-19, in Las Vegas.

Purpose-built to power live interactive streaming services at scale, the new media accelerator is designed for low-latency, high-volume interactive streaming applications, such as watch parties, live shopping, online auctions and social streaming, the company said.

Delivering up to 32x 1080p60 streams per card—four times higher than its Alveo U30 predecessor, the Alveo MA35D enables high channel density while maintaining power-efficient operation and delivering ultra-low latency performance. Compared to the Alveo 30, the new media accelerator delivers 4x max lower latency in 4K and 1.8x greater compression efficiency while achieving the same Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion (VMAF) score, it said.

“We developed the Alveo MA35D with an ASIC architecture tailored to meet the bespoke needs of these providers to reduce both capital and operating expenses for delivering immersive experiences to their users and content creators at scale,” said Dan Gibbons, general manager of AECG Data Center Group at AMD.

Based on purpose-built VPUs that perform all video processing functions to accelerate the video pipeline, the Alveo MA350 minimizes data movement between the CPU and the accelerator. This architecture also reduces latency and maximizes channel density, enabling up to 32x 1080p60, 8x 4Kp60, or 4x 8Kp30 streams per card, it said.

The platform provides ultra-low latency support for the mainstream H.264 and H.265 codecs and features next-generation AV1 transcoder engines, delivering up to a 52% reduction in bitrate for bandwidth savings versus a comparable software implementation, it said.

The accelerator features an integrated AI processor and dedicated video quality engines designed to improve the quality of experience at reduced bandwidth. The AI processor evaluates content, frame-by-frame, and dynamically adjusts encoder settings to improve perceived visual quality while minimizing bitrate. Optimization techniques include region-of-interest (ROI) encoding for text and face resolution, artifact detection to correct scenes with high levels of motion and complexity and content-aware encoding for predictive insights for bitrate optimization, it said.

Scaling high-volume streaming services requires maximizing the number of channels per server while minimizing power and bandwidth-per-stream. By delivering up to 32x 1080p60 streams per card at 1 watt per stream, a 1U rack server equipped with eight cards delivers up to 256 channels to maximize the number of streams per server, rack or data center, it said.

The company is making its Media Acceleration software development kit (SDK) available with the Alveo MA35D. It supports FFmeg and Gstreamer video frameworks to make development easier.

Samples are now available. Production shipments are expected in Q3.

See AMD at NAB Show booth N2158.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

 WALTHAM, Mass.—Zixi has announced a partnership with Ant Media, and an integration with the Ant Media Server (AMS), which provides ready-to-use, scalable real-time video streaming solutions for live video streaming. 

AMS is designed to help broadcast TV stations, ed-tech, gaming, e-auction services, security or surveillance companies, and mobile app developers that need live video streaming infrastructure to build live video conferencing, webinar, or mass broadcast and monitoring application solutions.

The integration means that AMS users can connect to a wide range of broadcast-quality live sources and take advantage of premium features, the companies said.

"With integrated Zixi Protocol support, Ant Media Servers have access to the industry-leading performance, efficiency, security, and reliability that the SDVP enables", said Ahmet Oguz Mermerkaya CEO/co-founder, Ant Media. " By leveraging the combined AMS and SDVP solution, our common customers have access to high-performance, scalable real-time video distribution."

"This exciting integration was initially requested from video game and Esports live streaming platforms," added John Wastcoat, senior vice president of alliances and marketing, Zixi. "And Ant Media Server's WebRTC cutting edge innovation delivers the infrastructure necessary for next generation, mission critical applications such as live game shows, e-learning and mobile streaming."

AMS is a streaming engine that can ingest high-performance Zixi-enabled live sources and provide adaptive, ultra-low latency streaming by using WebRTC technology with sub .5 seconds latency, the companies reported. 

Highly scalable, AMS supports millions of viewers and streams. In addition to leveraging Zixi sources, users can also publish AMS streams out to the SDVP unlocking powerful workflows including advanced GPU accelerated live transcoding, Zixi patent pending sequenced hitless failover, connection bonding over disparate networks, purpose-built live operations dashboards, enhanced visualization and centralized management of live channels, the companies said. 

Ultra-Low Latency real-time streaming takes Zixi protected streams and delivers via a scaled WebRTC network with a full WebRTC stack, including SFU, MCU, and Data Channel for global delivery at scale, the companies said. 

Ant Media will be exhibiting and demonstrating the Zixi integration into AMS in Zixi's Partner Village at the 2023 Nab Show, West Hall Booth 3301, April 16th through the 19th. 

IRVING, Texas—As retransmission fees from pay TV operators are becoming an increasingly fraught issue and operators struggle with massive sub losses, Nexstar is ending live streams of its local newscasts from many of its stations in a bid to make local broadcast content more valuable. 

Nexstar's WTNH, for example, posted on its website that “[i]n order to fulfill our obligations to our cable, satellite, and telco partners, on January 12, WTNH will begin making its newscasts and locally produced lifestyle programming available on the WTNH website two hours after their live broadcast over-the-air.”

The strategy shift was previously reported by FTVLive.

B+C is reporting however that some Nextstar stations continue to offer live newscasts on streaming media. WGN-TV, Chicago, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, and KRON-TV, San Francisco, will continue to stream local news programming live on their station apps WGN Plus, KTLA Plus and KRON Plus, B+C reported. 

Nexstar reported that other stations will continue to make highlights of newscasts available through video clips and other coverage after the live broadcast and that breaking news and important weather updates will continue to be offered on websites, mobile apps and social media platforms. 

The shift in strategy comes at a time when pay TV operators are seeing mounting sub losses and retransmission consent negotiations with operators have become increasingly fraught. Limiting the live newscasts would allow Nexstar to argue that it deserves higher retransmission fees. 

The pullback from local streaming comes, however, as the industry has ramping up live streaming of local news and viewers have shifted more and more of their viewing to those apps. It raised questions about whether the decision will boost short term profits at the expense of longer term business opportunities.  

BIA has reported that local OTT revenue is the fastest growing ad business, topping $2 billion in 2022 and should top $2.4 billion by 2024.  But those revenues remain tiny compared local TV advertising and retransmission fees. 

BIA estimates that retransmission fees now account for more than 50% of local stations’ revenue but it is forecasting that retransmission revenues could go down to 39% by 2026.  

HOLLYWOOD—Netflix announced Thursday that comedian Chris Rock will perform a stand-up show in the network’s first-ever live, global streaming event. The comedy special is set to stream in early 2023. Additional details will be announced  at a later date. 

Netflix has had a roller coaster year; the first half of the year saw two consecutive quarters of a decline in paid net subscribers worldwide, leading some pundits to question its future and the network to take steps to crack down on password sharing and launch a new ad-supported tier, which premiered last week. But the company’s fortunes rebounded recently with the widespread success of its "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" series, as well as reporting an increase in subscriptions in its latest quarterlies several weeks ago.  

In addition, as it sees its competitors Amazon Prime and Apple TV infiltrate the live sports streaming sector with the NFL and MLB, the live Rock special could signify that the streaming service is taking live streaming more seriously (although the differences between broadcasting a live standup vs. live sports are obvious). 

“Chris Rock is one of the most iconic and important comedic voices of our generation,” said Robbie Praw, Netflix Vice President of Stand-up and Comedy Formats. “We're thrilled the entire world will be able to experience a live Chris Rock comedy event and be a part of Netflix history. This will be an unforgettable moment and we're so honored that Chris is carrying this torch.”

This will be Rock’s second Netflix stand-up special. His first, "Chris Rock: Tamborine," debuted in February 2018. 

In its announcement, Netflix took pains to emphasize its position as a leader in live comedy, despite the recent controversy over Dave Chappelle. Its “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival”, which took place last spring, was the biggest live, in-person event in Netflix history, the streamer said. The event sold more than 260,000 tickets and featured more than 330 comedians performing 295 shows across more than 35 venues in Los Angeles. The festival also featured the first-ever stand-up show at Dodger Stadium.

SEATTLE—Amazon has begun making a new feature of its Chime SDK widely available that makes it easier for developers to create and send a video stream from a multi-party video session to streaming platforms for distribution worldwide.

The feature, called live connector, enables developers to format video layouts, choose among video streams and connect multiple streams together into a single stream. It also them to make fast, easy work of adding livestreaming to mobile and web apps. The live connector feature also leverages machine learning (ML) to enhance audio and video quality, the company said in a blog post on its website.

Among the applications envisioned are broadcasting virtual events, webinars, educational classes, fitness instruction and product demonstrations, the blog said. 

FanView, which offers a fan-curated interactive video sharing and streaming platform connecting athletes and fans has chosen Amazon Chime SDK to power its efforts. MICE Platform as also implemented live connector to bring multiple remote speakers together seamlessly, it said.

To read the blog, “Chime SDK Now Makes it Easier and Faster to Add Live Streaming for Mobile and Web Apps,” by Sid Rao, general manager of Amazon Chime SDK, is available online.

More information about Amazon Chime SDK is available on the company’s website. 

WATERLOO, Canada—Dejero is providing connectivity and live video solutions for the Spinning Wheels Tour, dubbed by organizers as “A Cross Canada Parkinson’s Journey.”

The company’s technology will be used to equip three inspiring cyclists to live stream their adventures from any location regardless of the terrain during the cycling tour, which begins June 25 in Victoria, British Columbia, and ends sometime in September more than 1,700 miles away in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Dejero said.

The cycling team will rely on the Dejero Gateway network aggregation device for reliable internet connectivity to support live streaming throughout the trip. The Dejero LivePlus mobile app with the company’s Smart Blending Technology will enable live transmission of low-latency video over smartphones during the ride, the company said.

The three-member team, which calls itself the “Rigid Riders,” will live stream to their YouTube and Facebook channels from GoPro cameras mounted on their bikes, a dash cam in their support vehicle and a large format camera to interview other riders and the people they meet along the way, it said.

A regular weekly live show, which will include footage from the previous week to chronicle the journey, will also be streamed on their social media channels, it said.

“With Dejero onboard, we don’t need to worry about finding a hotspot or Wi-Fi connection at the next hotel or cafe in order to broadcast live or think about the cell network coverage and cost of the data packages as we go,” said Mike Loghrin, who is responsible for live streaming during the tour. 

“We have no restrictions when it comes to capturing the action at any point of the journey — whether we’re in the Canadian Rockies, riding through prairies, crossing rivers, on the coast, in the most remote or crowded of locations; we can literally live stream whenever we want to.”

The cyclists will carry a Dejero GateWay M656 network aggregation device in the support vehicle accompanying them on the journey. Incorporating Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology, the gateway will combine connectivity from various cell network providers with two SIM cards for each network, the company said.

The gateway, which has six wireless modems, will create a network of networks to provide enhanced reliability, expanded coverage and greater bandwidth to ensure uninterrupted live streaming regardless of location, it said.

Riders in the Spinning Wheels Tour will cycle six days per week, covering just over 93 miles a day. The tour is intended to raise awareness about the Parkinson’s Disease and to raise $200,000 CAD.

“It’s so important that we make connections with communities as we go. Being able to regularly share what we’re going through, stream video and edit on the fly will really engage and uplift our supporters in a way we didn’t think possible before,” said Rigid Riders co-founder Steve Iseman. “Without Dejero, we would still be trying to figure this out. Now, the range of content we can create from just about anywhere, plus the quality of the content, is going to be phenomenal.”  

DALLAS—Sports content continues to dominate the growing live streaming space, with three out of five (61%) people who live streamed programming in the last three months saying they live streamed sports content, according to a new study from Parks Associates.

The proportion is even high among those who subscribe to an OTT sports service, with 78% saying they live streamed sports in the last three months. 

Live streamed sports also outpaced other forms of content, with only 36% of the live streamers saying they streamed news content, the second most popular genre. 

Overall, however, a little more than two of five (43%) U.S. internet households live streamed content in the last three months.

“Consumers who subscribe to online sports services or those who subscribe to a premium pay-TV sports package are more likely to livestream,” said Paul Erickson, director of research, Parks Associates. “Right now, sports content is key to drawing and keeping an engaged livestream viewer base. Even with content that benefits from live consumption – such as news and concerts – significantly fewer consumers are livestreaming this content compared to sports. The sports audience is significantly more engaged in live streaming as a whole.”  

The report also found that consumers who regularly livestream content are engaged users. For many, live streamed content is their primary content consumption. Consumers who livestream estimate that live online content comprises close to half of their total online video consumption. Among heavy livestream viewers, on-demand content comprises just over one-quarter of their online video consumption. 

“Offering live streaming content is an opportunity for services to draw both the highly engaged heavy livestreaming audience and livestream-centric older audiences,” Erickson said. “Consumers in the higher age brackets can be difficult to target, but livestreaming is one option that appeals to them, provided the provider delivers the right content.”  

For more information on “Quantified Consumer: Livestreaming: The Next Hot Video Market” report, contact sales@parksassociates.com. 

The following op-ed is a preview of topics that Harmonic will discuss during the upcoming TV Tech Summit, March 31.

With so many showpiece sports events happening in 2022, video service providers have an opportunity to expand their streaming services around these highly anticipated occasions.

When it comes to streaming live sports, service providers are looking to grow their audiences and offer them the content they desire. Yet, to be successful, service providers need an infrastructure that can maintain outstanding quality and ensure reliable streaming at scale.

By adopting an end-to-end, cloud-based streaming platform, they can process content with increased efficiency, customize live and video-on-demand (VOD) programming, and increase their ROI beyond typical subscription-based models.

Adapting to the Evolution in Video Consumption 
Video consumption is evolving. Today’s viewers want personalized streaming experiences, and an increasing number of rights holders and content distributors are responding with direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings. In the sports streaming market, there are a variety of DTC streaming platforms and services from sports clubs, leagues and governing bodies, media organizations, telco operators, and more.

Another major trend in the U.S. is skinny bundles, a slimmed-down version of traditional pay-TV television offerings. Skinny bundles often include many of the linear specialty channels that viewers love, such as ESPN, further fragmenting the sports rights marketplace.

As sports consumption shifts away from broadcast TV toward streaming there are abundant new opportunities to reach broader audiences.

Key Streaming Requirements 
One of the greatest advantages of video streaming is the ability to create digital experiences that cater to individual viewers. Personalized sports content is in high demand. A recent survey from Quantum Market Research found that 96% of British soccer fans are willing to pay more for a subscription streaming service that provides a personalized experience. 

Aside from personalization, delivering an exceptional quality of service is critical. Today’s consumers expect high-quality streaming services that are accessible anytime, anywhere and on any device, with low latency, a mixture of live and VOD content, interactive features, and flexible pricing.

Simplifying Sports Streaming With an End-to-End Cloud Solution
By deploying an end-to-end, cloud-based streaming platform service providers can simplify all stages of media processing and delivery, ensure exceptional-quality video experiences and stay competitive in an increasingly crowded sports streaming market. 

Cloud streaming platforms accelerate the time-to-market for new offerings, enabling D2C services to be launched in a matter of days. With a cloud platform, service providers can spin up and spin down operations as needed, without investing in hardware infrastructure. This aspect is especially beneficial for the sports streaming industry, as events might only last a day or two.

Managing the peak user demand while streaming live sports can be a challenge. Live streaming requires an ultra-robust and flexible operational workflow, and that’s where cloud-based streaming platforms greatly excel. As audience numbers fluctuate throughout live events, cloud platforms enable service providers to stream video at scale and deliver superior quality, including low latency.

SaaS platforms are based on a per-per-use business model that is cost-efficient for sports streaming. With a SaaS platform, the installation and maintenance costs that are typically involved with operating hardware infrastructure are greatly reduced.

Optimizing Resources and ROI With Cloud-Based Streaming 
Using the cloud for sports streaming, service providers can optimize resources, reduce costs and generate new revenue.

For instance, cloud-based streaming opens up the opportunity for ad-supported thematic streaming channels whereby viewers receive content based on their individual preferences. Through user data, service providers can offer targeted advertising and branded content based on viewing behavior and interests.

In addition, cloud streaming platforms can be used to convert live video into on-demand content for pay-per-view (PPV) or distribution to third-party broadcasters after the event is over, opening up another revenue source.

Having a cloud streaming platform with efficient video compression is important, as it allows for more users to stream video at a higher quality. Efficient video compression also reduces costs associated with the delivery of video to expanding audiences.

Cloud-based streaming is reliable and secure. With the cloud, service providers can reduce the  likelihood of a security breach and operational downtime, which is critical for maintaining viewer satisfaction during live events.

Unifying the Value Chain with SaaS and Cloud
Another benefit of adopting cloud-based SaaS for video streaming is that it unifies delivery to affiliates and distribution partners. With a cloud-based delivery model, rights holders can distribute content in overseas markets, increasing their reach and meeting increased demands for content without worrying about how to scale.

Conclusion
Live sports streaming is on an accelerated path for growth. During the pandemic, the demand for live streamed sports has reached record levels, especially as fans were kept away from stadiums. Service providers are now looking to capitalize on this trend and want to expand their subscriber numbers and address broader audiences. Live streamed sports offers a catalyst to make this happen. 

With SaaS solutions, such as Harmonic’s VOS360 cloud streaming platform, video service providers can simplify the delivery of live sports streaming services and drive new revenue. 

To register for the TV Tech Summit, visit tvtechsummit.com/march

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) have inked a major rights deal giving Apple TV+ rights to stream “Friday Night Baseball,” a weekly doubleheader with live pre- and postgame shows that will be available to fans in eight countries exclusively on Apple TV+ as soon as the regular season begins.

The MLB and the players union are currently locked in a labor dispute that has delayed the start of the regular season and it isn’t clear how soon the two sides might come to a new agreement. 

When the season does begin, “Friday Night Baseball” will be available on Apple TV+ in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, and will expand to additional countries at a later date.

In addition to “Friday Night Baseball,” Apple TV+ will offer “MLB Big Inning,” a live show featuring highlights and look-ins airing every weeknight during the regular season. 

Baseball fans in the US and Canada will also have access to a new 24/7 livestream with MLB game replays, news and analysis, highlights, classic games, and more, as well as a full complement of on-demand programming, including highlights and MLB-themed original content, Apple said. 

The deal will allow fans to watch marquee games on Friday nights, free from local broadcast restrictions, on the Apple TV+ app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K and HD, and on tv.apple.com, along with select smart TVs, gaming consoles, and cable set-top boxes, Apple said. 

“Just like all baseball fans, we can’t wait for the season to open,” said Peter Stern, Apple’s vice president of Services. “Baseball has a special place in the heart of so many Apple customers — not just in the United States, but in many countries around the world. We’re proud to make Apple TV+ the home for great baseball moments throughout the season.”

“Apple is the ideal partner to bring ‘Friday Night Baseball’ to fans around the world,” said Noah Garden, MLB’s chief revenue officer. “Following milestones like the launch of At Bat on day one of the App Store in 2008 to the integration of Apple technology in ballparks across the country, this robust new game package is the perfect next collaboration in our long history of offering quality and innovative content to our fans. With national availability and international reach, MLB on Apple TV+ offers an exciting new platform to fans that allows a wider audience to connect with the game.”

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.—Edge computing tech startup Videon has announced that it has raised an additional $9 million in funding, boosting the total investments in the company during the past seven months to $16.3 million.  

The funding, led by Alter Venture Partners with participation from Fortson VC, Bruce Chizen, Voyager Capital, and Cercano Management, will be used to further develop and improve its next-generation video edge computing platform, Videon said. 

Videon’s technology already powers tens of thousands of hours of live video every day for audiences across more than 19 countries. Techex, THEO Technologies, V-Nova, and Zixi are currently building and deploying applications that harness the benefits of Videon’s edge computing capabilities for their customers, the company reported. 

“Live video streaming continues to see exponential growth across everything from news and sport to security, emergency services, and corporate content, with the live streaming market estimated to be worth $4.26 billion by 2028,” said Tricia Iboshi, CEO at Videon. “For our customers, just getting live video over the internet is table-stakes and only the start of the story for what they need to achieve. We’ve spent the last 6 months working with industry leaders across the video ecosystem to unlock the potential of the edge to deliver new experiences, drive greater efficiencies, and create more opportunities for personalization and monetization. The latest funding will enable us to continue to innovate, adding more video applications, enabling disruptive workflows and driving live video at scale.”

Videon puts edge computing power at the point that video is created, enabling a huge array of video processing tasks to be completed before content goes into the cloud, the company said. This enables users to significantly reduce the complexity and cost of live production, adding multiple camera angles and remote feeds to meet growing audience expectations for personalized content.

Moving computing power to the edge where the video is created is the key to reducing latency, the company noted, and is especially vital for sports, gaming, and betting applications.

“Live streaming is exploding but it’s actually only at the first stage of its potential,” said Louis Toth, managing partner at Alter Venture Partners.  “At the moment, the economics of creating and distributing live video are restricting what content creators and media organizations are able to do. Videon is revolutionizing live video through powerful edge processing at an unrivaled price point. Videon’s video edge computing platform has huge market potential — it opens up unlimited live video use cases across sectors powered by low latency, multiple camera angles, technologies like AI and Machine Learning, and new monetization opportunities.”

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Responding to the growing interest in live streaming content, Roku has updated its user interface to make it easier for users to access live TV by adding its Live TV Zone to the left-hand navigation menu on the home screen of Roku devices. 

In making the announcement Roku reported that their recent streaming survey found that 61% of users without traditional pay TV still watch live news at least multiple times a week.  

By adding the Live TV Zone to the navigation menu, the update gives users direct access to live entertainment at Roku’s Live TV Channel Guide, which includes the The Roku Channel, and cable alternatives, including Hulu, fuboTV, Philo, Sling, YouTube TV and others. 

Overall, the Live TV Channel Guide provides users with access to more than 200 free live linear television channels spanning a broad range of genres including news, sports, kids and family, lifestyle, Spanish language entertainment, and more in an easy to navigate, on screen guide experience, Roku said. 

NEW YORK—In a development that could improve the monetization of live streaming content, the streaming ad platform Transmit has launched new tech capabilities that allow it to programmatically insert fully addressable picture-in-picture (PIP) ads during live sports and events. 

The company says it is the industry's first to monetize live content programmatically via fully addressable in-picture ads, which includes the company's proprietary "Intelligent Live Triggered Ad Breaks." By using Transmit's Server Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) capability, advertisers are able to customize event-triggered in-stream ad insertion, leveraging signals created during the live event to determine when is the right time to insert a PIP ad.

"The commercial break has been the same for 80 plus years,” said Seth Hittman, CEO and co-founder, Transmit. “Today marks a huge innovation in the space for all parties and we're thrilled to bring this new technology to market and advance the category forward. Our technology transcodes live programming in real time and identifies the perfect moment to introduce a more custom, less obtrusive ad unit. This intelligence allows for a seamless integration of ads while not disrupting the viewer's experience of the live event."

The move comes at a time when streaming advertising and ad-supported streaming services are seeing rapid growth, particularly in the area of live streaming. 

Transmit noted that their automated Live and Video on Demand (VOD) products unlocks new revenue streams and works in conjunction with traditional ad breaks while leveraging otherwise idle time during live events such as penalty kicks, time-outs, injuries and more.

"Advertisers have been looking for new ways to leverage their media dollars and this solution from Transmit provides a seamless integration that works with their existing creative," explained Jason Ford, senior vice president of integrated partnerships FloSports, which is using the solution. "We're excited to have this tech-forward solution in our offering."

Global sports streaming is undergoing explosive growth, despite initially being hampered by the COVID-19 global health crisis. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was the first NFL game to deliver more than 1 billion total streaming minutes and was the most live-streamed NFL game ever. Couple that with Amazon and Hulu betting heavily on live sports, it’s clear to see sports now make up a significant proportion of live video streams. This trend is set to accelerate. 

The cloud plays a significant role and in some ways has been instrumental in enabling live sports streaming, providing a highly scalable infrastructure combined with faster time to market. There are numerous ways cloud technology has had an impact on streaming and five key reasons why cloud-based live streaming platforms are perfect for the fast-paced world of sports

SCALING IN REAL TIME IS ESSENTIAL

One of the challenges with live video streaming is that it’s difficult to estimate the viewership of any given event. There could be 10,000 or 10 million viewers during an event depending on its popularity. 

On-premises infrastructure requires a pre-estimate peak usage. As a result, systems would historically be over deployed, meaning too much money would be spent on infrastructure that would never be used; or be under deployed, meaning the infrastructure was not equipped to meet greater demand than what has been planned for. 

Recently, the industry has witnessed a rapid shift to cloud-based live sports streaming workflows because of its inherent flexibility and scalability. Cloud technology is built for rapid scaling, whereas traditional infrastructure requires time and investment to build up. With the cloud, streaming services can easily scale up and back down, based on viewer peaks and lows, and since cloud-based streaming is based on a pay-as-you-grow business model, it ensures payments are made only for what is used. No upfront investment in infrastructure is required, as is the case with on-premises deployments.

In addition, multiple CDNs connected to the cloud can be utilized to rapidly scale during live sports events. Leveraging these multiple delivery paths is a valuable capability to have in situations where CDNs in different regions reach their peak and maximum capacity.

HIGH AVAILABILITY IS GUARANTEED

Streaming live sports content with high reliability is important, not only to preserve viewer experiences but also because there is a significant advertising revenue tied to premium sports events. 

Over the last few years, there has been a misconception that cloud infrastructure isn’t as reliable as on-premises deployments. The COVID-19 global health crisis put that question to rest and has proven that the cloud is an extremely resilient infrastructure and in some perspectives more reliable than traditional broadcast. No matter how impressive a broadcast facility is, during the pandemic, those facilities shut down while the cloud continued to operate and grow. 

With a cloud-based streaming platform, streaming services can utilize multiple cloud availability zones or use different cloud providers to ensure the highest possible level of availability. During the event of a failover or infrastructure upgrade, consumers can seamlessly switch between clouds, without any impact on the viewing experience.

QUALITY AND COSTS CAN BE OPTIMIZED

The explosive growth of streaming has led to compression technology innovations, such as AI-based content-aware encoding.

Using content-aware encoding in the cloud, streaming quality can be materially improved, resulting in an overall reduction of 50% in storage and delivery costs. This AI technology imitates the way the human eye focuses on contrast, color and movement within a video frame, adapting encoding parameters in real time to allocate bitrate where needed and increase compression in other areas. In addition, there is inherent benefit with the reduced traffic, which results in less buffering and a higher overall quality of service for consumers.

LATENCY IS LOWER THAN EVER

Latency has been a long time hurdle for live video streaming, but the industry has pivoted rapidly and made major improvements. Today, specifications such as CMAF can deliver the same latency for live streaming as broadcast. There is no question that the global investment in cloud and delivery technologies are so extensive it won’t be surprising if the latency of streaming will soon surpass that of traditional broadcast. 

TARGETED ADVERTISING IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY

Advertising is a critical part of the sports ecosystem. Major sports events can attract up to millions of viewers, which is a huge revenue opportunity for advertisers, sports franchises and content owners. One of the benefits of using a cloud-based solution for live streaming is the ability to carry out targeted advertising. 

By deploying a cloud-based dynamic ad insertion solution with manifest manipulation, targeted ads can be transmitted to individual consumers in real time to boost overall monetization of the service.

CONCLUSION

It’s clear that live sports streaming is increasing worldwide. Over the next several years global revenues from sports digital media rights will grow by 11.5%, according to eMarketer.

Fan experiences are evolving, too. In the future, live sports streaming will become much more interactive with multiview angles, personalized content, targeted ads and real-time features including stats, highlights and polls. Only cloud-based video streaming platforms can provide the flexibility and scalability to rapidly meet growing adoption, adapt and keep driving forward the viewing experience and support the ever-growing personalization trend.

Shahar Bar is senior vice president, Video Products and Corporate Development at Harmonic. 

GRASS VALLEY, Calif.—Live streaming has become an integral part of how the City of Santa Barbara has communicated with its residents, thanks in part to AJA technology that has been incorporated into the city’s live streaming infrastructure.

City TV Production streams and records all City of Santa Barbara council meetings and other programming to YouTube, which members of the community can watch either live or on-demand. Content is captured using 12 HD cameras across three meeting rooms that are connected to a master control room via fiber and Cat5e cabling. Audio and video feeds are sent out of each room through a production switcher to create the main feed, which is then sent through a router to one of three AJA HELO H.264 streaming devices.

AJA U-TAP SDIs are also used by City TV, connected via USB to local computers to ensure a clean signal for adding virtual participants via apps like GoTo Meeting or Zoom. The received video feed is then sent through an AJA HELO for live streaming to YouTube.  AJA Ki Pro Rack recorders are also in use to backup Apple ProRes codec on AJA KiStor drives.

Other AJA products used as part of the infrastructure include AJA Mini-Converters to support conversion between SDI and HDMI equipment, as well as AJA FS1 converters/frame synchronizers to facilitate conversion of analog component material to HD-SDI for import into the production system.

The AJA HELO also is part of City TV’s live streaming flypack, which includes three HD cameras, a switcher, a router and an AJA HELO in the event of off-site production.

The City TV infrastructure was built by Triton Technology Solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a monumental increase in virtual event streaming, with some platforms seeing such events rise by 1000% this year. But for organizations that are new to this arena, planning the live streaming of an event can be an arduous process. Investing in long-term streaming infrastructure can also be unappealing to those simply wanting to test the water, presenting a costly roadblock to getting started. 

While providers such as Azure and AWS can facilitate the foundation for live streaming, it can become all too easy for costs to multiply due to the virtual infrastructure existing well before and long after the event has been streamed. This is where an effective “dynamic event orchestration” solution comes into play. This technology enables businesses to band together the required resources to spin up an event right before it begins and efficiently decommission the technology post-event, providing a cost-effective and efficient streaming solution.

FLEXIBLE AND FAST SET UP

A dynamic event orchestration tool is primarily made up of two components: the schedule and infrastructure profiles. The schedule allows the hosting servers to be started and terminated in the shortest time possible before and after the event. Through infrastructure scaling, it’s possible to implement configuration files at short notice. 

An adaptable execution plan is drawn up into a definition file, which essentially describes the resources that the business wants for its upcoming project. This file is fed into the chosen cloud hosting system, whether it be Azure, AWS, Google Cloud or another preferred supplier. Virtual servers can be installed in the cloud platform in under 10 minutes or even less in some cases. The network is then fully optimized at the virtual machine and server level.

Ultimately, this technology allows a live streaming project to make use of the tools when they are needed and shut down for when they are not. For prominent media company Claro, based in South America, this capability is crucial. Time-sensitive live events such as the news and motorsport races can be spun up and streamed with the right infrastructure supporting it, with resources geographically focussed on where the company’s customers are based, before being decommissioned during downtime. 

SCALING TO MEET DEMAND

The speed and flexibility offered to businesses that leverage a dynamic orchestration tool are also matched by the ability to scale the service when needed. This ensures that the infrastructure can always meet the highest level of demand, without needing to pay for that capacity all year round. 

For sports organizations with seasonal variances in demand, such as a summer window of live events, this capability is a necessity. Being able to plan in advance and scale up infrastructure and resources when needed ensures fans receive the best possible viewing experience, while reducing infrastructure requirements during the quiet months.

By looking ahead to high-demand events, broadcasters can avoid the potential complications of making infrastructure changes during peaks by pre-arranging the availability of increased resources. This flexibility also allows new infrastructure to be set up at optimum speed, even in the context of stringent time-to-market requirements.

MONITORING AND POST-EVENT CAPABILITIES

For organizations wishing to outsource the management of dynamic video orchestration, this delivers the added benefit of real-time monitoring to ensure the smooth running of events. Proactive monitoring can cover every workflow in the infrastructure, from the encoders to the CDN, ensuring all these aspects are efficiently running. A tiered monitoring system enables layers of human and automatic monitoring to take place, so any video issues such as lip sync-ing or video tearing that can be quickly spotted at the human level can be identified and corrected.

The benefits of dynamic video orchestration also stretch to on-demand requirements after a live streaming event has finished. It’s simple for organizations to facilitate an on-demand stream following a live event, with any integrations such as DRM seamlessly transferred over. Organizations can therefore benefit from a seamless transition into providing on-demand video, ultimately saving costs and time.

ACHIEVING OPTIMIZATION AND REDUCING COSTS

With the increased financial strain on organizations due to the pandemic, and the resultant uptake in video streaming, it has become even more crucial for live streaming to be fully optimized. With the live streaming market becoming increasingly saturated, it is key for businesses to ensure they offer a competitive advantage through adaptable and efficient solutions that ultimately benefit the end user.

This is where a dynamic event orchestration tool plays a key role by allowing for large cost savings through just-in-time deployments, scalability and flexibility for peak times such as popular events and comprehensive monitoring capabilities to ensure that the event runs as smoothly as possible. This ultimately allows broadcasters and wider organizations to approach an ever-growing market with confidence, now and in the coming years.

James Burt is the CTO of VUALTO.

WAYNE, N.J.—A firmware update from JVC will provide its GY-HM250 series cameras with new live streaming features, as well as provide other GY-HM models with a slew of new features, the company announced.

The firmware update for GY-HM250 4K camcorders will provide SNS video streaming with vertical and square guidelines on the viewfinder for capturing an image in either vertical (606x1080 and 404x702) and square (1080x1080 and 702x702) formats for a variety of platforms and devices. Direct streaming to YouTube Live is also now possible with GY-HM250 models, with the ability to schedule streaming start times. Additional features provided by the firmware update include a Multicamera Score Overlay feature for the GY-HM250SP 4KCAM, which enables users to duplicate score overlay information between the primary camera and up to three replica cameras.

The new firmware also provides Face-only Auto Focus for the GY-HM170, 180- and 250-series cameras. This allows users to select between a variety of face detection settings depending on the situation, like sensitivity, framing and whether the camera reacts to brightness or just to the face.

A Digital Image Stabilizer will also be available on all three camera models for HD mode. This will be in addition to the existing Optical Image Stabilizer for 4K, HD and high-speed modes.

In addition, an Auto-Color Matrix Adjustment is incorporated for use under LED stage lighting. When operating under “full auto,” the cameras can reproduce a natural color tone under LED, JVC says. A new Zoom Ease feature is also available, designed to reduce the speed change shock of the zoom operation with a gradual ramping up of the transition.

JVC says that the new firmware will be available as a free download from its website in the New Year. For more information, visit pro.jvc.com.  

HACKENSACK, N.J.—Record turnout at the polls for the 2020 presidential election was covered by a record number of LiveU-equipped broadcasts, according to LiveU. The company said that more of its products were used and more live feeds provided than in any past election.

LiveU says that about 700 broadcasters from around the world used LiveU portable transmission technology, including the company’s HEVC units, LU-Smart app and LiveU Matrix. Compared to the 2016 election, LiveU has reported a 35% increase in portable transmission units’ usage to 2,764 units, as well as an increase of 30% in simultaneous live streams for a total of 1,760.

Nearly 500 customers relied on the LiveU Matrix for distributing 3,700 live feeds to local, national and global news broadcasts, LiveU reports. This totaled more than 12,000 hours of video over the course of election day, the company says.

In total, LiveU Vice President of Sales, Americas, Mike Savello, said that LiveU experienced 16,540 live streams on election night.

“This year has challenged our broadcast customers to approach live newsgathering in unique ways,” said Savello. “The pandemic has changed studio environments, crew allocation, budgets and workflows. What has remained consistent is LiveU’s ability to provide high-quality, flexible solutions that news organizations can rely on, especially to cover high-profile news and events.”

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Will 2021 be the year of live streaming? Akamai is preparing like it is, as the global content delivery company expects an unprecedented surge in live streaming starting in late 2020 and continuing throughout 2021. To handle this, Akamai has announced new capabilities as part of its Akamai Platform designed to address the increase in live streaming.

Akamai points out that surges in live streaming are typical in even years, when many large sporting events often take place. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, were postponed to 2021. Since August, when many sports leagues have returned, Akamai has seen an increase in live streaming and expects that trend to continue.  

On top of the many major sporting events expected in 2021, the U.S. presidential election and inauguration in January could see significant instances of live streaming. Akamai is estimating that over the next year there could be an instance where 50 million people are concurrently streaming a single live event.

Akamai has written a blog post detailing its updates that are meant to help handle the challenges this level of live streaming could present.

One of these potential solutions is the new Akamai Developer APIs, which are designed to increase operational efficiency for organizations managing numerous live or linear streams. The APIs are meant to simplify the process of provisioning Akamai’s Media Services Live and Adaptive Media Delivery. An example includes the new live clipping feature for Media Service Live for the creation and archiving of highlights. Another new feature called Instant TV allows for users to define the beginning of a live program and enables viewers to use Restart TV functionality to start an in-progress event when they want.

Akamai has updated its Cloud Wrapper technology, optimizing connectivity between cloud infrastructures and the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform, the company said. Cloud Wrapper now has multi-CDN support that enable it to operate as a central hub for delivery architecture.

Other new features from Akamai include added support for low-latency live streaming experiences, like low-latency HLS, and a new version of Akamai’s Access Revocation to combat fraudulent or shared streams. There are also more than 300,000 servers and nearly 1,500 networks around the world that contribute to Akamai’s Intelligent Edge Platform.

For more information, visit www.akamai.com.  

It’s no secret that internet content delivery has been on the rise for some time, and although commodity internet has presented plenty of opportunities for broadcasters that need to deliver high-quality content reliably and with negligible delay, it has also led to some challenges.

For example, achieving the right balance between cost-effective streaming and the best-quality viewing experience is easier said than done. Margins are also coming under immense pressure as media enterprises adapt to changing content production workflows and audience acquisition processes.

This explains why building a highly profitable and scalable live media engagement ecosystem is the top business priority for more than two-fifths (41%) of media enterprises over the next 12-18 months, according to a recent Ovum industry survey and report in partnership with IBM Aspera—“Delivering Cost-Effective Premium Live QoS at Scale ‘Anywhere, Everywhere’”

READY FOR CHANGE

The current live streaming environment is in need of change. The world of TV and video services is fragmented and very competitive, so implementing differentiated content strategies is essential in order to achieve average revenue per user and per advertiser (ARPU and ARPA) targets.

This pressure is driving premium content owners to acquire niche media assets. The Ovum report found that 12% of enterprises expect their live content repositories to be worth more than $5 billion by 2023 (up from just 1% in 2018). In terms of specific industries, 19% of social networks, 16% of sports franchises and 14% of digital service providers are planning to hit the $5 billion milestone in three years’ time.

Furthermore, live content is continuing to become a core tool in engaging today’s digital users. This is forcing enterprises to focus on key performance indicators related to economies of scale, such as cutting costs and increasing efficiencies. Reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of premium content delivery via remote production is a leading business objective for 71% of enterprises.

Nearly 80% of enterprises are dissatisfied with their existing live media transport solution deployments. This is primarily because the increasing fragmentation of media consumption between traditional and non-linear models is increasing the cost and inefficiency of traditional content delivery routes. Many current live media transport solutions have poor public network interoperability and lack unified collaboration, testing and visualization capabilities.

Therefore, it’s not surprising to see that IP is currently the fastest emerging delivery route—a trend that will become more prominent in the years to come. 

LOOKING FORWARD

Two key trends are converging to shape the future of live content streaming: increasing cloud adoption and the growing role of agile live media transport over IP networks. 

According to the survey, cloud will emerge as the leading deployment mode by 2023, driven by the need to control costs, streamline media contribution workflows and ensure multigeographical back-ups.

Exclusively cloud live media transport solutions will be the preference for more than a third (34%) of enterprises in three years’ time, in contrast to 2018 when 69% of enterprises preferred an exclusively on-premises deployment model. Additionally, public and private clouds will be the most prominent deployment modes, as highlighted by 82% of enterprises.

However, the cloud adoption curve will vary across premium content-owners. While sports franchises and film studios will be the fastest-emerging segments for cloud offerings, more than half of broadcast TV and video enterprises and digital service providers will maintain their legacy on-premise deployment modes.

Next is the growth of IP networks. Embracing this technology will enable businesses to safeguard profitability and extend the reach of their content by building horizontally and vertically diversified content repositories. Given the level of investment required when acquiring premium live content for tier-1 sports (e.g. the English Premier League, NFL and IPL), this will be vital to maintaining market competitiveness and increasing ROI.

IP networks can also play a key role in enabling premium content owners to improve their long-term operating margins by exponentially increasing the reach of their repositories at the lowest possible TCO. 56% of enterprises believe that single media asset reach can be enhanced by 1-5% using an IP-based cloud live media transport solution, while 37% say it can also reduce workflow TCO by up to 5%. This can equate to a significant long-term cost saving for enterprises. 

FULL STEAM AHEAD

So, what tangible steps can media companies take to cut costs, increase audience engagement rates and lead from the front in today’s marketplace?

First, they must address their live media transport workflows by looking beyond traditional delivery routes. Legacy technologies will simply be unable to support highly scalable TV and video streaming ecosystems, while also failing to cost-efficiently deliver a robust, premium quality of experience to live audiences across multiple screens.

This is where embracing IP networks will make a big difference. For example, it will help provide the cost savings that many enterprises are currently struggling to achieve by reducing their reliance on traditional delivery modes.

Media companies should also look to streamline media contribution by leveraging a unified live media transport workflow. As well as reducing production to distribution TCO (which is currently standing at 32%), this will guarantee premium QoS/QoE with negligible pre buffering, packet loss and round-trip delays.

The final piece of the puzzle involves the adoption of diverse media production workflows (e.g. remote), which will help premium content owners improve both their audience engagement rates and ARPU. When combined with cloud-based live media transport over IP, it will also enhance real-time collaboration, reduce time to market and ensure more efficient media asset management.

With the market more competitive than ever before, following these steps will empower broadcasters and media companies to transform their workflows and spearhead the future of TV and video streaming.

Mike Flathers is CTO of IBM Aspera.

Live video streaming is gaining momentum, especially for live sports. Recent industry research shows that sports fans are willing to pay for all-sports OTT channels. A study by Verizon found that 63% of consumers already paying for live sports streaming services would be willing to pay more for a more personalized user experience.

Yet, to have a successful live streaming channel, OTT service providers need to deliver a high quality of experience (QoE) to viewers, with a latency comparable to broadcast. Overcoming scalability issues that may occur during peaks in viewership is also critical. 

There are two main types of live events that are popular for video streaming. One type of live content that viewers demand is premium live sports events, such as NFL games. Pop-up channels are also becoming trendy for special events that only last a couple of hours or weeks.   

Let’s look at some of the key challenges of delivering live OTT services and solutions.

 EFFECTIVELY MANAGING TRAFFIC 

The traffic pattern for live video streaming is very specific. Unlike SVOD, which has regular daily peaks with higher values on weekends, it’s harder to predict how many viewers will watch a live event. Peaks can jump to multiple times the average traffic during a weekend football game. 

Public CDNs (content delivery networks) are the only solution up to the task of scaling on-demand for the duration of a high-demand live event. When a CDN is used during high audience peaks, it drives a peak of traffic from the origin server. In this situation, it’s advantageous to have an origin server in the cloud to sustain super high peak of traffic.

 KEEPING BITRATES LOW 

During a live event, video bitrate is key. Using advanced encoding technology such as artificial intelligence and content-aware encoding algorithms service providers can reduce the bitrate for live video streaming by up to 50%. This results in 50% less egress traffic at the output of the CDN. Encoding solutions are central to service providers reducing the overall traffic and cost of distribution. 

 INCREASING SCALABILITY 

Today, premium live events are generally watched on the TV screen as opposed to a mobile handheld device. As fiber high-speed broadband access grows, and core network upgrades are completed, the average bandwidth used by consumers is continuously increasing. A number of HD OTT services require at least 5 Mbps—with UHD on the distant horizon, scaling issues are only going to intensify. Adopting a multi-CDN strategy is one way to increase scalability.

Using a live streaming platform with a multitiered, multi-CDN approach to delivery, operators can achieve real-time scalability for mission-critical, high-demand live video streaming services. This type of capability has successfully been deployed by leading mobile network operators to deliver live sports content.

 IMPROVING VIDEO QUALITY 

Live sports video has to be extremely high quality. Sports fans won’t settle for a low QoE. A number of premium events are now produced in UHD, and in many cases OTT is the only practical way to distribute UHD signals to UHD screens to the home. Delivering live UHD streams requires a bit of media processing and using a cloud-based live streaming platform is a cost-efficient approach for short-term events.

Another important consideration is that live video streaming requires low latency. Viewers expect the same latency as broadcast. Using a live streaming platform that supports MPEG DASH CMAF for Android and LL HLS for iOS, OTT service providers can deliver low latency for OTT.

 PREPARING FOR A DISASTER 

A premium live event can’t fail. If service providers are investing a significant amount of money in acquiring the content rights they don’t want to experience a black screen or even glitches in the middle of the event. 

Cloud infrastructure is a cost-efficient way to duplicate the video workflow infrastructure for the duration of a live event. Having a live streaming platform that can run on a datacenter and in the cloud, in parallel, is not only cost-effective, it’s convenient and flexible. Under this type of deployment, it’s critical to ensure seamless failover in case something goes wrong in the datacenter. For example, service providers can deploy one workflow on Microsoft Azure and the redundant workflow on Google Cloud or AWS. If anything happens to the Microsoft Azure datacenter, TV viewers will not see any impact.

 MONETIZING LIVE OTT EVENTS 

Monetization is essential for live events. In particular, live sports events tend to attract a large audience. Not taking advantage of ad insertion opportunities can result in lost revenue. 

In the OTT world, the trend is to deploy dynamic ad insertion (DAI) with a server-side architecture, where service providers replace the national ad with a targeted ad for each user by manipulating the OTT manifest. This operation requires strong scalability because one manifest needs to be processed and served for each user. Only cloud-based solutions can effectively scale without restraint.

 LAUNCHING ON THE FLY 

Pop-up channels are another use case that benefits greatly from cloud deployments. When service providers are launching an OTT channel for a short-term event, they don’t want to invest in an entirely new infrastructure. 

A cloud-based solution is a fraction of the cost and won’t incur any cost for streaming video in between events. As an added advantage, cloud-based live streaming platforms speed up the time to market for new offerings, enabling service providers to launch pop-up channels in minutes.

 CONCLUSION 

There is a growing industry trend toward more on-demand content. Consumers today want more choice, content on mobile devices, personalized advertising and the ability to view live sports events on OTT channels. As consumer viewing habits evolve, the complexity of media workflows is increasing. The challenge of scaling OTT unicast distribution and keeping costs low is likely to get worse.

Relying on a cloud-based live streaming platform with multi-CDN capabilities, OTT service providers can rapidly scale during live events, reduce costs and deliver exceptional video quality on every screen.

 Alain Pellen is the senior market manager, OTT & IPTV at Harmonic 

GRASS VALLEY, Calif.—To help manage its live streaming quality and workload, Cornell University Athletics has added AJA’s HELO H.264 streaming and recording devices as new members of the Big Red team.

With Cornell charged with streaming regular matches of 16 sports and ancillary content to multiple channels—including ESPN+, the international Ivy League Network on Stretch Internet and social media channels—HELO is used to support nearly every live sports production at the university.

To do so, two units are located in a central control room on campus and a third is reserved for a flypack. Camera feeds at each venue are connected to a flypack that travels to every game and can receive up to eight feeds. Signals are transmitted via NDI across the network to the control room and are fed through a video production system or laptop running Wirecast (dependent on number of productions), then are switched and distributed to HELO for delivery to national (ESPN+) and international audiences (Stretch Internet).

When the production team is handling multiple streams, the HELOs are reserved for standalone RTMP streaming to ESPN+.

The Cornell production team is also able to use HELO to help with additional tasks, like providing a live feed of games to talent on site, or for providing recordings post-game to coaches for review.

For more information, visit www.aja.com.

One of Asia’s leading live streaming platforms has turned to LiveU’s HEVC IP bonding technology to provide high-quality live video coverage of its events. 17 Live is using LiveU’s leading LU600 HEVC units to transmit live coverage of the events direct to their 17 Channel, turning fans into loyal, long-term customers with engaging live online content. The deal has been overseen by LiveU’s local partner in Taiwan, Maxlink, which also provides 24/7 service and support.

With over a million daily active users and over 30 million users in total, 17 Live is one of the most popular live streaming apps in Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The app lets users share their daily moments via video streaming, and follow other streamers and friends. The platform also has a content revenue sharing model where users can share their content for effective monetization.

LiveU technology was chosen because of its quality and reliability even in challenging situations, such as crowded shopping malls, and ease of use.

Yaal Eshel, General Manager LiveU Asia, said, “We’re proud to be the vendor of choice for popular video streaming platforms, such as 17 Live. Using our technology, 17 Live has been able to grow its audience throughout Asia with entertaining and unique live content. With the huge unabating demand for live content, LiveU continues to play an active role in providing live coverage of news, sports and other events in the region, and worldwide.”

LiveU’s flagship LU600 HEVC solution delivers the highest video quality and bitrate in the market, fastest file transfer and lowest delay. 

SAN JOSE, Calif.—A new live TV streaming service from Vidgo that offers more than 100 channels, including ABC, Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox and the NFL Network, is brought to consumers with the support of Harmonic’s VOS360 Live Streaming Platform, the company announced.

The Harmonic VOS360 platform is tasked with handling the complete end-to-end media processing and delivery workflow for Vidgo, helping to simplify live streaming from source to screen, speed up time to market for new channels and enable rapid service scaling.

Operating in a cloud-native environment, VOS360’s media processing functionalities includes live and file transcoding, packaging and origin, dynamic real-time CDN selection, targeted advertising, VOD, SVOD, time-shift viewing and network DVR. The Harmonic DevOps team also provides support and monitoring services.

For more information, visit Harmonic’s website.

LiveU’s wireless video encoder, Solo, is being used by Isha Foundation – a non-profit, public service organization founded by Sadhguru – to connect with millions of well-wishers and volunteers in India and around the world. The Foundation uses Solo to stream live events, notably the night-long Mahashivaratri festival at Isha Yoga Center – which is watched by around 50 million viewers – and the Cauvery Calling and Rally for Rivers projects to revitalize India’s depleting rivers.

Rally for Rivers was launched by Sadhguru in September 2017 when he personally drove over 9300 kms in 30 days to raise awareness about the dire situation of Indian rivers. Today it is the world’s largest ecological movement, supported by over 162 million people, and is a major force in shaping river revitalization policy in national governments and world bodies such as the United Nations. Cauvery Calling is an on-ground implementation of Rally for Rivers, to revitalize river Cauvery, the lifeline for 84 million people in southern India.  

Swami Trika, a full-time volunteer at the Isha Foundation said, “We have been using LiveU Solo to cover this campaign since the beginning, spanning multiple outdoor activities. This year, we not only used Solo but also LiveU’s mobile app services, LU-Smart. From inception to execution, LiveU has played a major role in helping us live stream outdoor footage in the highest quality, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”  

Solo is a compact video encoder for online media, bonding multiple cellular bandwidth with WiFi and LAN for a clear video output. Solo’s robust bonding technology facilitates outdoor and on-the-go live streaming – when getting a stable wireless connection can be a challenge. The device is built on LiveU’s patented LRTᵀᴹ (LiveU’s Reliable Transport) technology. Solo allows users to live stream seamlessly directly to Facebook Live, Twitter, YouTube Live and other popular social media and online video providers. 

Ranjit Bhatti, Director of South Asia, LiveU, said “The Isha Foundation team was one of our first LiveU Solo users in India and the relationship has been very strong ever since. We’re honored that they have placed their trust in us and to play a part in such a noble cause. Sadhguru has an uncountable number of devotees in India and beyond. Being able to reach out to them live has been a very enriching experience for the viewers.”

Over the past several years, the video streaming industry has been working on solutions to achieve low-latency OTT delivery in order to compete with traditional broadcast of live content. This was initially achieved with the MPEG DASH format, using CMAF, standardized in January 2018 by MPEG, followed in October 2019 by DVB delivering the low latency update of its DVB DASH specification. In June 2019, Apple announced during its Worldwide Developers Conference that the HLS protocol is being updated to support low latency, (the “Apple way,” of course).

The challenge: Two separate ecosystems exist today for the delivery of live content in DASH and HLS, the most popular delivery formats. In order for OTT to scale, we have to rationalize the two approaches and find a common groundwork for low latency.

CMAF: A FOUNDATION FOR CONVERGENCE

As a solution to possible convergence, Common Media Application format (CMAF), an ISO media format standardized in January 2018, provides a promising framework. When Microsoft, Apple and other industry players came together to propose the CMAF standard, many believed convergence was a done deal.

But this was not and is still not the case, and there are still some missing pieces to the puzzle. Service providers that wish to distribute their content in both formats (i.e., HLS and DASH) still need to have separate workflows at some points and duplication of media file caching in the network, which increases their overall costs; it also increases complexity and puts more stress on the OTT business model and therefore slows down OTT deployments.

WHY ISN'T THERE A SINGLE WORKFLOW FOR LIVE CONTENT DELIVERY?

Low-latency delivery is an essential feature for highly valuable content such as premium sports, which also drags the largest audience for live. Therefore, now more than ever, it is important for the industry to figure out a way to produce and cache a single set of media files in the network to optimize processing, caching and storage costs. This was the promise of CMAF from its onset, but hurdles with regards to low latency delivery methods need to be removed to make it a reality.

Indeed Low Latency DASH, also called “DASH LLC” (Low latency Chunk), and Low latency HLS, as proposed by Apple in June 2019 (LL-HLS), rely on different sets of tools and protocols for delivery, despite both using CMAF (including CMAF chunks) for the media file format. The former uses HTTP chunk transfer encoding while the latter (which is still an Apple draft specification) uses HTTP/2 and the more problematic HTTP/2 push method (not widely deployed or even supported), creating a lot of pushback from the CDN industry.

As a result, for the delivery of low latency services, the OTT industry is still grappling with two sets of media files, duplicate caching and high costs while fighting to find a profitable business model.

THE LATEST UPDATE ON LOW LATENCY

The end of 2019 brought about positive changes to the OTT industry. Apple and other industry players, including technology solution providers for encoding, packaging, origin, CDN and OTT players, expressed the willingness to find a compatible mode between DASH and HLS for low-latency content delivery.

It would be beneficial for the industry to see some evolutions on the current draft LL-HLS proposal to finally achieve the initial promise of having a real common format for media files and a common delivery workflow.

CONTENT PROTECTION: DRM AND AD INSERTION

For service providers, content needs to be monetized, so DRM and ad insertion tools are therefore critical to ensuring that service providers can take advantage of the abundant revenue opportunities in the OTT environment. As part of the global workflows for content delivery, there should also be a way to build common methods for these features.

There is now unified support for the CBCS encryption scheme by all of the major DRM systems such as Apple FairPlay for HLS, and Google Widevine and Microsoft PlayReady for DASH. With this approach a single media file can be encrypted in the CBCS format and distributed to any player, no matter what DRM system is in use. This fulfills the initial promise of CMAF. Detailed discussions still need to take place around DRM, but the industry is headed in the right direction.

Ad insertion—in particular dynamic and targeted ad insertion—is increasingly being used by OTT service providers to make ads more relevant. Through dynamic ad insertion solutions, service providers can dramatically boost their OTT revenues by creating more value for advertisers and improving the end-user experience.

For targeted ads to be successful, service providers need to ensure a seamless video experience, with smooth dynamic ad insertion. Both DASH and HLS Low Latency specifications are currently scrutinized to make sure the industry practices used in legacy workflows can be used or slightly adapted to take into account the additional constraints brought about by the shorter delivery path. Guidelines for both HLS and DASH will have to be updated to properly use the timing information for inserting ads in the low latency streams. It is still a work in progress but there is hope this can be achieved to enable a common workflow.

CONCLUSION

At Harmonic, we believe that the industry has to develop a unified CMAF based, Live OTT streaming system that supports: common encryption (already done with CBCS), ad insertion and low latency for both delivery formats (HLS and DASH).

Under this approach, media files are only stored once, which saves processing, storage and delivery costs. And, of course, there are two different HLS and DASH manifests that can always be cached separately.

This will create an optimized delivery scheme that will enable all of the key features OTT operators are looking for. Failing to accomplish this will fragment the market, make OTT less profitable and slow down its development.

Patrick Gendron is director of innovation at Harmonic.

WASHINGTON—FedNet is providing live broadcast coverage of the impeachment inquiry hearings using TVU Networks TVU Grid, the company announced this week.

If the House of Representatives approves articles of impeachment of President Donald Trump, the multimedia content provider to the U.S. Congress will also rely on the TVU Grid for its coverage of the subsequent Senate impeachment trial, it said.

FedNet provides a secure video network throughout the Capitol complex. It broadcasts thousands of hearings, press conferences and live Senate and House floor debates. The content provider’s choice of TVU Grid for impeachment hearing coverage is FedNet’s first live streaming initiative, said TVU Networks.

“We needed an infinitely scalable set up,” said FedNet President Keith Carney. “With TVU Grid, we can scale to any number of locations to our network without increasing bandwidth requirements at each site. And we can route live video streams using TVU Grid anywhere in the world with sub-second latency.”

Besides the live gavel-to-gavel multicamera switched coverage of the hearings, FedNet is providing live interviews with legislators. Multiple feeds are being made available on TVU Grid.

FedNet is looking at reaching educational institutions with feeds to assist in the study of political science and journalism as well as targeting commercial media outlets, the company said.

The TVU Grid offers point-to-multipoint bidirectional live video distribution via IP. Those on the grid can view available video sources from around the world and request to make the stream available to their audiences. The TVU Command Center manages TVU Grid, enabling uses to examine the status of transmissions and TVU Servers, the company said.

More information about FedNet is available on the company’s website.

More information about TVU Grid is available on the TVU Networks website.

OYSTER BAY, N.Y.—The spinning wheel when a video is buffering or hearing neighbors cheer a big play while viewers try to live stream sports is one of the top concerns for the growing streaming market, making low latency solutions a need, according to ABI Research.

A new study from ABI forecasts that by 2024 there will be 91 million subscribers that utilize live video streaming. Latency issues have the ability to negatively impact a viewer’s experience streaming content.

ABI states that typical latency for HTTP streaming is 40 seconds, while broadcast latency is about 5 seconds. Especially in sports, that time difference can have a major impact.

“Many cord-cutters are still willing to get live streaming for sports programs. However, high delay compared to traditional broadcast sources can prevent many consumers from accessing live streaming,” said Khin Sandi Lynn, industry analyst at ABI.

Latency issues do not just impact the time-delay in watching sports, but also issues of buffering for other video content. ABI references multiple studies that show viewers stop watching live streams as they experience buffering issues. So, as a number of new streaming services enter the market, they are finding it important to support low latency streaming.

Other areas consumers don’t want to experience latency issues include eSports streaming, online betting and online auctions.

ABI notes that there are many different ways to support low latency, like encoding, CDN optimization or video playback optimization, but businesses must select the best fit for them.

“When the evaluation between video qualities, deployment cost and business cases are done properly for low latency streaming solution deployment, service providers can offer a high-quality streaming service and improve churn and revenue,” said Lynn.

More information is available in ABI’s full “Low and Ultra-Low Latency Video” report.

Portland, Oregon, October 10, 2019 – Variant Systems Group, a leading provider of live broadcast production tools for the sports media and entertainment industry, has received a strategic investment from FOR-A Company Limited, a worldwide provider of broadcast and video production technology. VSG and FOR-A have also finalized a global distribution agreement whereby FOR-A will offer, on an exclusive basis throughout the world, VSG’s Envivo family of products. The investment and the agreement are part of FOR-A’s ongoing strategy to invest in innovative companies that can bring new ideas, market knowledge and services into the company’s worldwide business.

Variant Systems Group provides best-in-class live production solutions for the ultimate in audience and fan engagement. The Envivo family of products is transforming the way media producers approach live production. Launched at the 2017 NAB SHOW, Envivo Replay offers a complete live event replay solution packaged in an intuitive user interface with continuous multiple iso-channel recording capabilities, simultaneous clip storage of multiple angles to clip bins, playlists for highlights playback, built-in branding capabilities, direct publishing to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, WeChat, and Sina Weibo as well as support for high speed super slow-motion cameras. Launched at the 2019 NAB SHOW, Envivo Studio offers the same intuitive interface in a product specifically designed to address the needs of fan and audience engagement in live production workflows.

Adolfo Rodriguez, Co-Founder and CEO at Variant Systems Group said: "This strategic investment allows Variant Systems Group to fast-track our development and innovation efforts and to partner with a well-established, global leader in television and media, while expanding our mutually strong US position across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Variant Systems Group and FOR-A have a very strong alignment on the requirements of live production workflows, and this investment ensures our two companies continue to innovate and grow together."

Katsuaki Kiyohara, President and Representative Director at FOR-A commented: “This investment demonstrates FOR-A’s ongoing commitment to identify and leverage emerging technologies that can enhance our products and provide our customers with improved workflows. This is an exciting opportunity to gain insights from a leader in live production solutions for the benefit of FOR-A’s customers and our mutual ongoing businesses.”

FOR-A, a worldwide, industry-leading manufacturer, offers a wide range of Broadcast and Production products with a focus on cutting-edge technologies including: HD, 4K and IP Products.

FOR-A continues to offer future-ready, cost effective, advanced technology solutions. Products include: Video Switchers, Routing Switchers, Multi Viewers, Full 4K High-Speed Cameras, IP Encoders/Decoders, Multi-Channel Signal Processors, 8K/4K/HD Test Signal Generators, Color Correctors, Frame Synchronizers, File-Based Products, Character Generators, Video Servers and much more.

For a full range of HD and 4K Production and Processing solutions, as well as IP-Based Products, visit www.for-a.com.

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon and founded by a team of video professionals with over 60 years of combined industry knowledge specific to the Live Production market and live event workflows, Variant Systems Group provides top-notch live production tools like “Envivo Replay” and “Envivo Studio” that fills a gap in the college sports market, as well as the high-end production market. Envivo Replay delivers a replay solution that offers ease of use, intuitive and ergonomic designs, and flexibility in addition to features, and workflows to support revenue-generating models. VSG’s Live Replay solution offers a proprietary user interface, which capitalizes on the effective interface of touch-screen user input, as well as mechanical hardware control input devices. Envivo Studio delivers a fan and audience engagement solution with the same intuitive interface in a product specifically designed to address the needs of live production workflows incorporating a Still Store, a Spot Box, Clip Store, a Live Switcher (For Cutting Camera Inputs), Loop Record, Internal Keyer (for Multi-layer Overlays), Switcher Support (Key/Fill Outputs), Drive Multiple Venue Screens (IMAG), VDCP Control, and many more capabilities.

For additional information please visit www.envivoreplay.com.

PONTE VERDE BEACH, Fla.—Golf fans can feel like a walk-on in a pairing of their choosing at The Players Championship 2020, with the PGA Tour and NBC Sports Group announcing that every player during each round of the tournament will be live-streamed. PGA Tour Live subscribers will be able to watch each swing from players on either NBC Sports Gold or Amazon Prime Video Channels.

To capture the more than 32,000 shots that are expected to make up The Players Championship, there will be nearly 120 cameras on the course, with a dedicated camera following each group.

“Our vision is to bring every shot in every PGA Tour golf tournament live and on-demand to our fans, and this is the first step to making that happen,” said Rick Anderson, chief media officer for the PGA Tour.

The Players Championship will be held from March 12-15, 2020, at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.

The PGA Tour and NBC Sports have also announced a few other initiatives for the new golf season to boost coverage. This includes the addition of early round coverage of featured groups at seven events from September to December in 2019, including the live streaming of featured matches at the Presidents Cup in December.

There is also a new TOURCast product that will allow fans to follow every shot from each group with a 3D rendering of the golf course and shot trails. TOURCast also has access to the PGA Tour’s ShortLink powered by CDW data and video clips of every single shot for on-demand viewing. Fans can access TOURCast through the PGA Tour’s website and mobile app.

LONDON—The ongoing tussle over the proroguing of Parliament and a no-deal Brexit has led to a huge spike in live streaming data traffic, according to data from Limelight Networks.

On Sept. 3, Limelight saw a 343% increase in live streaming data traffic compared to typical levels. Similarly, on Sept. 4 Limelight reported a 75% increase related to simultaneous live streaming of video traffic relating to the parliamentary debates. These spikes coincided with the announcements in Parliament of the results of the votes on the no-deal bill and the attempt to call a snap general election.

Limelight’s content delivery infrastructure is used to accelerate the delivery of video and other content to users.

Commenting on the spike in Brexit live streaming, Steve Miller-Jones, vice president Product Strategy, Limelight Networks said: “The increased traffic being seen shows that it isn’t just the latest original series or live event that broadcasters need to be prepared for, political affairs also has its water-cooler moments and people want to experience them in real time.

“As more and more news content is consumed digitally, broadcasters must consider how this is delivered to viewers so that service issues don’t become part of the story. We take our role in this very seriously and are pleased that our infrastructure allowed the British public to engage in the debate as it happened.”

LUXEMBOURG—SES has revealed a new technology that delivers IP signals to OTT platforms that it has dubbed its Satellite and OTT in Sync. This new technology is designed to synchronize OTT and satellite broadcasts to provide a consistent experience for viewers.

Satellite and OTT in Sync takes the source signal on its way to the satellite and distributes it via IP in tandem with satellite. The system applies low-latency encoding and tuning to the IP stream at the source, which enables it to deliver the content to OTT platforms in sync with the satellite signal, erasing seconds of delay between a traditional TV and OTT broadcasts.

“When a fan is watching an important match on an OTT platform and they hear the crowd at the bar down the street cheering before they even see the goal, the disappointment is palpable,” said Ferdinand Kayser, CEO of SES Video. “Being a hybrid video distributor, SES can process video at the source for both satellite and OTT distribution, helping broadcasters deliver a unique, consistent and satisfying end-user experience.”

SES will demonstrate the new technology at its stand, 1.B51, during IBC 2019.

WAYNE, NJ (August 28, 2019) – JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, today announced WGTD-FM, a nonprofit radio station owned by Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wis., is using three GY‑HM250SP 4KCAM sports production streaming camcorders and a ProHD Studio 4000S sports production and streaming studio to produce coverage of local high school sports on Facebook Live. The station began using the new JVC system a few weeks into the 2018 football season, and produced this season’s first game on Aug. 23.

All coverage is streamed to Facebook Live in 720p, with the station rotating game coverage between several venues. For the upcoming football season, the production crew will be located in the press box at each field, with two cameras positioned in the “crow’s nest” outside the press box and the third on the field. The GY-HM250SPs are connected to the Studio 4000S via HD-SDI.

“The cameras are absolutely incredible,” said Troy McDonald, digital director and development specialist for the station. “They are lightweight and easy to use. The picture is so clear – people are impressed.”

In an effort to find a new revenue stream, the station decided to explore new ways to find an audience by covering Kenosha and Walworth County high school football and basketball. With its classical, jazz, and news programming, the radio station attracts an older audience that creates a challenging sales environment.

WGTD tested the idea using iPads as cameras that were wirelessly connected to a master iPad running iOS-based switcher software. The system relied on cellular service, so there were a lot of connectivity issues. “It was just not pretty,” admitted McDonald. “It’s a miracle we generated an audience to prove the concept.”

McDonald said the integrated replay system in the Studio 4000S was a huge selling point. A dedicated replay tab offers a preview of every camera, and allows the operator to easily produce slow-motion replays with dynamic camera switching and freeze frame options. “It lets us have that feature that heightens the drama and keeps viewers engaged,” he explained. “The software is so easy to use. It’s made a huge difference for us.”

With the previous system, football scorekeeping was done manually, and the crew did not even attempt to keep score for basketball. Now, game coverage includes lower-thirds with names and logos. The crew also brings a SportzCast Scorebot to every game, connects it to the scoreboard, and receives automatic scoring updates to the 4000S wirelessly. “The graphics through the 4000S have added a whole other layer to what we do – and it’s great,” McDonald said.

WGTD covers one game per week during the regular season, plus playoffs. The station also partners with Indian Trail High School in Kenosha, which has a communications program, to coordinate paid student production crews. During the year, students also produce local commercials that run during breaks in the sports coverage. McDonald said the student crews gain valuable experience, while the local student athletes get recruiting footage that looks professional.

The first fully integrated Facebook Live professional camcorder in the industry, the GY-HM250SP includes an integrated 24x dynamic zoom lens with optical image stabilizer, integrated sports graphics, dual XLR audio inputs, and support for a variety of file formats and frame rates. Both the 4000S and the enhanced CONNECTED CAM Studio 6000S, a new six-input model that supports NDI® and SRT streaming protocols, feature include an integrated audio mixer, four layers of DSK, and production switcher with automated switching mode and choice of transitions.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Video is a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD Corporation. The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video equipment, as well as D-ILA front projection systems. For more information, visit JVC’s website at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800) 582‑5825.

WAYNE, N.J.—A Wisconsin radio station is getting into the video business and has selected JVC equipment to do so. WGTD-FM in Kenosha, Wis., has deployed three GY-HM250SP 4KCAM sports production streaming camcorders and a ProHD Studio 4000S sports production and streaming studio to produce a live stream on Facebook Live for local high school sports.

WGTD-FM streams all of its coverage to Facebook Live in 720p, using two cameras stations outside of the press box and the third on the field. The GY-HM250SP cameras are connected to the Studio 4000S via HD-SDI.

The Studio 4000S system offers the station a dedicated replay tab that features a preview of every camera and allows the operator to produce slow-motion replays with dynamic camera switching and freeze frame options. In addition, the crew is able to connect a SportzCast Scorebot so the Studio 4000S receives automatic scoring updates for lower-third score graphics.

WGTD-FM began using the JVC setup during the 2018 football season, and had its first game live stream on Aug. 23 this year.

WAYNE, NJ (Aug. 15, 2019) – JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, today announced the Big South Conference, an NCAA Division 1 collegiate athletic conference, has standardized on ProHD GY-HM850 shoulder-mount camcorders to provide multi-camera coverage of sports for the ESPN+ streaming subscription service.

“It’s a really nice piece of equipment, and it’s the right tool for the job for us,” said Mark Bryant, director of broadcast services and development for Big South. “I’ve gotten positive feedback from virtually all the members – they are appreciative of having these JVC cameras in their arsenals. These are top-notch camera setups.”

When Bryant first arrived at Big South 12 years ago, he said the video equipment across the conference was a “ragtag collection” of technology. When the conference began streaming its sports content to its website, an agreement between the 11 member schools created “centralized video planning” with a basic production infrastructure and workflow to provide some consistency in coverage.

Since then, the conference has adopted a staggered upgrade path that continues to set new benchmarks in quality. Bryant said the need for a camera upgrade coincided with the move from the Big South website to ESPN+. “Last year, we knew it was time to do the cameras,” he explained. “We wanted to make a serious investment, and we wanted to do it right.”

The conference purchased 36 camera packages – three for each of the 11 member schools and three for the conference office in Charlotte, N.C. – that included the GY‑HM850, interchangeable FUJINON lens with hand grip focus and zoom controls, ProHD seven-inch LCD viewfinder, and Miller tripod. Camera packages were delivered last fall, with all schools equipped in time for basketball season. Bryant said the new cameras are a significant improvement over the Big South’s previous camcorders, which were smaller, handheld models with integrated lenses.

“What we wanted was the ability to tell our schools, ‘Here’s everything you need,’ and execute that within our budget,” Bryant explained. “JVC really understood what the conference was attempting to do and where we were going. There was really one clear winner on that.”

As part of the Big South’s agreement with ESPN+, each school provides at least a three-camera shoot for all home games for nine different sports – football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball, and lacrosse – plus championships and other sporting events as scheduling allows. The conference streams hundreds of sporting events throughout the school year, and provides a package of about 50 contests to ESPN3. The new JVC cameras are also used to provide coverage of press conferences on the Big South website, and each school’s athletic department can use the cameras for other projects across campus.

The GY-HM850 offers full HD image capture and delivery, plus a built-in streaming engine with FTP and 4G LTE connectivity. It features three, 1/3-inch CMOS sensors that provide 12-bit readout, F11 sensitivity (60Hz), and excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Dual SDHC/SDXC card slots allow simultaneous recording for instant copy/backup or relay recording for continuous shooting. The camera supports multiple native file formats at a variety of bit rates, frame rates, and resolutions. Other features include a four-channel audio system with stereo AUX inputs and two XLR inputs with phantom power, 12 assignable user buttons, and genlock and time code terminals for multi-camera setups.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Video is a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD Corporation. The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video equipment, as well as D-ILA front projection systems. For more information, visit JVC’s website at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800) 582‑5825.

WAYNE, NJ (Aug. 1, 2019) – JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, today announced a major upgrade to its family of GY-HM250 4KCAM compact handheld camcorders that streamlines connectivity to Facebook Live. The free upgrade, available at http://bit.ly/2YDDIqe, includes a new “Facebook Live” menu choice to simplify the connection process, making the GY-HM250 the first fully integrated Facebook Live professional camcorder in the industry.

Connecting with Facebook Live is a simple matter of “pairing” the camera with a Facebook account. Any pages setup in Facebook will then appear in the camera's viewfinder. Live streaming is initiated from the camera by simply clicking on the user’s timeline. While streaming to Facebook Live, users can record high quality video to dual SD memory cards.

In an effort to provide better security for live video content, Facebook Live recently made a change to its platform requiring all streaming video to use secure RTMPS protocol. With the upgrade, the new Facebook security protocol is fully integrated within the GY-HM250 family, including the GY-HM250U base model, GY-HM250SP with sports graphics and Sportzcast ScoreBot and ScoreHub integration, and the GY-HM250HW with house of worship graphics.

“Simple and secure live streaming and blogging with a professional camcorder are now a reality,” said Joe D’Amico, vice president, JVC Professional Video. “The GY-HM250 camcorder family was designed with built-in streaming, built-in graphics, and XLR audio connections – so one camcorder can create a complete production for sports, worship, and news coverage. No other camera on the market makes it this easy to connect with Facebook Live and deliver professional audio and video results.”

Designed for enhanced single-camera production, the GY-HM250 offers lower-third and full-screen titling solutions for recorded or streamed video output without an external CG or production switcher. The camera also lets customers upload logos and icons for customized graphics.

The GY-HM250 includes a 1/2.3-inch BSI 4K CMOS imager, as well as an integrated 24x dynamic zoom lens with optical image stabilizer and tele macro shooting mode. It records in a variety of file formats and frame rates, including 4:2:2 recording for 4K/30p and 4K/24p. Other features include dual XLR audio inputs, integrated handle with hot shoe and dedicated shotgun mic mount, viewfinder and LCD displays, and 4K/60p HDMI output.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Video is a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD Corporation. The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video equipment, as well as D-ILA front projection systems. For more information, visit JVC’s website at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800) 582‑5825.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – July 9, 2019 – TVU Networks, the global technology and innovation leader in live IP solutions, has announced the purchase of its TVU Anywhere app for capturing and streaming live video with the TVU Server by the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN.) VSiN uses the TVU set up to produce live remote coverage and updates for its growing audience.

Dedicated to delivering actionable sports betting news, information and analysis, VSiN broadcasts live from its studio at the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa in Las Vegas. VSiN’s first use of TVU Anywhere and TVU Server was a live report from Churchill Downs during this year’s Kentucky Derby when a Derby favorite sustained an injury and was unable to compete. That news shifted the gambling odds. Using TVU Anywhere and TVU Server, the VSiN on-site reporter delivered the news immediately on the VSiN network. The TVU solution was also used for the network’s live remote coverage of The 2019 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.

“With TVU Anywhere and TVU Server we can set up live interviews and updates at a moment’s notice,” said Brian Rogers, Executive Producer at VSiN. “Due to the expansion of sports betting and the number of events in different markets, we must be able to set up quick and seamless live shots in many locations without full crews. Although we just started using our TVU gear in May, we already foresee expanding its use. It’s easy to operate and integrates smoothly into our workflow. We’re producing linear, broadcast-quality, live interviews and hits with iPhones and iPads. And our need for live and remote programming just continues to grow.”

Rogers believes the TVU Anywhere and TVU Server solution’s ability to quickly deliver late-breaking news and live interviews is of significant benefit to both the network and its audience. He said it will also enable VSiN to better cover sports betting markets across the country by allowing additional contributors to provide commentary and live updates prior to and during events.

“We’re thrilled to be part of this exciting venture of which live streaming is such a key component,” said Paul Shen, CEO, TVU Networks. “Their fan base relies upon timely video updates as well as the expert commentary provided by the VSiN anchors to make informed betting decisions. Broadcast-quality video will attract viewers beyond their core audience to the site. Reliable, live video is absolutely critical to their current and future success.”

TVU Anywhere

Designed to turn a smart device or laptop instantly into a transmitter, TVU Anywhere is an app for capturing and streaming live video from anywhere, delivering picture quality usually reserved for more expensive professional video equipment. TVU Anywhere uses your smart device’s 4G/LTE wireless connection and WiFi when available to stream live video to a TVU Server video decoder. It uses TVU’s proprietary Inverse StatMux Plus (IS+) technology when aggregating all available 4G/LTE and WiFi bandwidth for streaming to ensure a superior picture. Users can go live instantly and monitor and control the stream from an easy-to-use interface. TVU Anywhere also features remote pan-and-zoom allowing an operator in a studio to control the camera remotely without intervention from the user in the field. Pan-and-zoom control allows for professional camera framing and exposure without degrading the HD picture quality.

TVU Server

The TVU Server (dual-channel VS3500/VS3100 models) can receive video signals from any TVU Networks’ transmission device as well as process IP streams of standard transmission protocol, SDI video, and store files in any MAM system. They are professional video hardware decoders designed for the centralized viewing, control and distribution of live video content.

About TVU Networks®

TVU Networks has over 2,500 customers in more than 85 countries. The TVU Networks family of IP transmission and live production solutions gives broadcasters and organizations a powerful and reliable workflow to distribute live video content to broadcast, online and mobile platforms. TVU has become a critical part of the operations of many major media companies. The TVU Networks suite of solutions has been used to acquire, transmit, produce, manage and distribute professional-quality live IP HD footage as an integral part of news, sports and major global events. For more information about TVU Networks solutions, please visit www.tvunetworks.com.

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LOS ANGELES—Fox Sports is applying artificial intelligence to the beautiful game of soccer for its coverage of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, partnering with IBM to boost its statistical analysis and live-streaming capabilities.

New to its broadcast this year, Fox Sports is featuring a segment called Player Spotlight Built with IBM Watson, which uses Watson’s AI capabilities to generate stat analysis on both individual players and teams for match commentary using a natural language interface. The data is gathered from Opta, a data provider that collects and analyzes every pass, goal and penalty kick in near real time. Commentators can then access the data by entering queries into the navigation function, which will then bring up highlights, data and analytics.

Fox Sports is also utilizing the IBM Aspera livestreaming technology for the Women’s World Cup, as it did for 2018’s men’s tournament. With Aspera, editors in Los Angeles have access to HD camera feeds from France within 10 seconds of live play. New to this year’s production is a real-time auto archiving function that allows raw, high-resolution footage to be stored offsite within seconds after matches are completed. Fox Sports estimates that four to six petabytes of content will be streamed throughout the tournament.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is currently underway in France and will continue through July 7. Team USA’s next game will be on Friday, June 28, at 3 p.m. EST against France.

SINGAPORE—Sony has added live streaming to its palm-sized 4K HDR professional cameras at Broadcast Asia with the introduction of a free firmware upgrade to its HXR-NX80 and PXW-Z90 camcorders for applications in news reporting and event coverage.

The firmware streamlines live streaming acquisition by leveraging the company’s Simple Live Streaming. Connected via Wi-Fi, the camcorders can live stream and upload onto major video sharing sites and social media platforms, Sony said.

Separately, Sony has offered its MCX-500 Multi Camera Live Producer and the RM-30MP remote commander as the foundation to simple, multi-camera live production.

When the HXR-NX80 and PXW-Z90 camcorders are connected to the MCX-500 via SDI or HDMI, live streaming can extend multi-camera operations to social media platforms with live tally, titling and transitions, it said.

Both camcorders use Sony’s Fast Hybrid AR system, featuring a 1.0-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS image sensor. The camcorders are equipped with fixed 29mm wide-angle ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T lenses with 12x optical zoom and 18x Clear Image Zoom in 4K using Super Resolution Technology. Up to 24x is possible with this technology in HD. The camcorders also have an XLR audio input terminal and microphone holder, according to Sony.

The firmware upgrade will be available by the end of the year, the company said.

More information is available on the Sony’s website. 

Go back a couple of decades in a time machine, and the Real Time Media Protocol (RTMP) was the protocol for streaming media. Video encoders pushed out RTMP for delivery to the cloud and, in turn, to a player. Everyone relied on RTMP, and the workflow was simple, without complications such as cloud transcoding or repacking.

Fast-forward to 2019 and RTMP is still widely used, although it doesn’t support High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, or H.265) and no longer has native support within mainstream player applications and operating systems. The industry continues to rely on RTMP-based workflows with streams pushed up to the cloud and then transcoded, transrated and repackaged before they are ready for distribution in the formats that today’s viewing devices support.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

However, a new encoding and streaming model is gaining ground—and earning support as a smarter and more cost-effective means of modern media delivery. The combination of HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) with new chip-level system hardware, along with the concept of edge compute encoding, is making the entire media delivery process faster and more efficient. And, HLS and DASH combined with the Common Media Application Framework (CMAF) enables low latency.

As a result, video delivery over the public internet is being achieved with latency levels low enough to enable a new set of applications—for example, increased interactivity that allows channel changing in emerging countries (where cable is not feasible) to be made possible. Other applications can include live auctions and sports gamification—and making streaming of “live broadcasts” actually live.

While neither HLS nor DASH is new, what is new is CMAF and the development of cost-effective live streaming video encoders that natively support HLS, DASH and CMAF. This advancement in technology is thanks to new system-on-chip (SoC) semiconductor technology that has allowed video encoders to now use more modern, purpose-built hardware rather than general purpose FPGAs and CPUs.

Built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC, new edge compute encoding devices boast significantly greater processing power than their legacy counterparts. With this additional horsepower, edge compute encoding devices can address two critical challenges in streaming: adapting smoothly to changing network conditions and delivering high-quality video over relatively poor internet connections.

Content providers use adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming to provide every viewer with the best possible image quality. With anywhere from four to eight versions of content—all with different resolutions and bit rates—available in the cloud, it’s possible to deliver the version that takes best advantage of available bandwidth for the target device. One version might be ideal for a small cellphone picture; one might be intended for an iPad, another for a PC or a set-top box.

BRINGING LIVE STREAMING TO INTERNET-CHALLENGED AREAS

The limitations of previous-generation encoding devices made it necessary to create all bit-rate variants of that initial piece of content in the cloud. Why? Because to take on the processing required to create multiple versions on the point of production, conventional encoders would need to be equipped with a bigger CPU or with a lot more FPGAs, and the costs for those add up. As mentioned, in a traditional streaming scenario, higher-resolution content is pushed at a particular data rate—often about 10 Mbps—up to the cloud, and then cloud processing outputs versions with different resolutions and bit rates.

In the new edge compute encoding model, the SoC-based device creates multiple versions of content and delivers them to the cloud for distribution. The latest generation of SoC-powered edge compute encoders can create six instances of video at different bit rates and send them all to the cloud, reducing both latency and the cost of cloud processing while maintaining image quality. And new SoC-based devices can create both HLS and DASH outputs, operating within CMAF, carrying HEVC to the cloud in a direct workflow that allows users to enjoy the bandwidth savings—upwards of 40% depending on the content—that HEVC affords.

Thanks to the high compression and high quality of HEVC, 4K video can be encoded and sent up to the cloud, thereby boosting the video quality offered to customers. While HEVC enables 4K video over public internet, consider the advantages of HEVC to a 720p signal. Maintaining outstanding quality of the 720p signal with less than 1 Mbps is now possible, opening internet-challenged areas for live streaming. Even commodity internet routing and switching gear available at consumer retail stores can be used to produce best-in-class video. This is the democratization of technology through the use of today’s standards.

The application of SoC-based edge compute encoding to streaming is transforming media-delivery workflows and the cost structures associated with them. Even more exciting is the prospect of the new applications that edge compute encoding can enable and engender. If anyone can take a camera, plug it into an encoding device and stream video worldwide in 3 seconds or less, what happens then? The possibilities are limitless, and the results will be amazing.

Todd Erdley is the CEO of Videon.

NEW YORK—Some fans care almost as much (if not more) about their fantasy football team’s score as their actual favorite team each NFL Sunday, so Verizon and Yahoo Sports are creating a one-stop spot for these fans to enjoy NFL action.

During Verizon Media’s 2019 NewFront presentation on April 30 it was announced that Yahoo Sports has extended its NFL streaming rights to its Yahoo Fantasy Football mobile app. Starting with the 2019-2020 season, fans can watch for free and unauthenticated all local and primetime games through the app. Yahoo Sports previously streamed games just through its Yahoo Sports app.

Sam Darnold, New York Jets’ quarterback and potential key subject of fan’s attention through the Yahoo Fantasy Football app, made the announcement with Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football expert Liz Loza during the NewFront presentation.