Ericsson, Front Porch Digital, launch disaster recovery solution

Being off-air is perhaps the one thing that all broadcasters fear most, and yet the prohibitive cost of redundant broadcasting systems means that few broadcasters can afford them.

To overcome this problem, Ericsson is cooperating with Front Porch Digital to provide a cost-effective playout recovery solution for broadcasters.

The solution will consist of a redundant playout platform provided by Ericsson and a cloud-based storage platform called LYNX provided by Front Porch Digital. Since the solution can be shared by multiple customers, the cost for each customer is significantly reduced.

Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast Services at Ericsson, says: "Broadcast Services is an area of increasing importance for us and Ericsson already manages more than 1.5 million hours of broadcast TV every year, for more than 200 channels. As a broadcast services partner we understand that the most important thing is that the show must go on, and our cooperation with Front Porch Digital will allow us to provide a playout recovery solution to broadcasters at an affordable cost."

Ericsson signed its first broadcast managed services deal in 2007 and completed the acquisition of the Broadcast Services Division of Technicolor, a worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector, in July 2012. Ericsson manages day-to-day operations for broadcasters so that they can devote their attention to their customers, programming, content acquisition and strategic planning.