HUDSON, Mass.—BitFire and Appear have struck a strategic partnership aimed at offering broadcasters, sports leagues and streaming platforms a faster, more flexible and reliable way to deliver live video from venues to viewers.
The companies have integrated Appear’s high-density live contribution X Platform with BitFire’s global transport network and cloud production ecosystem. The move enables direct ingest into BitFire’s transport network, providing low-latency, high-quality video contribution and distribution and granting access to BitFire’s virtual production tools, including Cloud Switcher, Cloud Replay and the FireBridge remote talent interface. The BitFire tools enable remote control, monitoring and distribution from anywhere, the companies said.
“This partnership merges best-in-class edge encoding with professional IP transport and scalable cloud production,” BitFire President and CEO Jim Akimchuk said. “By combining Appear’s efficient encoding with BitFire’s flexible infrastructure, we’re removing traditional geographic and hardware constraints for all live content producers.”
The integrated solution is designed for high-demand environments like live sports and entertainment telecasts where nearly instant transport and quality are critical. Appear’s X Platform solutions deliver high-quality feeds directly to BitFire’s IP transport network and cloud production platform, supporting cloud, REMI and hybrid productions, the companies said.
“Partnering with BitFire allows us to better serve the evolving needs of broadcasters and cloud operators by directly connecting our products with a world-class IP transport and cloud production provider,” Appear Chief Technology Officer Andy Rayner said. “Whether for global sporting events or full-time distribution, we’re collectively raising the bar for efficiency and quality in live production.”
The integrated solution is being evaluated by major sports and entertainment companies at the moment. Full-scale deployments are expected in early 2026. BitFire and Appear will show the solution at upcoming industry events, they said.
More information is available on the BitFire and Appear websites.
