PLANO, TEXAS— Learfield Sports has added introduced LiveU as its newest Preferred Solutions Provider, a collection of technology partners endorsed by Learfield’s content group.
“When we launched the PSP program several months ago, our goal was to identify strategic partners in the technology and digital space that we can endorse and verify, making it a seamless process for our partner schools,” said Joe Ferreira, Learfield Sports’ senior vice president and chief content officer. “At least 10 partner schools already have LiveU demo packs on campus and are seeing great results from this technology.”
The collaboration will provide LiveU with an opportunity for increased exposure in college sports with access to the more than 50 institutions and associations Learfield Sports represents. Learfield has owned multimedia rights to collegiate programs throughout the country for four decades and has a presence in all of the major athletic conferences. The pairing also paves the way for volume discounting for Learfield partner schools and an opportunity for them to stream more live content via the schools’ official digital platforms, including websites and mobile apps. The content can also be repurposed for use in other video distribution, such as social media and coaches’ shows.
LiveU developed and patented technology for cellular bonding for remote news gathering, and its products enable colleges to live stream games and pre- and post-game content year round. LiveU’s product portfolio ranges from backpacks and camera-mounted units to external antennas, hybrid vehicle solutions, computer bonding software and smartphone apps.
With LiveU, Learfield’s partner schools will be able to capture live video content that is auxiliary to the games produced for TV, acquire live video streams from venues without Internet connectivity to send to their streaming partners, and remotely deliver high quality content to their websites instantly.
In addition to the individual partner school relationships, LiveU will provide stored video for Learfield Sports’ numerous content initiatives at the corporate level.
“OU has used LiveU for the last two years to transmit our coaches’ shows from remote locations back to our control room, and we’ve never had a glitch or drop out in over 80 shows,” said University of Oklahoma Athletics’ Assistant Athletic Director for Broadcast Operations Brandon Meier. “We also utilize LiveU for press conferences, live shots and any live content that originates off campus. The system is easy enough for our student production assistants to take out in the field and get a signal back every time.”
