With public cloud ready to transform live sports distribution models right now, Arqiva's Greg Burns argues that democratisation - making cloud simple, accessible and cost effective for all - is key to unlocking its true potential.
If content rules, then distribution is the power behind the throne. And increasingly, distribution is changing.
Gone are the days when the only options of delivering live sports content were through fibre in the ground or satellites in the sky. The public cloud has changed all that.
Rights holders and broadcasters can now take advantage of the capabilities of cloud to radically simplify partner distribution, streamline and automate production operations and transform the cost base by moving from traditional CAPEX approaches to OPEX-based models.
So, instead of having to invest in physical fibre or satellite infrastructure (or interchanges) for content contribution and distribution, rights holders can send their live event footage via the internet to public cloud. Broadcasters can pick it up in the same place; process it, then distribute it via the internet to platforms and channel partners all over the world. Suddenly, the world of live sports becomes available all over the world. And all you pay for is the bandwidth and services you use, when you use it.
This allows broadcasters and rights holders to be much more agile. They can test new markets, experiment with new fan experiences and take advantage of a growing cloud-based ecosystem of partners and technology providers to do things differently, more quickly and with considerably less risk than ever before. In short, everyone gets to innovate and learn without the fear (or financial costs) of failure.
Public cloud has, for example, made it possible for golf fanatics to see every shot live from every green. This kind of real-time scale' is simply not possible with traditional fibre and satellite models. It would be too expensive to get all the infrastructure in place.
In the same way, football fans can view highlights mere seconds after the action has happened on their social media apps. If the content's already in the cloud, it can be processed there without the (relative) time and expense of moving content from one infrastructure to another to create the clips, then having to move it back again to deliver to the social platforms. It all happens in one place.
Similarly, racing enthusiasts can analyse engine and driver performance in real time because multiple concurrent feeds are radically easier to manage in the cloud. And, of course, commentators and presenters can share an almost innumerable number of live action stats thanks to AI-driven analysis services that working away in real time (again in the cloud).
This isn't about technology. Cloud is all about reach, audience experience and getting maximum ROI from your rights and channel partnerships.
While this may be nothing new these capabilities and services have been around for a number of years. However, such cloud-enabled innovations havent always been accessible to everyone. Smaller rights holders or broadcasters/platforms lack the budgets and technical expertise to create these advanced, cloud-based models. To put it bluntly, NFL-style fan experiences have necessitated NFL-style budgets.
Happily, as adoption grows in the live sports space, and as service and application developer communities expand, the capabilities previously only available to a few major rights holders and networks are now perfectly accessible by everyone.
Much of this is down to the fact that cloud perhaps uniquely brings services closer to the content. Rather than spending time and money moving content from one physical infrastructure to another, it can be delivered directly into the cloud (whether by traditional or IP delivery) and processed while it's up there. Then it can be distributed in any format, wherever it needs to go. Simple.
More to the point, as cloud maturity grows and wider ecosystems develop, brands be they broadcasters or rights holders no longer have to manage the heavy lifting themselves. They can, and arguably should, plug into existing communities. Not only is there no need to reinvent the wheel but creating more open and accessible ecosystems benefits everyone delivering economies of scale, driving innovation and optimising returns.
Arqiva's Arqade is one such platform that's aiming to do exactly that. Taking advantage of public cloud, Aqade brings rights holders/originators and broadcasters/recipients together. The former have a single virtual interchange where they can showcase and syndicate content to the latter who can rapidly discover, review and request that content to create new channels or fill live event schedules. All in the cloud, without having to invest in masses of physical infrastructure or build their own future-ready cloud environments.
So, let's democratise the public cloud to unlock its very real transformational impact on live sports distribution. Next time, we'll look in more depth at the developing public cloud ecosystem and why integration is the catalyst for ever greater innovation and transformation.
Published
04/07/2022
Author
Greg Burns, Head of Media Products
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
14/03/2026
Combines mic, USB interface & wireless IEMs
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, HISONG have announced that their innovative AirStudio S1 device is ...
13/03/2026
Spotify has always been built around your taste. More than 80% of listeners say personalization is what they love most about us. Now we're taking that even ...
13/03/2026
The new Spotify Legends Club has opened its doors. Its members: select German-sp...
13/03/2026
Pushing drum sampler technology into new territories
The latest version of Klevgrand's software drum sampler has just arrived, boasting a newly designe...
13/03/2026
Expanded headphone support & engine improvements
IK Multimedia's recently introduced ARC On-Ear system brings the power of their monitoring-correction s...
13/03/2026
Extra sound collections, more presets & new Keys category
UVI's rhythm and pattern instrument has just received a major update that introduces four new ...
13/03/2026
13 Mar 2026
VEON Delivers Record Digital Growth: 4Q25 Digital Revenues Grow 84%...
13/03/2026
Friday 13 March 2026
Sky Adds Blood on Snow to Original Film Slate in Acquisiti...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase future-proof EMC testing solutions at EMV 2026 Rohde & Schwarz will participate in EMV 2026, Europe's premier trade fair and c...
12/03/2026
Modern media operations demand a platform that unites automation, orchestration, and human oversight without compromise. In this post, we explore the six key te...
12/03/2026
A deep dive into the platform
Architecture The Blue Lucy platform follows a distributed microservices architecture, meaning the overall operational capability...
12/03/2026
Orchestration platform enables broadcasters to deploy multiple AI models safely with full auditability, rights protection, and regulatory oversight.
LONDON, En...
12/03/2026
Wuppertal March 12, 2026
Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the Ame...
12/03/2026
Advanced Media Server Delivers Double the Channel Density at Half the Cost per C...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Following a successful first series, UKTV today announces the commission of two ...
11/03/2026
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Sky and CANAL launch new partnership to develop English-language drama
Sky and CANAL are today announcing a strategic co commissioni...
11/03/2026
NTCA, Cartesian Release New Report on the Business Case for USF
March 11, 2026
Network Economics
News
NTCA - March 11, 2026 - As the FCC and Congr...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
10/03/2026
10 Mar 2026
VEON's Largest Market Pakistan Almost Triples Mobile Spectrum i...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
09/03/2026
Two new high-quality DI boxes announced
Boasting some impressive technical specifications and versatile routing options, Strymon's latest active DI boxe...
09/03/2026
Latest MPE-capable Soundbox library released
The follow-up release for Sonora Cinematic's Pure Nylon has arrived, and becomes the latest addition to the...
With public cloud ready to transform live sports distribution models right now, Arqiva's Greg Burns argues that democratisation - making cloud simple, accessible and cost effective for all - is key to unlocking its true potential.
