Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cloud will transform live sports distribution, but making it simple, accessible and cost effective is crucial

04/07/2022

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
LINK: https://www.arqiva.com/news-views/views/cloud-will-transform-live-spor...
See more stories from arqiva

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

08/07/2025

Carr Applauds Restoration of FCC Auction Authority

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is applauding the passage of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill and provision...

08/07/2025

Channel 7 Sydney Chooses RTS and Magna Systems for ST-2110 Upgrade

SYDNEY RTS has announced that Channel 7 Sydney has deployed a new comms system from RTS as part of a larger ST-2110 upgrade....

08/07/2025

Gray Media and Scripps Agree to Swap TV Stations

ATLANTA & CINCINNATI Gray Media, Inc. and The E.W. Scripps Company have entered into agreements to swap television stations across five mid-sized and small mark...

07/07/2025

SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM

SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM 7 July, 2025 Media releases Born of Greek Cypriot parents, Mr Savvides joined the SBS Board as Deputy Chair in Febru...

07/07/2025

Staying Ahead of the Threat - Everywhere, Any Time

Advanced vision solutions deliver more than reliable night vision for tactical-edge warfighters. Today's technological advances can provide the capability f...

07/07/2025

Sinclair Names Narinder Sahai EVP and Chief Financial Officer

BALTIMORE Sinclair has named Narinder Sahai its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately....

07/07/2025

Riedel Communications Launches RefSuite Ecosystem for Spo...

Riedel Communications today announced the launch of RefSuite, a powerful new Managed Technology solution tailored to professional sports workflows. RefSuite com...

07/07/2025

Skandha Media Services expands MENA presence with new off...

Regional base will foster client engagement, partner collaboration, and executive touchpoints Skandha Media Services, a leading provider of cloud-native media ...

07/07/2025

ASG-Produced Video Wins Gold Telly Award

Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced its Against All Odds - ASG Builds Cutti...

07/07/2025

Skandha Media Services announces collaboration with Warne...

Agreement secured on the strength of Skandha's proven track record in delivering reliable managed services across the full content life cycle for existing h...

07/07/2025

1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distribution

1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distributi...

07/07/2025

Formula E: Host Broadcaster Aurora on Launching New AR Graphics at the Jakarta E-Prix

Tests and decisions: Formula E host broadcaster Aurora on launching new AR graph...

07/07/2025

Formula E: Using New AR Graphics for Storytelling at the Formula E Penultimate, Final E-Prix of the Season

Building tension: Using new AR graphics for storytelling at the Formula E penult...

07/07/2025

SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots

SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots An in-depth conversation with 49ers Laura Johnson, Ravens Jay O'Brien, Las Vegas R...

07/07/2025

Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's Rock Block' Development

Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's ...

07/07/2025

'She Walks in Darkness', Agustn Daz Yanes' New Film, Premieres on Netflix on October 17

Back to All News She Walks in Darkness, Agust n D az Yanes New Film, Premieres ...

07/07/2025

2025-07-07

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA As Apple Music marks its 10th anniversary this year, Apple unveils its most ambitious creative project to date: a brand-new state-of-the...

07/07/2025

RT Announces Mark Bignell as new Commissioning Editor for Comedy

RT has announced that Mark Bignell has been appointed Commissioning Editor for Comedy following a public competition. This senior editorial position will drive...

05/07/2025

'Superestar,' the Story of a Star Who Never Changed. Premiering July 18

Back to All News Superestar, the Story of a Star Who Never Changed. Premiering July 18 Entertainment 05 July 2025 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Dis...

04/07/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Tadashi Nakamura, the Filmmaker Behind Third Act

By Lucy Spicer Editor's note: We are deeply saddened by the passing of Robe...

04/07/2025

Spotify Partners With The Reading Agency to Bring the Summer Reading Challenge to Life Through Audio

The Summer Reading Challenge has inspired children across the U.K. to embrace a ...

04/07/2025

Introducing CVP Auctions: Trusted Tech, At Auction-Only Prices

Introducing CVP Auctions: Trusted Tech, At Auction-Only Prices Brie Clayton July 4, 2025 0 Comments A New Destination for Film and Broadcast Gear at U...

04/07/2025

Unveiling China's Ecological Wonders with URSA Mini Pro 12K

Unveiling China's Ecological Wonders with URSA Mini Pro 12K Brie Clayton July 4, 2025 0 Comments Nature Documentaries Freeze Epic Momentsin Extrem...

04/07/2025

Create Any Planet in After Effects

Create Any Planet in After Effects Graham Quince July 4, 2025 0 Comments The Advanced 3D renderer in After Effects makes it really easy to import 3D o...

04/07/2025

Custom Gradient Colorize for Resolve Fusion

Custom Gradient Colorize for Resolve Fusion Simon Ubsdell July 4, 2025 0 Comments Digging into the theory of the gradient colorize process to build ou...

04/07/2025

NESN Gives Red Sox-Reds Matchup a Retro Makeover

Watching live sports on TV these days is a delicate balance for broadcasters how much information is too much?...

04/07/2025

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for July Open Meeting

WASHINGTON As Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr works to achieve his goal of a very busy, productive summer at the FCC, the agency has rele...

04/07/2025

Other World Computing Launches OWC Guardian USB-C Hardware-Encrypted Portable SSD

Other World Computing Launches OWC Guardian USB-C Hardware-Encrypted Portable SS...

04/07/2025

CANAL+ Brings MotoGP to Vision Pro with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive

CANAL Brings MotoGP to Vision Pro with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive Brie Clayton July 3, 2025 0 Comments Experience MotoGP like never before as CA...

04/07/2025

Official trailer revealed for new season of BAFTA-winning Sky Original comedy Mr Bigstuff, coming 24 July

Friday 4 July 2025 Watch the trailer here https://youtu.be/Od5WpvWmDr8 Further...

04/07/2025

Join RT Radio 1 for The Pitch, a new series exploring the heart of Ireland's GAA Clubs

The Pitch comes to RT Radio 1 airwaves this Sunday at 7pm. The Pitch is a brand...

03/07/2025

Introducing: New Carts

For our Vario-Jib, as well as for a repertoire of weights, we now have carts that make transport easier...

03/07/2025

Introducing: Slider Drive Unit

One of our latest innovations: Slider Drive Unit! Our Vario Slider not only comes with improvements and new features, but also with its own drive unit! Our i...

03/07/2025

Introducing: ARRI EVO 360

The 360 EVO lives up to its name: 360-degree rotation not only on the pan axis, but also on the roll axis, enables filmmakers to take their creative visions eve...

03/07/2025

Panther at BSC EXPO 2025

What a buzzing few days at BSCExpo in London! We were thrilled to connect with so many talented professionals from the world of cinematography. A huge thank ...

03/07/2025

"The whole rig had to be detachable mid-episode

ADOLESCENCE - Shot with Panther Tower"The whole rig had to be detachable mid-episode Netflix limited drama series Adolescence has been gaining attentio...

03/07/2025

Advanced Communication Systems Unleash a Tactical Advantage in Modern Combat Operations

To achieve a true level of decisive overmatch, communication systems must be as ...

03/07/2025

Paramount's Ray Hopkins Joins Broadcasters Foundation Board

The Broadcasters Foundation of America has named Ray Hopkins, president of U.S. distribution at Paramount Global, to its board of directors....

03/07/2025

FCC Chair Carr Lays Out Infrastructure Policy Agenda

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. In his first major policy speech, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr outlined his Build America Agenda for the agency'...

03/07/2025

TV Tech's Top NextGen TV Stories of 2025

As the industry is making a major push to transition to NextGen TV and develop new businesses that will fund the next generation of broadcasting, TV Tech's ...

03/07/2025

Netflix Rolls Out AV1 Film Grain Synthesis Streams for Film Content

Despite enabling its subscribers to watch films and TV shows in the highest possible resolution, Netflix has revealed it is taking things old school with the in...

03/07/2025

FCC's Gomez, Sen. Markey, Critics Blast Paramount-Trump Settlement

WASHINGTON In response to news that Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, Democrats and other administra...

03/07/2025

Riedel Communications Unveils RefSuite Sports Ecosystem

WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications today launched RefSuite for professional sports workflows....

03/07/2025

LYNX Technik Appoints New Executive Leadership Team

WEITERSTADT, Germany LYNX Technik, a provider of modular signal processing solutions, has announced that founder and longtime CEO Winfried Deckelmann is steppin...

03/07/2025

CTA, NCTA, LPTVBA Meet With FCC to Oppose NAB's ATSC 3.0 Petition

WASHINGTON Representatives from six trade groups representing tech, pay TV, broadband, LPTV and other sectors recently met with Federal Communications Commissio...

03/07/2025

Dan Whealy Acquires Heartland Video Systems

PLYMOUTH, Wis. Dan Whealy has acquired Heartland Video Systems and will be its new owner and president, the systems integrator said....

03/07/2025

Filmmaker Jay Holben Releases The Directors Guide to Ever...

Acclaimed filmmaker, educator, and industry veteran Jay Holben has released his most ambitious work to date: The Director's Guide to Everything a sweeping...