SVG Sit-Down: Videon Central CEO Todd Erdley on Connecting Sports Fans Through Live Streamed Experiences Current strategy centers around an augmented and streamlined process By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 - 12:45 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Since its founding, Videon Central has been supplying affordable live streaming and encoding solutions for a wide variety of production verticals. With EdgeCaster, VersaStreamer SDI, and VersaStreamer 4K leading the way, the company has made significant headway in supporting digital productions of some of sports' biggest events. SVG sat down with CEO Todd Erdley about how the company is virtually bringing fans together throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, overcoming technological challenges to provide this content, simplifying the user experience for better engagement, and where these at-home models of live streaming go after the pandemic ends.
Videon CEO Todd Erdley
How has the ongoing pandemic accelerated Videon's efforts in digital streaming?
Since people can't get to the venue, we're trying to come up with unique ways to bring content to the viewers by working with different sports leagues. We want fans to engage in an event in a meaningful way that feels like they're sitting next to each other but they're actually in two different households. Some of these examples include gamification, opportunities for micro betting, or a different camera angle. Since the start of the pandemic, another level of storytelling that's popped up is the larger idea of a second-screen experience. We want viewers to have the broadcast on the big screen, but also have people watch their favorite player on another screen.
What technological challenges is the company overcoming to produce a quality product?
Some leagues want a particular camera location to be streamed and delivered for remote operators to use. In addition, we might also blur some things that would otherwise be visible because we don't want full access to that type of video. We're really trying to produce elements in low latency video because that's extremely important for real-time engagement points. We're also talking about a rapid deployment of assets in a low-cost way to hook up video streaming and edge computing at every camera like a pylon cam and an in-car cam.
Aside from a production standpoint, how are you changing your behind-the-scenes workflow to better enhance the experience?
[The industry] hasn't put in the effort to create a quality product in live streaming that we have with broadcast. The typical video workflow has been encoding a video, pushing it up to the cloud, letting it re-encode in the cloud and break apart into pieces, and then send it to different destinations. That complex process takes time, requires money, and reduces reliability, so we've decided to simplify this workflow. We're now treating the supply chain of video in a way that we optimize it. For example, let's encode that video, put it in the right packaging, and deliver it directly to the CDN by bypassing the cloud. We want it to be correctly formatted so that it's going to play [efficiently ] on your phone, tablet, or computer. We also want to reduce costs and increase the number of opportunities that people have to deliver that video.
How do you see the streaming sector of the industry growing over the next 6 to 12 months? Will second-screen experiences have a lasting impact on viewing habits?
There are a couple of things that are going to happen. When fans go to a stadium and it's in between plays, they're going to be watching a specific angle of a replay or something that's personalized on a phone that's delivered in real-time. 5G in sporting venues will also be a perfect application of technology and will help with delivery. If they're not in the stadium, the experience will be able to include video, social media, and enhanced graphics.
Ultimately, we're not going to see a decrease in second screens, but actually an increase. The phrase second screen isn't going to be used within a year because it'll become a huge part of the primary screen. If you think about ad placement, there will be all sorts of different monetization opportunities for major sports leagues.
Lastly, the industry has controlled what we watch and what the pandemic has taught us is that live streaming is becoming democratized. Anybody can watch anything at any time. People want to watch corn hole or ax throwing league and they want to bet on sports like cricket. At the end of the day, we need to solve the steps that are within the supply chain. We want to automate complex elements like GOP structure and frame alignment to give an impressive user interface.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
SVG Sit-Down: Videon Central CEO Todd Erdley on Connecting Sports Fans Through Live Streamed Experiences Current strategy centers around an augmented and streamlined process By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
