A Viasat IP director station
SOCHI, RUSSIA Viasat's first appearance as Sweden's rightsholding broadcaster saw the pay TV operator rely on massive connectivity, file-based workflows and a split production approach between Stockholm and Sochi.
If the ratings are any indication, Viasat the first Swedish rightsholder after more than 50 years of broadcasts from pubcaster SVT got it right.
Viasat produced nine HD channels for its coverage, with primetime coverage on TV3 in Sweden producing ratings gold out of its Sochi control room and studio. A second studio broadcast and most of the remaining programming was produced back home in Stockholm.
Viasat Technology Producer Mikael Krantz said the basic connectivity that allowed Viasat's split production to take place involved a redundant fibre connection from Sochi to Stockholm that was divided into 12 video feeds to Stockholm, and one return feed. On the data side, a 10 Mbps connection was used for radio, while a 300 Mbps pipe allowed for a truly mixed edit infrastructure to flourish.
Viasat's produced live content from its Sochi control room.
Editing was mostly Avid and FCP, with seats and producers in the Sochi IBC, at the smaller Mountain Broadcast Center and in Stockholm. All of these seats connect to a large EVS XStoreNAS based in Sochi. Also in the mix was a huge Petabyte storage area in Stockholm, and an EVS network in Sochi made up of XT3s, IP Director PAM, XTAccess engine and XFiles.
All incoming feeds were recorded on XT3 servers, with IPDirector Content Management, MulticamLSM was also used for quick turnaround & highlights creation. The XTAccess handled all file transfer in/out of the EVS & Edit production environment, providing on the fly transcoding where required.
The NAS is the glue connecting these networks together, said Krantz. The edit network can be in Stockholm, it can be in the Mountain Broadcast Center, it can be at the (offsite) studio.
VIZRT graphics enhanced the studio product.
As Stockholm is only three hours behind the Sochi time zone, most of the Games were shown live in Sweden, so there was no need for any mass logging beyond what EVS operators would do as part of a normal broadcast.
STUDIOS & STREAMING
The studio programming coupled with eight ENG crews was part of the plan to offer programming that captures a bit of the on-site experience. The Sochi studio was in a picturesque location called TV Tower, and the setup included three cameras, two polecams, and some very interesting on-screen 3D visual elements courtesy of VIZRT software.
We have a 3D set up where we place 3D objects in the studio, said Krantz, calling up a graphic of a curling sheet with moving stones, which appears on-screen in front of the anchor positions.
As for streaming, Viasat's Viaplay streaming service made use of the host broadcaster service called the Olympic Data Feed to supplement the online content.
One interesting feature available in Sweden and resembling what broadcasters would call a multiviewer allowed home viewers to have up to nine screens open on a pad device. Audio from any one of the videos could be heard by touching the content.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma
Entertainment
08 May 2026
GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden
Link copied to clipb...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
A Viasat IP director station 
