Ericsson partners with UKTV to deliver the UK's first virtualized live event broadcast

8 September 2016

Ericsson and UKTV, the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK, unveil completely virtualized live playout service at IBC Show 2016

Ericssons Virtualized Live Playout service is built and operated to the same standards of reliability as traditional linear services, and provides support for graphics and ad insertion

New service provides opportunity to launch pop up channels by leveraging channel capacity on rental basis - including daily - with no long term commitments

Ericsson today announced it is working with UKTV, the countrys biggest multichannel broadcaster, to deliver the UKs first virtualized live event broadcast. Ericssons Virtualized Live Playout service will help UKTV launch and broadcast live events on its award-winning network of channels, which includes the UKs most watched non-PSB channel, Dave.

The product will be unveiled for the first time at IBC Show in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ericssons Virtualized Live Playout is an entirely software based, fully managed service that operates on a fully virtualized cloud environment. The service features a highly flexible commercial and operational model, which enables broadcasters and content owners the ability to rent playout or channel capacity on a daily, pay as you go basis with no long-term commitments, capex, maintenance costs or on-going technology investments.

Virtualized Live Playout is designed to carry live content and support graphics and ad insertion, and is built and operated to the same standards of reliability as traditional linear services. The service can be used for pop up or temporary live channels or as a disaster recovery service and is a part of Ericssons Virtualized Playout portfolio.

Sinead Greenaway, Director of Technology and Operations, UKTV, says,

Virtualised Live Playout is the product of a collaboration between UKTV and Ericsson to solve a real business problem - the delivery of a cost effective and flexible solution to support UKTVs live broadcast ambitions. We are delighted to have been part of such an innovative project and look forward to the service becoming an integral part of the broadcast landscape over the coming years

Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast and Media Services, Ericsson, says,

Our Virtualized Live Playout service is a real-life example of utilizing advances in virtualization and cloud technology. It will provide our customers with the flexibility and agility that their programming needs while having linear equivalent reliability without the need for dedicated technology investment and the risk of under-utilized capacity. This new service complements our industry leading playout portfolio and leverages our vast experience in running live services including high profile sports, entertainment and news events, which we deliver every day for our clients through our playout centers across the globe.

In July, Ericsson announced the extension of its playout, video on demand (VOD) and access services contracts with UKTV. As part of the contract, Ericsson announced the migration of UKTVs VOD preparation services to its end-to-end Package and Deliver managed service, which is powered by Ericssons cloud media processing service platform.

Ericsson is one of the leading global providers of broadcast and media services, and has worked with some of the worlds most well-known broadcasters, platforms and content producers, including BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT Sport, ITV, FOX, DreamWorks, Liberty Global, NPO, Canal+, NOS, Bonnier Group, Sky, HBO, TV5 Monde and France 24.

Every year, Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services distributes more than 2.7 million hours of programming in more than 90 languages for more than 500 TV channels worldwide. Ericssons global content discovery portfolio spans more than 10 million movies and program titles covering over 35 languages. Globally more than 200 million people interact with Ericssons rich metadata each week. In addition, Ericsson provides over 230,000 hours of subtitling each year - more than 100,000 hours of which is live.

END

NOTES TO EDITORS About UKTV

UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK.

The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for 9.31% of the British commercial TV market. The companys most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £319m and EBITDA of £82m. It invested £148m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.

UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating its 23rd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / press.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

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