Pac-12 Networks Goes All-In With AWS, Cloud Workflow New tools enable a new, more efficient way of working By Troy Dreier, Contributor, Streaming & Digital
Monday, December 3, 2018 - 11:08 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The Pac-12 Networks is on course to produce 850 games during its 2018-19 season and has found a perfect production partner in Amazon Web Services (AWS). Using a variety of AWS Elemental media solutions, Pac-12 Networks (Pac-12 Conference's production wing) has transitioned to an efficient cloud-based workflow, one that runs from creation to distribution with all stops in between.
Pac-12's relationship with AWS goes back several years, with AWS providing technology used on-premises in a more limited basis. But this season's cloud partnership has produced not only new tools but a new way of working.
They're definitely very much embracing all the services that we've made available, says Aslam Khader, chief product officer, AWS Elemental. We think this is just the start of a really interesting relationship.
Event feeds are routed to Pac-12 Networks' central production facility in San Francisco, before making their way to channels, partners, and viewers around the world. The network uses AWS MediaLive to transcode the ABR renditions, and MediaPackage to create the HLS streams for distribution to its own online service.
AWS MediaConnect is used in two ways. The newest tool in AWS Elemental's media-services line, announced just last week, it lets clients upload live video and transfer it wherever it needs to go. Pac-12 uses it to distribute live feeds to affiliates and other distribution partners and also to bring its production feeds to its own studio. Going with MediaConnect gives the network more flexibility in contribution workflows, letting it use the internet instead of fiber to transfer streams. It also lets the network source content from a greater range of venues, since fiber is no longer a concern.
AWS Elemental's Aslam Khader: [Pac-12 Networks gets] to make to make their services even more efficient from a time-to-market-latency and cost perspective and also provide customers with brand-new experiences and more choice.
At the moment, Pac-12 uses AWS MediaTailor for two of its seven owned channels but will increase that to all seven this month. The server-side ad-insertion tool lets the network deliver targeted ads to viewers and create a fluid stream that looks more like a TV broadcast and gets around ad blockers.
After an event, Pac-12 uses Amazon S3 for archiving and also turns its live streams into VOD assets using MediaPackage. Producers can specify in and out points in live streams. That content is held in a 14-day rolling buffer for every channel. When needed, AWS will create the on-demand files from the buffer, storing them on S3 along with the manifest.
Pac-12's production has undergone an enormous change, but creating the new workflow has been a collaborative process, enabling all teams to get up to speed quickly.
AWS promotes the concept of fail fast and scale fast, creating an atmosphere of quick experimentation. When something doesn't work, Pac-12 can put it aside without wasting a lot of money and resources. But when something clicks, AWS helps grow the results.
Pac-12 started working with MediaTailor just a few weeks ago, but, thanks to this supportive environment, it has already implemented a complex ad-decisioning and digital-advertising workflow - one that incorporates AWS media services, Pac-12's ad-decisioning server, and third-party ad networks - in a short time.
Although Pac-12 is already making use of a variety of AWS tools, that is likely to increase in the coming years. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) solutions could automate tasks like creating highlight clips and generating real-time closed captions.
They were one of the first in the world to put together this centralized production environment, bringing 10, 12 camera feeds into a central studio for the purpose of producing premium events, Khader says. We do see a lot of potential for how a lot of that can also be migrated to the cloud.
It's really right for a lot of innovation that can benefit from AI and ML technologies, he continues, which they are looking at very closely - a very big advantage of going with media services and AWS. They get to make use of the large number of ML services to make their services even more efficient from a time-to-market-latency and cost perspective and also provide customers with brand-new experiences and more choice, which I think they want to do and which we are fully enabling with all of these capabilities.
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...
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 ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Pac-12 Networks Goes All-In With AWS, Cloud Workflow New tools enable a new, more efficient way of working By Troy Dreier, Contributor, Streaming & Digital 
