Eurosport transforms its live sports coverage with cloud-based multi platform strategy 

Eurosport has undertaken a major technology transformation project that will see cloud-based architecture support the playout operations across its sports broadcasts.

To help achieve its goal of a unified content delivery system, Eurosport chose GVAMPP Playout, Grass Valley’s newly launched application suite for its Agile Media Processing Platform.

The project is part of a wider technology transformation Eurosport has been undertaking that includes utilising cloud and remote technology within a unified production ecosystem to allow it to create and distribute content onto any platform, from anywhere in the world.

The new playout installation allows Eurosport to “efficiently deliver every minute of its event coverage across all platforms: linear television, online, streaming, and social media.”

Eurosport is said to have chosen Grass Valley for its ability to deliver the tightest integration between production elements and playout on the market. This first installation of GV AMPP Playout will process Eurosport’s playout for the region.

“As Europe’s number one sports destination, we are committed to offering fans the best viewing experience across both live and premium on-demand content,” said Gordon Castle, Eurosport’s senior vice president of technology.

“Eurosport’s technology transformation is a fundamental part of the evolution of Eurosport business and delivery across both linear and digital platforms, helping us to unify and streamline all our operations. Many of these were previously disparate legacy systems, but now we can leverage content so much more effectively and across the organisation, from whichever location our teams operate

GV AMPP Playout delivers an elastic playout solution that is said to increase business agility by enabling users to deploy channels, where and when they need them without requiring any additional infrastructure.

Built on a cloud-first, microservices architecture, engineered from the ground up for the specific rigours of live programming, it gives customers “infinite scalability” with the ability to provide any number of channels quickly and easily with very low latency.

Mission-critical playout operations need fault-tolerant systems that deliver five-nines service availability and GV AMPP Playout’s unique self-healing design meets these needs.

“Engaging with consumers across all platforms and ensuring they get the same captivating experience on every screen is critical to our customers’ businesses,” said Grass Valley’s chief marketing officer and general manager, playout, Neil Maycock.

“Services today must also evolve very rapidly to keep pace with their core audience demands and need to be able to spin-down as fast as they are spun-up. Broadcasters also need the flexibility to support live events in a range of ways, from a traditional OB set up to at-home production, and even a hybrid approach. We are very proud to work with an industry innovator like Eurosport and to help them meet their business needs.”

The Grass Valley playout application is fully cloud-based and expandable with future GV AMPP applications, allowing Eurosport to use a distributed team of operators connected via the cloud to manage the high volume of content and playout channels that the broadcaster typically handles.