Game on: Imagine on how IP technology is solidifying its place as the future of sports broadcasting

By Jimbo Haneklau, Imagine Communications senior account manager sports and live events.

If I had to pick two words that have defined the state of sports broadcasting in 2023, they would be ‘IP technology’. While IP-based systems themselves are nothing new, what sets this last year apart is the rate at which they — and the capabilities they deliver — have been adopted across the industry.

From the venue to the network

The shift towards IP in sports broadcasting began several years ago as venues — especially those hosting global events — began upgrading their infrastructure. While there were adopters of SMPTE ST2110 at the time, many in the industry considered the widespread deployment of IP technology to be many years down the road. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, rapidly altered this trajectory and steered the industry in that direction.

For Imagine Communications, the pandemic ushered in a new era of demands from our venue customers. When contemplating upgrades, many venues that were producing sporting events on a day-to-day basis made adaptability and scalability top priorities. The innate flexibility of IP technology made it an attractive choice, leading to its rapid rise at the venue level over the past few years.

For the most part, sports leagues and networks cautiously observed these early SMPTE ST2110 upgrades from the side lines. It wasn’t until the technology had proven itself at the venue level that larger organisations felt confident in its reliability. In 2023, they were ready to get in the game. We’ve seen a significant increase in the demand for IP solutions among these major players over the past year — a trend that will undoubtedly continue into 2024 as the world readies for the Paris Games.

The need for flexibility, interoperability and sustainability

For our larger customers that made the transition to IP-based systems this year, a major factor driving their decision was the need for solutions to cater to their immediate requirements, while also evolving with their changing needs over the next five to 10 years. Flexibility and scalability are crucial — and IP-based systems offer a distinct advantage in this regard. They can handle a wide range of formats, resolutions and codecs and can be more easily adapted to incorporate new features such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), ensuring that broadcasting infrastructure remains relevant and up to date.

When purchasing these systems, there has been a clear shift away from the previous norm of relying on a single manufacturer for all components. Instead, customers have begun sourcing solutions from multiple vendors, which allows them to leverage industry-leading solutions across different sectors of the market. Today, creating a best-of-breed system often involves collaborating with three or four different vendors, so products offering open APIs and adherence to AMWA’s NMOS standard — which enables seamless communication and integration between components from different manufacturers — have become paramount to standing up a seamless solution.

Green initiatives will also drive 2110 momentum in 2024, as regulatory changes in the EU and other regions may mandate that carbon footprints become a standard consideration when making technology decisions. As infrastructure transitions to ST2110, COTS solutions can be repurposed rather than rendered obsolete ― reducing e-waste and representing a proactive decision to invest in sustainable technology workflows.

Remote and cloud-based productions are in demand

Another factor driving the adoption of IP technology is two capabilities it enables — remote and cloud-based production, each of which were in high demand in 2023. Aside from its obvious advantages in a pandemic, many of our customers have shifted their focus to remote production because it allows them to maintain a consistent crew. This consistency — having the same team working on their sports programmes — results in higher quality broadcasts. The ability to work remotely also grants them flexibility in their production processes. And with the adoption of more standardised workflows over the last year, the reliability of these processes has increased.

Until now, the main impediment to cloud-based production has been the time it takes to transfer content to and from the cloud. The technology has steadily improved, however ― particularly with the advent of JPEG XS compression ― and today sports broadcasters are increasingly moving at least some aspects of production to the cloud. For those looking to expand their live content offering on a budget, this has been a boon. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in content creation over the last year, particularly when it comes to smaller tier 2 and tier 3 events. Many of our customers are leveraging hybrid cloud workflows to create FAST channels for these events and delivering them to viewers via OTT services. The setup of these channels is becoming increasingly efficient, paving the way for larger-scale productions and, ultimately, higher profitability.

SDI is still in the game

While the sports broadcasting industry is increasingly transitioning towards IP-based systems and remote and cloud-based production, it’s important to note that SDI technology still has a role to play. In fact, SDI will remain relevant for the foreseeable future, with a significant portion of the market expected to continue leveraging these solutions for at least the next decade. While most of Imagine’s projects over the past year did involve IP technology, there were several that took a hybrid approach combining IP and SDI, and even a few that were SDI-only.

This underscores the need for organisations in the industry to be able to choose the solution that best aligns with their operations and requirements. For some, the choice will be determined by the need to get up and running as quickly as possible, and on a limited budget. Others will want to invest more upfront to ensure flexibility for the future. So, while the ultimate path forward is clear — embracing the future of sports broadcasting means embracing IP technology and the innovations it brings — industry players also require the flexibility to follow that path at their own pace.