ITV’s Dancing on Ice gets remote live production solution with NEP Connect

ITV Studios Entertainment, which produces television show, Dancing on Ice, chose NEP Connect to provide a permanent media fibre connectivity network, to get the show on air live every week over the 10 week production.

NEP Connect provides remote production for ITV’s Dancing on Ice

Dancing on Ice is filmed in a purpose-built, semi-permanent studio space and production infrastructure at Bovingdon Airfield, a former airfield south of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK.

An essential technical requirement for bringing Dancing on Ice to millions of viewers each week was to install permanent media fibre connectivity, for which ITV contacted NEP Connect, a provider of critical broadcast connectivity.

NEP Connect installed a 1GB Anylive fibre to serve as the main connectivity hub with a satellite truck serving as a back up. The connectivity was established in close cooperation with the host OB company Telegenic, to ensure live connectivity for the show every Sunday. NEP Connect’s Anylive fibre network connects more than 150 sport, music and event venues across the UK and has proven its value across a vast number of live productions.

A high-speed managed link was established from the Bovingdon facility allowing a tailored workflow to ITV Studios’ specific post-production requirements for efficient and secure remote ingest.

An additional Anylive hub which was installed, managed and monitored by NEP Connect provided permanent internet broadband for onsite WiFi for production and the OB crew via a 10GB Anylive pipe. Telephony, corporate internet, security CCTV, comms, 4-wire talkback and connectivity for the crucial public vote team are also provided.

NEP Connect’s managing director, David Meynell, added: “The economic benefits of remote production are readily apparent, but the exciting part – the creative production possibilities – are only beginning to be explored and appear to be almost endless. Anylive’s ring network topology ensures that services are always provided by the most efficient route, which eliminate a major step – and potential point of failure – in live production.”