SVT leverages Ateliere Live to pioneer 100% software-defined production at Rally Sweden 2025

Picture: Dennis Buhr

Swedish national broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) has utilised Ateliere Live from Ateliere Creative Technologies to successfully execute its first fully software-defined live sports production during Rally Sweden 2025, the second leg of the prestigious FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in Umeå. The WRC’s premier winter event featured drivers navigating snow-covered stages, showcasing their skills in challenging conditions.

“An entire complex production was delivered using software-based tools and streaming media, marking a major milestone in our evolution towards software-defined workflows,” said Christoffer Ainek, technical producer at SVT. “We are beyond the proof-of-concept phase and fully operational with flexible, software-based live production.”

This milestone is part of SVT’s vision to lead the industry in digital innovation. Through its ambitious Project Neo initiative, launched in 2020, SVT is transitioning from conventional broadcasting practices to a completely digital operation.

Key goals of Project Neo include reducing environmental impact by at least 50%, optimising production processes, and cutting costs, all while reallocating resources to expand compelling content creation. Central to this transformation is Ateliere Live’s advanced cloud-native platform that accelerates such transitions by removing the need for costly proprietary equipment.

Ateliere Live offers a proven workflow that reduces production costs by at least 50% and lowers environmental impact by at least 70%. Replacing traditional broadcast hardware with an agile system of software and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, SVT’s approach provided flexibility, efficiency, and cost savings while delivering premium live coverage.

Ateliere Live’s real-time adaptability proved critical during Rally Sweden. When a rally stage was modified at the last minute, the integrated system allowed instantaneous updates to rundowns, ensuring uninterrupted, high-quality coverage regardless of changes on the ground. Powered by NVIDIA GPU processing and Ateliere Live’s innovative remote proxy vision mixing technology, this software-defined approach simplifies both scalability and environmental responsibility.

“Ateliere Live exemplifies our commitment to transforming live production,” said Dan Goman, CEO, Ateliere. “By enabling a fully software-defined workflow, we’re eliminating the need for costly proprietary hardware and unlocking unprecedented flexibility for broadcasters to scale quickly and sustainably. SVT’s achievement paves the way for a more efficient and eco-friendly future in live sports production.”

Read more Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT’s ongoing software-based production evolution

During Rally Sweden, SVT integrated studio and REMI production. The local WRC compound acted as the ingest node for the multilateral world feed while SVT’s Umeå facilities served as a hub for Swedish-language commentary and domestic coverage, equipped with PTZ cameras and commentary kits.

Two roaming reporters captured real-time reactions using cellular-bonded backpacks, ensuring dynamic on-the-ground content. The production team used a hybrid workflow with SVT’s cloud-based NEO system in Stockholm, managing live feeds, vision and audio mixing, and graphics remotely.

By eliminating the reliance on expensive proprietary hardware, such as traditional video mixers and broadcast monitors, and replacing these with COTS, commercial GPUs and consumer-grade mixers and displays, SVT has drastically cut operational costs. This scalable solution paves the way for future productions, offering broadcasters a sustainable model that does not require substantial new investments.

Additionally, the integration of NeoCom, SVT’s open-source talkback system, into Ateliere Live further streamlined communication between remote and studio production teams, improving both efficiency and production quality.

“After years of development, testing, and collaborative efforts, SVT is finally realising the vision of true software-defined production, a vital step leading to the 2026 Olympics,” said Dennis Buhr, head of production development at SVT.

SVT’s transition to software-defined workflows marks the broadcaster’s most significant technological leap since its remote production at the 2012 London Olympics. Earlier this year, SVT officially launched its NEO platform during the Singapore Smash Table Tennis Tournament. The simplicity of this setup allowed a single journalist to oversee the localisation of a live international production for a Swedish audience – including managing commentary – using only a laptop. The solution supports productions of any scale, with Rally Sweden 2025 the next step in this evolution as the first multi-operator complex production that was 100% software-defined.