Telefónica Servicios Audiovisuales and Appear secure LaLiga contribution and distribution deal

System integrator and service provider Telefónica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), with the support of Appear, has been selected by LaLiga to deliver the next-generation contribution and distribution network for Spain’s premier football competitions.

Following a highly competitive process, TSA secured Lot 4 of LaLiga’s new media operations contract, which will be deployed and managed from TSA NOC located in the Aravaca CNSO in Madrid. It will be responsible for the contribution and distribution of live match feeds from stadiums to central production facilities and then on to global rightsholders. As TSA’s trusted technology partner, Appear will deliver using its X Platform to enable a highly flexible, scalable and ultra-reliable infrastructure.

TSA and Appear will handle 200+ feeds from stadiums across Spain to the master control room in Madrid, as well as managing low latency feeds from OB trucks for remote production.

Through Appear’s X Platform, the deployment will deliver 1080p50 HDR content, including licence-based upgrades to UHD format and SRT to serve LaLiga’s future broadcast needs. Encryption will be used to protect the premium sports content from piracy.

“We are honoured that LaLiga has selected Telefónica Servicios Audiovisuales to manage the contribution and distribution of its premium soccer content,” said Jose Luis García Cabrera, COO at TSA. “With the deployment of Appear’s industry-leading compression solutions, we are able to offer LaLiga the most technically advanced and powerful solutions on the market today. This project comes as a valuable addition to the comprehensive solutions we have already been delivering for top-tier sports environments – including fixed port networks, AV networks in stadiums, press rooms, production equipment, IP ST2110-based stadiums or show control systems, among others.”

Chris Alner, SVP commercial director EMEA at Appear, said: “It’s a privilege to have been chosen alongside Telefonica to be responsible for the new contribution and distribution infrastructure for LaLiga. Spanish football fans are some of the most passionate in the world and expect only the best quality content when they are cheering on their favourite team. The flexibility, power and competitive price point of our X Platforms will ensure that the system can evolve as needed to keep pace with the changing face of live sports broadcasting.”