Telstra and Grass Valley enable Stan Sport to deliver all Champions League and Europa League games live
Telstra Broadcast Services (TBS) has selected Grass Valley’s GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform) to enable cloud-based production and playout capability for Stan Sport, the Australian streaming service Stan’s premium, live and on-demand add-on sport package.
Stan Sport can now deliver UHD coverage of premium live sports such as the UEFA Champions League, to its subscribers. This is the first use of AMPP for cloud-native live sports in the Asia-Pacific region.
At peak times, Stan can manage 32 simultaneous live channels to bring every Europa League game to Australian fans and, for the first time, key Champions League matches live in UHD. No physical infrastructure is required. TBS provisions each channel for the duration of the game, while Stan Sport operators manage each channel from a customised interface using a standard web browser from anywhere with a public internet connection.
The flexibility of AMPP allows Grass Valley and TBS to create a tailored solution to meet business and operation needs. This enables TBS to create new revenue stream opportunities by enabling Stan to deliver new customer experiences.
“We wanted a truly cloud-first solution to deliver the flexibility that is absolutely essential to meet Stan’s requirements,” said Carl Petch, chief technology officer, Telstra Broadcast Services. “We recognised the potential of AMPP when it launched in 2020, and we’ve seen several other successful global deployments of the technology. We’re thrilled to be named a managed service provider for AMPP and to have our first live customer streaming in UHD. We are excited about our partnership with Grass Valley and what we can achieve together using the public cloud environment, our networks and their software.”
John Hogan, chief technology officer, Stan added: “Getting premium live sports content to our subscribers in the most efficient and reliable way, without sacrificing quality, is a key focus for our business. It is vital that we have access to state-of-the-art technology that enables us to do that. Our experience with AMPP and TBS is that they are delivering a streamlined, reliable and robust solution that meets all of our operational requirements. The Stan Sport team is very pleased with the quality and consistency of the platform. It has enabled us to deliver the premium, edge-of-your-seat content for which we are known.”
Greg de Bressac, vice president sales, APAC, Grass Valley, said: “Mirroring today’s vast and dynamic media landscape, Stan’s requirements sit at the intersection of traditional linear and streaming services. Working in a hybrid environment is a key component of the GV Media Universe. The combination of AMPP and TBS’s hosting and connectivity services is a perfect mix.”