Ulster Rugby transforms stadium matchday experience with Exterity IP video and digital signage

IP video and digital signage technologies provider Exterity has announced that its solutions have again been selected by Ulster Rugby following the redevelopment of its Kingspan Stadium. Already a customer of Exterity’s IP video system, the addition of integrated digital signage now enables Ulster Rugby to deliver live match footage combined with tailored visitor information and promotional advertisements to screens throughout the stadium.

Following the large scale redevelopment supported by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Northern Ireland (DCAL), Ulster Rugby’s home at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast has increased its capacity from 11,000 to 18,000 with the construction of three new stands. The stadium will host both semi-finals and the final of this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup on August 22 and 26, 2017, underlining its status as one of Europe’s finest live rugby venues.

The Exterity IP video system was deployed by systems integrator Eurotek, and enables Ulster Rugby to encode live match camera feeds and stream them internally – alongisde TV channels, including BBC News and BT Sport – to 96 screens around the venue.

Eurotek is the market leader in the design, supply, installation and integration of audio-visual communications equipment in Ireland. In addition to providing digital signage to a range of clients in Ireland and abroad, other Eurotek services include meeting room automation, video conferencing and content creation.

Eurotek believes in a strong solutions-based focus and their state of the art technological knowledge helps delivers first class levels of service to their customers.

In addition to live and recorded video, ArtioSign Exterity’s integrated digital signage solution is used to engage fans and maximize revenue throughout the stadium, including screens in:

– Reception stands, corporate hospitality boxes, lounge and bar areas: managed by the commercial team, the integrated signage and IPTV screens display pre-match footage and information, sponsorship and promotional merchandise adverts, tickets, upcoming events, match replays and social media feeds, all through rotating signage screens.

– The corporate lounge area: used for meetings and conferences on non-match days, Exterity’s ArtioSign digital signage is used to create tailored messages for corporate customers.

– The gym: the signage screens provide information about nutrition and training sessions for the players.

Adrian McDonagh, IT Manager at Ulster Rugby, commented: “Extending our existing Exterity IP video system with digital signage was a natural step and has enabled us to combine high-quality video with sponsorship adverts, match information and RSS feeds. We like that we can manage the entire solution from a central point and can easily deliver the right content to the right screen. The drag-and-drop graphical editor makes it easy for the commercial team to create and update signage before each match or event.”

Adrian Back, Technical Sales and Business Development Manager with Eurotek, says: “Eurotek was delighted to be selected by Ulster Rugby to supply digital signage to the Kingspan Stadium. We proposed the Exterity IP video system as we knew it was capable of meeting the high technological standards required by the client. We’re highly satisfied with the end result and will be recommending Exterity IP video and digital signage technologies to our future clients.”

The Exterity system at Ulster Rugby Kingspan Stadium comprises: AvediaStream TVgateway, AvediaStream Encoder, AvediaServer central management platform, AvediaPlayer Receiver set-top boxes, and ArtioSign Digital Signage.

Competing in the Guinness PRO12 and the European Rugby Champions Cup, Ulster Rugby is one of Ireland’s four professional provincial rugby teams. It represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, one of the four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Ulster, comprising six counties in Northern Ireland and three in the Republic of Ireland.

The Exterity integrated IP video and digital signage solutions for stadiums will be demonstrated at the Stadium Business Summit (June 22-23, at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland).

Subscribe and Get SVG Europe Newsletters