BBC Studios works with GlobalM and Matrox for worldwide SRT distribution of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral

Looking up The Mall towards Admiralty Arch during preparations for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations, lined with Union Jack flags in May 2022

BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, worked with GlobalM’s cloud-based SRT distribution platform to stream Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Using the GlobalM SRT distribution network, BBC Studios delivered live feeds to its international rights holders, providing global BBC audiences with access to 12 hours of high-quality, interruption-free event coverage.

The BBC televised the funeral across the UK through its BBC One broadcast television network. However, BBC Studios also required a cloud-based media distribution workflow to deliver live feeds to its international rights holders with limited or non-existent satellite links. Already familiar with GlobalM and Matrox Video, BBC Studios used the GlobalM network and Matrox Monarch Edge encoder technologies, providing them with an easy-to-setup, easy-to-use solution to launch a same-day, cost-effective, IP-based distribution workflow.

The workflow began with the Monarch Edge multichannel encoders encoding high-quality, low-latency international and domestic feeds to the GlobalM SRT streaming platform. The GlobalM orchestration network then distributed and transmitted the SRT-enabled feeds – including backup and redundant paths – to international rights holders across the globe, while the master control monitored all streams in real time with the GlobalM web dashboard. During the 12-hour broadcast, the GlobalM network did not drop a single packet for a seamless SRT distribution experience.

“GlobalM and Matrox Video are honoured to have been entrusted to support arguably one of the biggest events in broadcasting history,” said Paul Calleja, chief technology officer and co-founder, GlobalM. “Matrox Monarch Edge’s high-quality and low-latency encoding support on the GlobalM private IP backbone provided BBC Studios with complete stability and quality for each stream, ensuring international rights holders near and far with exceptional event coverage.”

“Cloud-based contribution and primary distribution offers an affordable alternative and/or complementary workflow to satellite-based media transport,” said Francesco Scartozzi, vice president of sales and business development for the Broadcast and Media Group, Matrox Video. “Matrox Video has been working closely with GlobalM so that customers like the BBC can benefit from quick-to-deploy cloud-native networks that are a fraction of the cost of double-hop satellite delivery models – but with the same broadcast quality and customer viewing experience.”