Darlington FC teams up with CJP Broadcast for Quaker TV
Darlington FC, one of Britain’s fan-owned football clubs, has teamed up with CJP Broadcast for Quaker TV, joining the growing number of sports organisations establishing their own IPTV channel.
Quaker TV will be run entirely by Darlington FC volunteers, building on their experience in running the Darlington FC YouTube channel and Darlo Fans Radio. At the core of the club’s new live-streaming service is a complete system including a Streamstar X4 Live Production Studio and four-channel talkback, supplied and installed by CJP Broadcast.
Stuart Armstrong, one of the DFR commentators over the past eight years, who has played a key role in launching Quaker TV, commented on the news: “With all the uncertainty about attendances this coming season, we decided to provide a high quality streaming service for our fans living outside the area or who might be shielding against coronavirus. We know from our work on DFR that we have many followers around the world who tune in regularly to keep up with the team and be part of the Darlo community.
“We engaged with CJP Broadcast who have been helpful with information and guidance throughout the planning stages, always looking to help to be cost conscious and reduce capital expenditure by reutilising our existing camera and audio tech into the new system. The Streamstar technology they have installed provides everything we need at this stage of our experience with live production.”
Kevin Luff, who has established the Darlington FC’s YouTube channel, added: “As a media team we’re really excited about the prospect of bringing live match-day streaming to our fans. If you had told me eight years ago when I recorded my first game for the club at Consett that this is where we’d end up, I’m not sure I would have believed you!”
CJP Managing Director, Chris Phillips, concluded: “We are delighted to be working with Darlington FC to assist them in their journey into live streaming and high-quality HD production workflows. The Darlington team have been and continue to be a wonderful partner to work with, not only delivering live streaming of games to Darlington FC fans during these uncertain times but also proving their commitment to the community through the strategy of developing young talent from local universities eager to gain work experience whilst assisting the club.
“As a dedicated fan of non-league football, I feel it has been overlooked by many who are missing out simply because the coverage and accessibility have not been there to gain a large fan base. CJP Broadcast aims to change this by helping to make non-league football attractive to watch and accessible to a global audience. With mainstream broadcasters not commercially able to bring trucks and crews to small grounds across the country, our solution provides clubs like Darlington with the technology and expertise to bring football home to their fans.”