SES and LiveU launch integrated video contribution and distribution solution for global live events

SES, the leader in global content connectivity solutions, and LiveU, a leading provider of live video and remote production solutions, have partnered to offer an innovative end-to-end solution for live video contribution and distribution combined with premium content aggregation. Customers looking to broadcast live sports, news and other events from stadiums, sports facilities and remote sites now have access to the most reliable and cost-effective creation and delivery of live video to the widest audience – combining satellite, fibre, IP and cellular capabilities.

The fully integrated and turnkey solution based on the latest broadcast technologies gives global customers access to new services and levels of redundancy, including:

• Contribution: LiveU’s cost-efficient mobile field units for live video transmission from outdoor locations and venues connected to SES teleports via 4G/5G. This direct connection offers an alternative to an on-site SNG truck or can be used as a redundant back-up feed.
• Aggregation: Customers now have the ability to instantly aggregate their content in the LiveU Matrix IP cloud live video service, including from LiveU’s mobile field units and through SES’s satellite and IP connections.
• Distribution: Customers can now reach widest possible audiences with simultaneous access to live video distribution over SES’s global satellite and IP network and LiveU Matrix’s global customers’ endpoints.

Customers will also have access to leading sports brands using their preferred technology (IP or satellite) while benefiting from SES’s dedicated project management team and LiveU’s 24/7 support and service.

One of the first customers, Oranda Singapore, recently deployed the joint solution for live broadcasts of sports climbing in Korea to viewers across EMEA, Americas and Asia using LiveU’s portable units with SES’s satellite distribution. Floris Molijn, CEO, Oranda, said, “We are thrilled with the level of quality and flexibility that SES and LiveU have provided in finding a tailor-made solution for Oranda that combined SES’s knowledge, reach and satellite capability with LiveU’s production capabilities to deliver broadcast-quality signals over mobile data networks. Bringing it all together required out of the box thinking to turn around a project with very tight lead times, and SES and LiveU provided 100% reliability of signal distribution.”

Michele Gosetti, Head of Sales, Sports & Events at SES, said, “LiveU is a leader in mobile and cloud-based broadcast video technologies, and they perfectly complement our vision of enabling our customers to broadcast live sports and events from nearly anywhere to the widest global audience possible. Combining our expertise in sports and events and our global reach with LiveU’s mobile units and cellular technologies gives our customers the ability to deliver high-quality, professional broadcasts whether athletes are climbing up a remote mountain or competing in an urban professional sports stadium.”

Ronen Artman, VP Marketing, LiveU said, «The synergy of our joint offering is clear. We are delighted to work with the SES team and already see the benefits, delivering connectivity for our global customers using optimised IP, cellular, satellite, and fibre. As well as delivering a highly cost-effective solution for all sports tiers for greater fan engagement, our solution provides robust broadcast-quality live coverage and back-up. There are also last mile benefits – customers can deliver the aggregated feeds easily in a direct seamless delivery to their Matrix account and receiver. Combining mobile and cloud, with satellite, fibre and IP offers the widest choice of technologies and remote production workflows to customers on a global scale.»

An enabler of content and connectivity, SES reaches more than 366 million TV households and a billion people worldwide while broadcasting more than 700 hours of premium sports and live events every day. LiveU is recognised as the brand name in portable live video solutions, used by the world’s top news broadcasters and sports organizations. BCS Bureau