On
March 5, VIVE Network streamed the SUPERWOMEN: Claressa Shields vs. Marie
Dicaire Super Welterweight Title Unification pay-per-view event on its
platform.
When
the World Boxing Council asked VIVE Network to participate, VIVE called in the
professionals: Zixi and Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem
enabler. A lot of work went on behind the scenes for live broadcasts, and when
viewers were paying to watch one of the most historically significant fights in
professional boxing history, there was zero margin for error.
The
Zixi Software Defined Video Platform (SDVP) was selected for content
distribution, starting with acquisition of the fight signals via satellite to
be downlinked and handed off to Zixi software hosted on the Tata Communications
media cloud*.
The
content was then sent to a local VIVE production studio where graphics and
branding were applied before being pushed back to the Tata Communications media
cloud via the congestion and network-aware Zixi protocol.
Multiple
renditions were created and packaged as HLS and DASH for OTT consumption on
iOS, Android, FireTV, AppleTV.
VIVE
further leveraged Zixi's ZEN Master control plane to orchestrate and manage the
deployment. ZEN Master monitors complex streaming deployments at scale, and
enables the configuration and orchestration of live broadcast channels across
protocols and the Zixi Enabled Network with full telemetry visualisation of
network streams.
“This
is a great example of how easy it is to quickly and securely spin up complex
workflows using the
SDVP,
on any network, edge device, on-premises or diverse cloud infrastructure,"
said Eunice Park, VP of Global Sales at Zixi.
“Our
media ecosystem brings about the flexibility, agility and most importantly,
single point ac-
countability
which is key in live sports streaming,” said Dhaval Ponda, Global Head, Media
and Entertainment Services, Tata Communications.
According
to Ponda, Tata Communications has delivered a superior quality viewing
experience at over 5,000 live global events across multiple sports disciplines.
“Through our partnerships, we have reached over 2 billion sports fans with
sports content delivered through 90% of all global sports broadcasters,” he
said.
*Tata
Communications' global media network combines its expertise as a global tier-1
connectivity provider with its end-to-end media ecosystem to enable a
comprehensive range of solutions for
broadcasters, content owners, sports and video streaming companies.
The
Tata Communications Video Connect + service is fully-managed and ensures
reliable delivery of compressed video over the public internet, significantly
optimising the reach and cost of a terrestrial broadcasting solution. This
along with Tata Communications content delivery network (CDN) services,
delivers high quality digital experiences to customers by rendering content at
high speeds.