Swaraj Express, a 24/7 Indian news channel, has installed a range of Grass Valley solutions for its newsroom operation, leveraging greater flexibility and scalability to create a workflow that meets its needs today and tomorrow. The broadcaster is now using the iTX integrated playout platform with master control for its proven future-proof features, and the ability to efficiently manage and operate multiple playout channels across multiple platforms.

The iTX platform provides multi-resolution support, allowing the production team to easily handle 4K, HD and SD, as needed. The solution also can simultaneously play out both IP and SDI. Swaraj Express has deployed GV STRATUS for news production and content management, Kula 2ME production switchers, alongside a range of infrastructure solutions.

GV STRATUS operates as the main MAM system for Swaraj Express, offering tight integration with the third-party newsroom computer system (NRCS). GV STRATUS’ built-in social media management capability allows production staff to directly publish content and metadata to popular social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter as well as online platforms such as YouTube. It also tracks and manages assets on the platforms — from measuring popularity to deleting content after a set time. When combined with the iTX platform, this set-up gives the Indian broadcaster the ability to easily adapt to new formats and evolve its service model in line with consumer habits.

Mr. Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Swaraj Express’ Editor-in-Chief, commented: "We chose Grass Valley as our primary technology supplier because they truly understand the requirements of a news platform and deliver solutions that help us meet the changing needs of our audience, across linear, online and social media. Through our rigorous selection process, they were able to clearly demonstrate that the combination of iTX and GV STRATUS was the best solution for us, offering format flexibility, scalability and a strong roadmap, while still being robust and easy to operate. Grass Valley’s strong regional presence and unmatched technical support were also a deciding factors for us."

“Today’s audiences engage with news content in a wide variety of ways, from linear to social media and online. In this highly dynamic mediascape, news broadcasters need to be efficient and must be able to address all these platforms simultaneously, from one unified workflow,” said Greg de Bressac, Grass Valley’s vice president of sales, APAC. “The newsroom is an environment where fast turnaround is key; our news customers need technology that can help them work smarter and be more agile, quickly evolving services so they can keep audiences engaged – on any screen. We are delighted to be working with Swaraj Express to help them build a multiplatform news service that looks to the future.”