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Live production remains the most important part of the media industry. While the overall consumption of live productions is less than pre-recorded on-demand content, it is live productions that drive the biggest audiences, the biggest advertising revenues, and have the biggest impact on brand reputation.

How live content is delivered once streams leave production is therefore one of the most important subjects for broadcasters, but one not always fully understood by production engineering teams. Most viewers receive excellent service, but there is still a relatively high percentage of viewers who experience poor performance. But why is that?

Essentially, it is because the internet was not conceived or designed for live video streaming. The internet has become a ubiquitous platform for all types of content delivery and many adaptations have been developed to help video traverse the networks of the internet successfully. Adaptive bitrates (ABR) is one example.

There is great promise that the internet will indeed be able to meet the high standards we all expect, even for live high-resolution low-latency video. Fine-tuning network performance is a continuous improvement process. Content Delivery Networks, Internet Exchanges, ISP core networks, and Access Networks are all part of achieving the highest possible performance for streamed video delivery.

Bandwidth to each consumer is theoretically high enough for most people to stream 4K HDR video very easily. This should be ideal for live sports productions trying to deliver viewers the most exciting experiences at highest quality. But the networks between camera and consumer may not be able to support this high level of content delivery to every viewer simultaneously.

This trio of articles looks at the state of play for these delivery networks, and explains how the respective parts of the value chain are working towards perfect quality video streaming.

The Broadcast Bridge articles in this series were originally published as part of The Big Guide To OTT book and have been updated by the author here.

About Navigating Streaming Networks For Live Sports

This free PDF download contains four articles:

Article 1 : Broadcaster OTT & Streaming Delivery Networks
With the ongoing growth of OTT content consumption, and the drive from live sports broadcasters to provide high-scale and high-quality Direct to Consumer OTT services, Streamers and their customers now demand streaming services that operate at the scale and quality of existing broadcast services.

Article 2 : Internet Exchanges & The Growth Of OTT Video
Demand for internet connectivity continues to grow rapidly. Internet Exchange Providers are now part of our critical infrastructure and their integration with ISPs and Content Providers is defining CDN and network expansion.

Article 3 : Streaming Comes In Many Shapes –– And So Do The Production Pipelines Behind It
Live streaming content direct to consumers has become central to daily life. AJA have developed a portfolio of products that help achieve a diverse array of production pipelines to achieve it.

Article 4 : Internet Service Providers & The Growth Of OTT Video
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are experiencing significant growth in bandwidth consumption largely due to the uptake of OTT video services and the growth in numbers of connected devices per household. ISPs are therefore navigating the path of making investments in their networks that support their own financial requirements and their customers’ expectations.