A growing industry trend: Internet Delivery for Live Sports Broadcasting

In the rapidly evolving world of sports broadcasting, the demand for efficient, reliable, and cost-effective solutions for delivering live events is ever-increasing. At TBS our broadcast specialists deliver hundreds of events annually – from world cups and races to grand slams and global games. In recent years, we’ve noticed more sporting codes and international broadcasters are turning to the internet to deliver more live sport coverage.

Why Internet Delivery for live sports?

For many broadcasters and sports rights holders, internet delivery offers a cost-effective and flexible alternative to traditional carriage services. Striking a balance between premium service and economic delivery, internet delivery enables rapid deployment and management of services, increases revenue opportunities, and expands accessibility to more events. It also provides:

Enhanced Quality and Reliability:

• Leveraging technologies like SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) and RIST (Reliable Internet Stream Transport), broadcasters can monitor and tune media delivery in real-time.
• These technologies help manage issues such as latency, jitter, dropped packets, and network congestion, ensuring reliable internet carriage of real-time media streams and enhancing the overall quality and reliability of live broadcasts.
  

Cost-Effectiveness:

• Internet delivery is more affordable for additional feeds, such as pre- and post-match coverage, on-board feeds, or iso camera feeds on players and coaches.
• Compared to dedicated fibre or satellite, it reduces expenses while still delivering engaging content to fans.

Flexibility:

• Broadcasters can order short-term internet capacity without the long-term commitments required by traditional fibre suppliers.
• Rapid deployment capabilities, like those offered by Telstra’s IDN, allow for quick adaptation to changing requirements.
• Modular ingress and egress models, including BYO (Bring Your Own) media edge and cloud connectivity, help accelerate time to market.

Expanded Reach:

• Internet delivery enables broadcasters to connect to smaller venues and less well-connected locations that were previously challenging to reach with traditional fibre and satellite solutions.
• This expanded access opens new opportunities for delivering live events from a wider variety of locations, increasing the potential audience and revenue streams.

With so many advantages, it’s easy to see why internet delivery is fast becoming an attractive option for live sports broadcasting. As more of the world’s major sporting events – like the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympics - embrace internet delivery, we’re sure to see more broadcasters and sporting codes turn to the reliability and high bandwidth capabilities of modern internet connections.

The Telstra IDN difference

With the benefits of internet delivery clear, it's not surprising that our team of broadcast and media experts have seen a steady increase in the use of Telstra’s Internet Delivery Network (IDN) for major sporting events taking place around the world. But when given a choice of technology vendors, there’s a reason that so many of our global customers trust us with their content.

When quality and performance matter, the assurance of Telstra’s IDN is hard to beat:

• Security: With network connectivity at our core, Telstra’s IDN is built to be highly resilient and secure. Encrypted feeds and firewalls at the edges ensure secure transmission of media streams from stadium to screen. This ensures that live contributions and distributions are reliable, even in challenging network conditions. The network’s media tuning capabilities also optimize quality and latency, providing a superior viewing experience for audiences.

• Hybrid delivery solutions: While the live sports market is gradually shifting from satellite to internet delivery, satellite still has its place in the broadcasting ecosystem. More commonly, we’re seeing broadcasters take a hybrid approach to broadcasts, combining satellite, internet delivery and/or fibre. One of the only players globally who offers both contribution and distribution capabilities, we leverage the strengths of all technologies to provide robust and flexible solutions for delivering live events.
  
  
• 24/7 Monitoring and Support: With multiple broadcast and network operations centers around the world, Telstra offers 24/7 monitoring and support, ensuring that any issues can be promptly addressed and resolved. This level of support provides broadcasters with peace of mind, knowing that their live events are in capable hands.

As the industry continues to evolve, the adoption of internet delivery for live events is set to grow, offering broadcasters new opportunities to enhance their offerings and reach a wider audience. To ensure our capabilities meet the needs of customers, Telstra continues to build on its 70 years of experience by investing in its global network and innovating new and improved ways to deliver sport content to fans everywhere.