LiveU Sees 70% Increase in Number of Portable Live Video Transmission Units at Super Bowl XLIX Compared to Previous Year
As the provider of choice for dozens of participating stations, networks, and NFL teams, 85 LiveU units transmitted 4,460 GB of data and 1,785 hours of video for the event
Hackensack, NJ(09 Feb 2015)
LiveU, the pioneer and leader in IP-based live video services and broadcast solutions for acquisition, management and distribution, today announced it supported its largest Super Bowl deployment to date, with a 70% increase in the number of LiveU field units used in Phoenix, AZ compared to last year’s event. 85 LiveU field units were in use to cover Super Bowl week XLIX and additional events in Phoenix, including the Pro Bowl, Media Day, Fan Fests, the Phoenix Open, and the Big Game itself. This included rights-holders and other broadcast networks, local affiliates from across the US, several NFL teams, and international networks. The units performed exceptionally well throughout the week in Phoenix. LiveU also secured two dedicated hotspots in downtown Phoenix for the exclusive use of its customers, giving them an extra layer of redundancy. LiveU’s professional services team was onsite throughout the week to provide 24/7 service and support, as needed.
Since the first appearance of LiveU’s cellular bonding technology at the 2010 Super Bowl, LiveU has reported accelerated growth of the technology’s adoption each year. LiveU attributes this increase in demand for Super Bowl coverage to the following primary factors:
- Broadcasters trust LiveU as their primary means of uplink from major events due to the performance of LiveU’s LU500 portable yet highly resilient transmission backpack, the maturation of cellular bonding technology, and the increased LTE deployment by cellular carriers, resulting in broadcasters sending a greater number of LiveU devices, and renting or driving-in fewer satellite trucks compared to previous years.
- The lower cost of LiveU compared to traditional uplink, plus the desire of local stations to produce more original content to be competitive, means that many additional stations started covering the Super Bowl with their own people on the ground. This includes those who aren't rights-holders for the game and aren't from the participating markets (such as stations from outside New England and Washington state, and non-NBC affiliates).
- More NFL teams, even those not in the game, sent representatives with their LiveU units to cover their Pro Bowl players and other events at Radio Row. In fact, more than half the NFL teams currently use LiveU on a regular basis to stream exclusive content to their websites and mobile apps.
- Over the last year, LiveU has increased its overall customer base, and has deployed additional units with existing customers. This naturally led to an increased number of units at the Super Bowl.
- A larger concentration of events surrounding this year’s Super Bowl, which attracted even more media. While in most previous years the Pro Bowl was played in Hawaii, this year it was played in the same stadium as the Super Bowl. In addition, the Phoenix Open Golf tournament was played on the same week, and various large fan fests and concerts took place around town.
“Fans crave sports-related content. Over the past few years we’ve seen demand for content increase, and both traditional and online media increasing their amount of coverage to maintain a competitive edge and to cross-promote their other assets” said Ken Zamkow, LiveU’s VP Marketing, Americas. “LiveU is helping fuel this increase in live programming by offering very cost-effective and easy-to-use tools for video transmission and management.”
Zamkow continued, “Although we ended up not needing the hotspots at all, we secured them because we wanted to give our customers an extra layer of redundancy and peace of mind, in the event that there would be cellular congestion in downtown Phoenix during the week. But the reality was that the cellular LTE coverage was excellent, and our own technology has matured to a point where everything was chugging along smoothly across downtown Phoenix throughout the week.”
Photos from Super Bowl XLIX can be seen here: Game Day Pictures, Media Day XLIX and Super Bowl Week.
LiveU will present its full range of portable uplink solutions at the NAB Show, April 13-16, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, booth number SU4405. If you are interested in visiting at the show, contactliveu@vantagepr.com.
About LiveU
LiveU is the pioneer in IP-based live video services and solutions for acquisition, management and distribution. LiveU's award-winning technology enables live video transmission from any location around the world with lightweight, easy-to-use equipment. From backpacks to smartphones, and satellite/cellular hybrid vehicles to external antenna solutions, LiveU offers a complete range of devices for live video coverage anytime, anywhere. In addition, LiveU offers extensive cloud-based management and video distribution solutions. With top-tier customers in 60+ countries, LiveU’s solutions are being utilized for breaking and developing news, and high-profile events such as the FIFA World Cup, Winter and Summer Olympic Games, Presidential Campaigns, Super Bowls, US Collegiate Championships, and red-carpet events. LiveU’s solutions include multiple 4G LTE/3G, HSPA+, WiMAX and WiFi cellular links, which are optimized for maximum video quality based on the available network conditions. For more information, visit www.liveu.tv, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.