Challenge:
- Transform and distribute thousands of hours of Olympic content to 3 content delivery networks (CDNs) plus 18 other distribution points
- Coordinate, track, and confirm delivery of thousands of media assets
- Meet tight deadlines to ensure that time-sensitive content is uploaded to the Web shortly after events take place
- Move footage over thousands of miles between Beijing, post production facilities and CDNs
Solution:
- Automate, track, and manage all transfer workflows with Signiant Content Distribution Management (CDM) software
- Create and utilize 54 different workflows to automatically transfer Video On-Demand (VOD) content between 11 different companies, and trigger publication of URL to NBCOlympics.com
Results:
- Delivered more than 5,000 media assets to each CDN and thousands to other distribution points
- Moved more than 100 terabytes of data in just 21 days
- Achieved unprecedented video traffic: 75.5 million video streams, 51.9 million unique viewers, 1.24 billion page views, and 9.9 million hours of streamed video
- Allowed viewers to access 2,200 hours of video on demand content as well as 3,000 hours of highlights, rewinds, encores, and scoring results
- Facilitated more than $25M in incremental advertising
The Olympic Games are one of the few reoccurring events that consistently garner the attention of the entire world, but until recently Olympic media coverage was limited. Viewers only had access to the footage that was chosen by editors and compressed into television broadcast schedules. For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, however, NBC Universal made history by digitizing and making available more than 3,600 hours of broadcast coverage during the 17-day event.
To achieve this groundbreaking task, NBC worked with a number of technology partners including three CDNs - Limelight, Level 3, and Akamai - and Microsoft, which provided its Silverlight browser plug-in for online viewing. Once these pieces were in place, NBC required a secure way to automate and manage the distribution of digital media files from The Games in Beijing to the three CDNs for delivery, as well as 18 other distribution points.
NBC chose Signiant's Content Distribution Management software to handle this monumental task. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Signiant was used to transfer 2,200 hours of VOD content as well as 3,000 hours of highlights, rewinds, encores and scoring results. This was done using 54 automated workflows which transferred and tracked each file as it moved between 11 different companies including CDNs, subsidiaries and post-production partners. The automated workflows manage content from creation to publishing, allowing viewers direct and timely access to events at NBCOlympics.com. By using Signiant's solutions, NBC moved more than 100 terabytes of data during the event, and in just 21 days streamed more than 9.9 million hours of online video to its viewers.
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