BBC Broadcast tackles ESPN Classic Sport

BBC Broadcast has won the contract to playout the channels of ESPN Classic Sport, one of the fastest growing networks in Europe.
The dedicated French and Italian channels will be played out to France and Italy from the Broadcast Centre in West London from the July 1. From August 1 the channel will playout localised feeds from the Broadcast Centre in English, German and Dutch.
ESPN Classic Sport decided to move its operations to the state-of-the-art infrastructure to take advantage of the 'ingest once, use many' architecture, where media is stored digitally on a central store, enabling easy and cost effective manipulation and playout of content. Using Omnibus Colossus and Pixel Power Clarity, network directors will be able to display real-time on-screen graphics changing the look and feel of the channels with increased levels of added value, such as player lists; career stats; awards won, etc.
Jamie Baker, Director of Production and Operations, ESPN Classic Sport, said: “We chose to move our channels to the Broadcast Centre because of the flexibility, infrastructure and ability to use cutting edge technology for our graphics and post production, all of which will enable us to continue to grow our business. ESPN Classic Sport’s viewers will be able to enjoy even more engaging sports programming with the new on-screen graphics, and we know that BBC Broadcast deliver a top quality service.”
John Pink, BBC Broadcast Director of Sales & Marketing, said: “We are delighted to welcome ESPN Classic Sport to the Broadcast Centre and look forward to working with them throughout the term of the contract to develop and grow their channels. Our world class playout facility infrastructure enables ESPN Classic Sport to challenge their current workflow and take advantage of a number of cost savings within our tapeless environment.”
(GB)