20 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com February 2013
Cloud for Broadcast By January 2013, the Canal Football app had been Canal Football App for second screens
C-Cast is not an application, rather the intelligence behind it. It personalises the viewer’s experience By David Stewart
IN RESPONSE to a newly- launched sports channel in France, which had secured the rights to cover several sports, including part of the French Football League (Ligue 1), Canal+ Sports sought to increase the value of its offering by improving live coverage of Ligue 1’s headline matches, for which it had retained the rights. Additionally, Canal+ realised
that the way fans are now consuming media is rapidly evolving, due to both new smart devices and the spread of fast broadband connectivity. This new viewing reality led to the development of a football app for second screens. To kick off the new Ligue 1 season, Canal+ introduced Canal Football App, a second- screen application designed exclusively for Canal Plus subscribers. The app, which uses EVS’ second screen media delivery platform, C-Cast, was successfully launched during the live broadcast of the 2012 season’s first headline match. The app is the first of its kind,
providing up-to-the-minute statistics, multicam video clips of match highlights in near realtime, and bonus material such as pre-game coverage and interviews. It also features filmed reactions from Canal+ live football programme, Canal Football Club, as well as the ability to interact via social networks. The app is available on iOS for iPhone and iPad users as well as on devices using Android.
Cloud-based workflow All of the app’s content is fed through EVS’ C-Cast automated hardware and software solution.
Key action shots and references are automatically transferred to C-Cast’s central database where they are available in multiple angles, with proxy
C-Cast was developed to take advantage of the vast amount of unused content that exists on servers, wasted in today’s sports production. With C-Cast, this content can be monetised and delivered in near realtime as additional premium content to end users’ connected devices. It requires
and TV production facilities. It instantly processes and
transfers live multicam media recorded on XT/XS production servers, along with descriptive metadata and third-party items – such as graphics and statistics direct to web-connected devices with the Canal Football App. It creates a second-screen timeline
and associated metadata such as keywords describing the action and timecode references using IPDirector. Key action shots and their references are then automatically transferred to C-Cast’s central database, where they are available in multiple angles, and in a proxy file format made possible by EVS’
“Just seconds after a clip has been created it’s instantly available on the app’s timeline for review. Users can then select any camera in the stadium”
Nicolas Tissier, Canal+
limited resources at the venue and is easily integrated into an existing live production infrastructure, thereby limiting operational costs. C-Cast is not an application,
but rather the intelligence behind it, allowing customers to generate exclusive content on their own application interface. C-Cast operates as a set of integrated tools used as an add- on to any live EVS multi-camera production infrastructure in OB
of events being produced, into which external elements such as stats and social media can be inserted, enabling a high degree of interactivity and facilitating cause-and-effect programming. With an open architecture-based API, broadcasters can build their own web application interface, and monetise the service through subscriptions, sponsorship or merchandising. During the live productions, Euro Media France creates clips
synchronised multicam recording process. Graphics showing match
statistics created by Symah Vision Technology are also integrated into the database using the system’s API. As a result, in less than two minutes, the database can feed the linked web interface with the packaged media direct to football fans. The NetcoSports Group is responsible for the branded design and interface.
A personal experience Today more than 70% of tablet owners watch sports on their TVs while consulting their web- connected device as a second screen following parallel stats or exchanging tweets with other members of the web community. C-Cast enables broadcasters to take advantage, rather than risk the effects of, social media engagement, giving consumers more reasons to engage with the content they’re consuming and introducing new revenue opportunities to broadcasters. “C-Cast truly personalises the
viewer’s experience,” said Nicolas Tissier, project manager of the Canal Football App at Canal+. “Just seconds after a clip has been created it’s instantly available on the app’s timeline for review. Users can then select any camera in the stadium or on the pitch to view the action from their preferred angle.” Providing users with a more personalised experience adds value without adding expense, explains François-Charles Bideaux, director of sports production at Canal+. “C-Cast was easily integrated into our existing EVS live production infrastructure, and with the added value it brings, the marginal production costs can be recovered quickly.” By January 2013, the Canal
Football app had been downloaded to 350,000 tablets and smartphones: 295,000 iOS devices and 55,000 Android devices. Users visit the app an average of twice per match, watching 15-20 clips per visit, and spending an average of 30 minutes on the app in total. The most popular feature is the timeline with exclusive clips and multi-camera angle highlights.
downloaded to 350,000 tablets and smartphones
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