Invisible infrastructure: the future of live production

Cloud technologies are systematically changing the way content is produced, distributed, streamed and stored, giving broadcasters and content creators greater freedom from the limitations of expensive physical infrastructure.

There is a certain thrill in seeing on the screen something that is happening instantly and in real time in a completely different part of the world. This is one of the reasons why global sporting and entertainment events often attract billions of viewers. An example of this is the last World Cup. An estimated 3.4 billion people watched some or all of the matches live on their TVs, laptops or even smartphones, according to the research company GlobalWebIndex. That's almost half of the world's total population.

But as consumer appetite for high-quality live content continues to grow, so do the challenges media companies face in recording, distributing and broadcasting these events en masse.

Until now, live production setups have always relied on physical infrastructure: cable connections, a convoy of mobile units, mobile galleries and electrical generators, not to mention the army of talented technicians and creatives. Regardless of the size or scale of the event, high-quality live production has always required a large team and a significant upfront investment, which is why it has generally been limited to large television networks.

Cloudy sky with possibility of mass adoption

However, cloud technologies are systematically changing the way content is produced, distributed, streamed and stored, giving broadcasters and content creators greater freedom from the limitations of expensive physical infrastructure. The catalyst for this transformation is the rise of high-quality, reliable and affordable cloud-based streaming solutions.

These solutions provide audiovisual companies the opportunity to reduce live production setup costs and resources, while offering virtually unlimited scalability to meet peak demand during the processing of increasingly large and complex digital content. In short, they help increase the fluidity of production workflows to deliver content to viewers faster and in more exciting ways.

Many international organizations have already successfully migrated all or part of their operations to the cloud, in order to adapt their offering to the needs of modern audiences. Examples include Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which uses a cloud-based news production platform across all of its broadcast centers in Switzerland; Also Disney/ABC Television Group, which moved its entire broadcast operations to an IP-based “virtual master” in 2015, and finally, Netflix, which completed the migration of its streaming system to AWS in January 2016. This reminds us that, although cloud production is sometimes considered a new and untested system, there are already clear precedents of industry leaders who have adopted these methods successfully.

New generation of cloud solutions

As the adoption of cloud-based solutions increases, the capabilities of these solutions also evolve. Thanks to a new generation of cloud production tools, we will soon see that the premises of teleworking that we already enjoy in our daily work lives are transferred to the world of production. Content creators can now create and stream professional-quality content from virtually anywhere in the world. All you need is a laptop, some camcorders and a virtual mixer in the cloud.

The ability to create, collaborate and share content in real time with production teams anywhere in the world is a level of agility that traditional production methods simply cannot offer. But most importantly, cloud-based workflows are also more efficient and cost-effective. Organizations like the Locarno Film Festival moved to a cloud-based solution and saved 30% compared to their traditional production flows. Similarly, Red Bull has recently implemented a cloud solution to record and live stream its Alpenbrevet motorcycle race, which takes place in several remote locations in the Swiss Alps, via its website and social media.

The future in the cloud

This does not at all mean that traditional live production is dead; not yet. There are still high-end productions, such as large sporting events, where cloud-based solutions would not be able to deliver the same results. But this will not be like this forever. Companies in the audiovisual sector and television networks have reached a crossroads. They must make a decision: adapt to the changing audiovisual landscape and adopt these innovative technologies now or maintain the physical infrastructure, workflows and processes that have served them well to date at the risk of becoming obsolete before long. While traditional physical workflows remain an undisputed staple of this industry, the saying that “he who does not advance, goes backwards” can apply.

Due to changing viewing habits, exponential growth in media globalization and new user expectations, media companies must adopt new technologies and services that increase the value of content and engage audiences in new and exciting ways to stay relevant. Although it may seem like a leap into the unknown, cloud technologies are an established part of the manufacturing value chain of the future. They should start adopting these technologies now if they want to stay relevant and remain competitive in the future.