Brazil. TVU Networks supported Globo for live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics. Sixteen TVU One mobile transmitters were distributed across the event sites, providing coverage of the 33 sports represented at the Games. Wireless transmitters allowed Globo's small staff in Tokyo to provide live video with broadcast quality from anywhere.
As the leading media channel in Brazil and Latin America, the broadcast of such a high-profile event was of paramount importance to Globo and its Latin American audience. The network devoted 1,040 hours to the live broadcast of the Summer Games, with reporters at the venue of the events in Tokyo, as well as exclusive coverage of Brazilian athletes.
"Due to the safety standards imposed by COVID-19, Globo sent only a portion of its staff to Japan, but that didn't affect the quality of its coverage at all," said Paul Shen, CEO of TVU Networks. "They were able to produce incredibly dynamic images from all locations in a safe and reliable way thanks to TVU One 5G and their Inverse StatMux technology. It's been a tough time to produce the Games, but we're proud of how customers like Globo have faced challenges by employing new ways to maximize spectator engagement. His coverage excited fans all over Brazil."
TVU One adds all available data connections, including cellular, 5G, WiFi, Ethernet, and satellite, with less than a second's latency to stream streaming-quality video from anywhere. It features TVU's HEVC video compression standard and proprietary Inverse StatMux Plus (IS+) streaming algorithm to provide superior and reliable video.
"For us, it is very gratifying to be chosen as a provider for an event of this magnitude by such a respected broadcaster as Globo," said Rafael Castillo, VP/GM Europe and Latin America at TVU Networks. "It's a great demonstration of confidence. The biggest challenges we saw at the Games were due to safety protocols, movement restrictions and quarantine rules. The rules and protocols for this year's Games were different than ever and made it difficult to plan our daily activities. The team in Tokyo supported our customers 24 hours a day, including the Globo team."
TVU Networks provided extensive on-site support at the Games, including rights-in-authoritative access to external live video streams from locations throughout Tokyo until the conclusion of the Games. Among the other services TVU offered was 24/7 on-site technical support to help all new and existing TVU customers. Free of charge, broadcasters could access the TVU Anywhere app, which allowed live streaming of high-definition video from iOS or Android smartphones for mobile journalism, including interviews with athletes and special interest stories.
TVU also had a studio space in central Tokyo available to rent. Together with TVU Partyline, TVU enabled media companies to effectively conduct remote production and journalism in a challenging environment.
TVU Networks was on site ahead of the start of the Games, supporting more than 100 broadcasters, including ESPN, beIN Sports, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), Shanghai Media Group (SMG), Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC) in South Korea, China Global Television Networks (CGTN) and 7NEWS Australia.
