LIVE BROADCASTS WITH OVER 100,000 SIMULTANEOUS CONNECTIONS
SSAI SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATES WITH LIVE-STREAMING PLATFORMS
SSAI (Server-Side Ad Insertion) is the latest technology that dynamically inserts ads from ad servers, providing viewers with a TV-like viewing experience without the time lag of switching and without ad blocking. SSAI is the latest technology that provides viewers with a TV-like viewing experience without switching time lags and without ad blocking.
Mainichi Shimbun and MBS adopted SSAI for the first time in the previous year’s 2017 SENBAI. However, the technology was not mature at the time, and they had to use a combination of different solutions for video content delivery and SSAI. As a result, they experienced stressful project management, with specifications not being finalized until just before the opening of the season, etc. They reorganized the project early for 2018, and in the fall of 2017, they decided to adopt Brightcove’s solution, which provided all the necessary functions for live broadcast and SSAI in a single package. The decision was made.
Brightcove has provided us with both a video delivery platform and SSAI as their own products. We thought that the two would work seamlessly together and would be easy to deal with should any problems arise.
Mr. Koji Yoshida
General Manager, IT Business Department, Content Business Bureau, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.Koji Yoshida, IT Business Manager, Content Business Department, said, “Brightcove provides both the video delivery platform and SSAI as their own products. We thought that the two would work together seamlessly and that it would be easy to deal with any problems that might arise,” he said.
We already had a proven track record. Mainichi Shimbun and MBS had experience using a combination of Brightcove Live and Brightcove SSAI. The Mainichi Newspapers used it for live coverage of the 2017 Inter-City Baseball Tournament, and MBS used it for live coverage of the Dunlop Phoenix golf tournament and the National High School Rugby Tournament, both of which were relatively large scale sporting events, with positive results. It was a big challenge to use it on such a large scale as Senbatsu LIVE! but the track record of Brightcove’s solution was reliable enough.
Sponsorships have also doubled since 2017, exceeding 10 companies. There was a need for more efficient and stable creative delivery, but the integration with the ad server was smooth, and even under the high load of up to 100,000 simultaneous connections, SSAI was able to complete the delivery of ads with no problems.
RELIABILITY OF SERVICE AND FULL SUPPORT SYSTEM
Brightcove’s live broadcast monitoring service was also used at critical times such as the opening of the event. This involves lining up a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs, to check for proper delivery, which is monitored remotely by Brightcove engineers. Another benefit is that in the event of a problem, they can quickly identify the cause and take action. Mr. Yoshida said, “Although no problems occurred as a result, we appreciate the excellent service that provided us with peace of mind.
The ease of use of Brightcove Video Cloud was also significant. In addition to the live broadcasts, many VOD videos, such as highlights, digests, and whole game videos, were also delivered for the “Senbatsu LIVE! The ability to centrally manage both live broadcasts and VOD videos with the same CMS has reduced operating costs.
Ishikawa said, “Senbatsu LIVE! has come to be a service that can be enjoyed by a large number of viewers, comparable to TV broadcasts. We could not just say, “It’s a free Internet broadcast, so it’s okay if there are a few glitches,” and we felt a heavy responsibility for the number of users. I am grateful that we were able to proceed with this project so smoothly.
