Canada’s Broadcasters Team with Dejero and Intelsat to Overcome Live Connectivity Challenges at Royal Wedding

Canada’s Broadcasters Team with Dejero and Intelsat to Overcome Live Connectivity Challenges at Royal Wedding
June 7, 2018 Meriam Khan

[06 June 2018]

Global News and Entertainment Tonight Canada Used Blended Cellular and Satellite Network to Seamlessly Deliver Historical Event Coverage Live to 3M+ Viewers across Television and Online

On May 19, Dejero, an innovator in cloud-managed solutions that provides video transport and Internet connectivity while on the move or in remote locations, partnered with Intelsat (NYSE; I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network and leader in integrated satellite communications, to enable Corus Entertainment’s Global News and Entertainment Tonight (ET) Canada to reliably deliver high-quality live video coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding to their 3 million+ television and online viewers.

“When planning for major events such as the Royal Wedding, securing reliable connectivity for their video over IP workflow is top of mind for a broadcaster’s technical producer when surveying potential locations,” said Bogdan Frusina, founder of Dejero. “Broadcasters must have an extremely high degree of confidence that their live feeds will be transmitted without fail. The Dejero CellSat blended connectivity solution provided broadcasters with the confidence they needed to go live in Windsor, where large crowds were likely to cause cellular network congestion, and fiber was not readily available.”

“Time and resources are extremely limited in a high-profile event like the Royal Wedding. Our crews need to be able to do their jobs quickly and easily without having to worry about technical complications. With access to the blended CellSat network, we had a strong, reliable connection to provide a high-quality feed,” said Mark Blanchard, manager, network resources at Global News. “Using CellSat to blend cellular and satellite enabled us to take advantage of the strengths of both transmission technologies and deliver exceptional coverage of the Royal Wedding with little stress or technical issues. Thanks to Dejero and Intelsat, our coverage of the event was first-rate.”

Dejero’s CellSat solution intelligently blends cellular connectivity from multiple mobile network carriers with Intelsat’s Ku-band IP satellite connectivity to provide the necessary bandwidth on demand to reliably deliver exceptional picture quality while on location.

“The Royal Wedding is a perfect example of why a solution like CellSat is needed by broadcasters around the world,” said Rob Cerbone, vice president and general manager, media at Intelsat. “By seamlessly blending cellular and satellite connectivity, CellSat enables broadcasters to focus on capturing a historical moment and telling the story at hand. The blend of satellite and cellular technology provides broadcasters with the reliability, quality and redundancy needed to go out in the field and confidently know that they will have an exceptional connection and the ability to cost effectively distribute their content to millions of people regardless of location.”

Launched in August last year across North America, CellSat made its NAB debut in April and won the IABM Broadcast and Media (BaM) award in the ‘Connect’ category. Rollout in Europe is planned for later in 2018.

On the day of the wedding, Global offered its viewers seven total hours of on-location coverage with extensive reporting of every matrimonial detail. During the build-up and post-event, ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey and Sangita Patel delivered special reports live from the UK and, joining the coverage on the road for the week of the wedding, Global’s award-winning flagship newscast, Global National anchored by Dawna Friesen, was broadcast live each evening from Windsor, England,

As of May 25, according to Corus entertainment, overnight Numeris data1put Global’s coverage of the wedding at 434,000 viewers for the 5:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. time slot. Global News’ live online stream garnered three million views. As of May 24 Global News and ET Canada‘s Royal Wedding content on YouTube reached more than six million unique viewers, and the full ceremony replay achieved more than 1.8 million views. Globalnews.ca also saw 4.35 million page views on its Royal Wedding content, and the network’s Facebook videos saw 2.23 million views.

1Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, Global Total, AMA(000) Ind.2+, May 19th 2018

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About Dejero

Driven by its vision of reliable connectivity anywhere, Dejero blends multiple Internet connections to deliver fast and dependable connectivity required for cloud computing, online collaboration, and the secure exchange of video and data. With its global partners, Dejero supplies the equipment, software, connectivity services, cloud services, and support to provide the uptime and bandwidth critical to the success of today’s organizations. Headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Dejero is trusted for broadcast-quality video transport and high-bandwidth Internet connectivity around the world. For more information, visit www.dejero.com.

About Intelsat

Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) operates the world’s first Globalized Network, delivering high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world. Intelsat’s Globalized Network combines the world’s largest satellite backbone with terrestrial infrastructure, managed services and an open, interoperable architecture to enable customers to drive revenue and reach through a new generation of network services. Thousands of organizations serving billions of people worldwide rely on Intelsat to provide ubiquitous broadband connectivity, multi-format video broadcasting, secure satellite communications and seamless mobility services. The end result is an entirely new world, one that allows us to envision the impossible, connect without boundaries and transform the ways in which we live. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.

 

About Corus Entertainment Inc.

Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that creates and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company’s portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses 44 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a global content business, digital assets, live events, children’s book publishing, animation software, technology and media services. Corus’ roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Q107, CKNW, Fresh Radio, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com.

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