Multiscreen content solutions provider Elemental will take charge of Pac-12 Networks' live simulcast online streaming, the regional sports network announced ahead of Monday's inaugural College Football Championship. Elemental will handle video processing for Pac-12's TV Everywhere offering and its YouTube International platform, which live-streams the conference's games to subscribers in 24 countries outside the United States.
An Elemental spokesperson said that the vendor is supporting Pac-12 Networks' streaming operations immediately, noting that it is supporting the network's pre-game highlights and coverage ahead of the championship game (which will air only on ESPN).
Pac-12 Networks, which has seven linear TV stations (one of them national), has an ambitious multiscreen strategy as well. The alignment with Elemental will help the broadcaster scale its TV Everywhere, Web and online video presence.
"From the very beginning we have been focused on bringing Pac-12 fans closer to their favorite teams by delivering great content 24x7 across various devices," said David Aufhauser, vice president and general manager of Pac-12 Digital. "In order to do that we need a vendor like Elemental who has a proven track record and matches our focus on the fan experience."
Elemental is providing TV Everywhere support for iOS and Android platforms in six different bitrates (from 300 kbps to 1080p at 5 Mbps). It will manage live streams for the simulcast of the network's national channel and its local channels. The network's international YouTube subscription channel is also on Elemental's slate. And the vendor will manage on-demand video and video downloads featured on the Pac-12.com website.
Launched in 2012, Pac-12 Networks is a relatively young RSN that has used TV Everywhere and a la carte, online streaming to its benefit. In October, the network partnered with Synacor to increase its reach into universities within the college sports conference--UCLA, Arizona State and Washington--streaming its content to students after it was unable to reach a carriage agreement with DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV), the largest pay-TV provider in the region.
For more:
- see the press release
- see Elemental's blog post
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