Level 3 scores again with MLB.com

Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ:LVLT) will be augmenting content delivery network services for MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, in support of its live and on-demand online streaming. 

Last July, Global Crossing, with which Level 3 entered into a purchase agreement this April, was selected by MLB.com to help it distribute live streaming video and game-related information to its growing online video subscriber base.

The new deal with Level 3 will support the delivery of MLB.com's video streaming from creation to consumption using Level 3's CDN platform combined with the company's Vyvx video broadcast backhaul services.

"We can provide the CDN services they need, but that's just one piece of the puzzle," said Mark Taylor, vice president of Content and Media at Level 3. "We also provide a full suite of customized solutions-- from video backhaul to HSIP to colocation to storage--in order to meet more of their connectivity needs from a single provider. As a result, we're better able to optimize the different delivery workflows along the way, facilitating better outcomes for MLB.com and its business partners, and a better online viewing experience for baseball fans."

Level 3 is currently augmenting CDN services for live and on-demand online streaming to MLB.TV. The subscription-based video service is one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet.

MLB.com says it has served more than one billion live video streams, a quarter of which were delivered in 2010.

Level 3's network and CDN platform are designed to scale easily to meet demand like this--from flash crowds to peak loads.

For more:
- see this release

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