It may be that news consumption has changed considerably throughout the years. In July 2022, Ofcom’s report on “News Consumption in the UK 2022” revealed that social media has become a relevant source for news. Even though the sources were mainly focused on the UK, there is every reason to believe a similar trend could be found throughout the world. Especially for the youngest audiences, social media has become their main source of news. Despite this growth in social media as a news source, television remains the number one source of live news consumption.
There are various reasons why it is important to access live news, and there is no question that it has transformed the way we live. We have instant access to every piece of information as it happens, and having access to instant news has an appeal to specific groups of audiences. Moreover, access to news that transients or migrants receive from their ethnic country of choice from somewhere outside their home country allows them to be connected and be appraised with what is going on in that part of the world.
Live news streaming plays an important role as it keeps us up to date with what is going on in the world. With live streaming, anyone, anywhere around the world, can access news from any device. This is where Caton’s technology provides the solution for news broadcasters like Yonhap News TV to expand their live news coverage to viewers around the world.
Market Challenges
YTV is a broadcasting station based in LA, USA that broadcasts the content produced by Yonhap News TV in South Korea. YTV operates a 24-hour news channel with three US terrestrial and cable channels. Via YTV America, Yonhap News TV content is transmitted live 24 hours a day to its audiences in Southern California. Yonhap News TV is also brought to audiences in Atlanta and Guam via Korean Television Network (KTN) Atlanta and GTA Teleguam respectively.
To ensure its 24 hours news content would be delivered reliably to its customers, Yonhap News TV realized it required an alternate solution. The former service was besieged by black frames and pixelizations that inherently led to poor customer viewing experiences. Caton responded to their requirements, competed with various vendors and was selected for its advanced technology.
Another consideration that was in Caton’s favour was the scalability that its solution offered. Yonhap News TV and YTV America wanted to future-proof its infrastructure and ensure its future expansion plans could be met. Their goal was to expand both within and outside the United States to reach all Koreans living around the world. Many Koreans living overseas, particularly in the United States, China, and Japan, may be interested in watching the latest news concerning their country of origin and staying up to date with the latest developments. Hence, both Yonhap News TV and YTV were looking for a solution that could scale quickly and a technology partner with the right expertise to support its business plans.
Solution
Caton worked with MediaCan, a Broadcasting solution consulting company in Korea for Yonhap News TV, to design an integrated solution to securely and reliably transmit live HD video from Korea to Los Angeles, Atlanta & Guam:
The architecture of the transmission from Korea to Los Angeles, Atlanta and Glam
- Reliability 24/7: The IVP-3000 media processing platform was selected for its robustness and reputation as a professional workhorse most suitable for 24/7 operations. This platform has a dual power supply and hot-swap modules to meet all workflow needs. Yonhap News TV deployed two IVP-3000 units, one main and one backup, to reliably and securely transmit its content from Korea to the United States via its global network, the CatonNet Video Platform (CVP). Once received, the transport stream is decoded using the Caton Live 4K Decoder and distributed to viewers by various designated partners. The Caton Live 4K decoder is a compact, high-performance decoder suitable for roving setups and live events. It is built with Caton Transport Protocols (CTP) to deliver ultra-low latency live video securely over any private network and the internet and is interoperable with major industry protocols.
- Best viewing experience: By tapping into Caton’s proprietary transport protocols, Yonhap News TV’s content is transmitted in an optimized and stable manner to its viewers in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Guam. Caton Transport Protocols (CTP) leverage artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning approaches that work to smooth and mitigate network challenges intelligently. Content delivered on CTP is assured of the highest quality with ultra-low latency. This ensured that Yonhap News TV met its promise of delivering the best viewing experience to its customers.
- Scalable and Flexible: The CatonNet Video Platform (CVP) has a point of presence in over 60 countries worldwide which instantly provided Yonhap News TV with the global reach they desired. The solution architecture was designed to be scalable and expandable by deploying additional Caton Relay Server (CRS) and relevant equipment to serve as many audiences as possible within the United States and beyond. The CRS deployed on the solution provides Yonhap News TV with the scalability and flexibility needed, enabling them to add new content streams with just a few clicks on the system.
Conclusion
Yonhap News TV’s unique market offering presented opportunities for expanding into new markets. By working with Caton, Yonhap News TV has elevated its level of service by providing a higher-grade viewing experience for its customers and a clear strategy for expanding into new markets for business growth.
About Caton Technology
At Caton, we believe in the power of IP networks to enable high-quality real-time interactions between people, things and everywhere in between. We are passionate about empowering our technology to unlock growth potential for our customers and remain committed to their success. Innovation, service and reliability are core values that define us. Contact us for more information.
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