Pac-12 Enterprises Selects iN DEMAND, Comcast Media Center for Networks

iN DEMAND and the Comcast Media Center (CMC) have been selected by Pac-12 Enterprises to work together to provide a broad range of technical distribution services for the Pac-12 Networks, the new collection of collegiate networks set to launch this August.  Work will begin immediately.

The Pac-12 Networks were announced last July, 2011 by the Pac-12 Conference, in conjunction with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks and iN DEMAND L.L.C.

“It’s hard not to be impressed by the experience and expertise that iN DEMAND and the Comcast Media Center have in delivering network distribution,” said Gary Stevenson, president of Pac-12 Enterprises. “We needed a partner that could help us manage the challenges that come with building seven networks. With all of their network distribution experience, particularly in sports, it really was an ideal fit for us.”

For the Pac-12 Networks, the coordinated iN DEMAND/CMC offering will provide distribution services for the seven linear feeds (one national and six regional feeds), including hundreds of live sports events annually, plus other programming from the 12 colleges in the conference.  In addition, iN DEMAND/CMC will provide a Free On Demand (FOD) package of content including approximately 20 hours per month, plus a TV Everywhere solution. The infrastructure of their linear network technical distribution services will include fiber connectivity between the Pac-12 San Francisco studio, all 12 of its member universities and the CMC in Denver; master control origination services located at the CMC; compression and satellite front-haul services; satellite receiver authorizations; and disaster recovery.  iN DEMAND/CMC will also provide staffing to run these technical operations.

“iN DEMAND and Comcast Media Center have a proven history of outstanding collaborative work, conducted over the years by our engineering and network teams,” said Richard Buchanan, vice president and general manager, Content Services for Comcast Media Center.  “We are looking forward to putting the expertise of our combined capabilities to work for the Pac-12 Networks and affiliates.”

iN DEMAND and the Comcast Media Center have collaborated for the past 14 years on complex infrastructure solutions for multiple live sports and other Pay-Per-View (PPV) telecasts on behalf of their owners and many cable clients. Last year, they concluded a rebuild of their new HD live-event environment and an MPEG-4 HD distribution platform.  The CMC currently provides iN DEMAND with an end-to-end content management solution for its channels, including multi-channel network origination, traffic management, sports origination and transmission.  The CMC enables iN DEMAND’s delivery of more than 10,000 live sports and event feeds annually, representing over 30,000 hours of sports package content and PPV events.

“The Pac-12 Networks is an innovative collegiate TV concept which will serve not only the 12 schools but will connect them to the broader communities around the country,” said Bob Benya, president and CEO of iN DEMAND. “We and the CMC are honored to bring our joint technical expertise to the launch pad of this significant programming venture.”

For almost 20 years, the CMC has been an industry-leading provider of content services across multiple platforms for customers worldwide. Live sports are one of the CMC’s specialties.  The CMC currently originates more than 20,000 HD, SD, and 3D live and recorded events a year for its industry customers, including out-of-market pay-per-view sports packages, and recently managed more than 100 events in a single 24-hour period.  CMC’s live event capabilities include live commercial insertion, client graphic creation and manipulation, branding, facilitation between remote sites, one-on-one coverage and monitoring, and time-delayed and/or immediate replay of live media.