Cox Media Group Shares Content With LiveU’s Multipoint Distribution Solution

Seeking a more efficient and timely solution for distributing live content to its network of broadcast stations, Cox Media Group (CMG) is now employing LiveU’s MultiPoint IP video distribution service.  Cox implemented the solution to reduce costs and eliminate the reliance on satellite uplinks. 

MultiPoint is fully integrated into the LiveU Central, a unified, browser-based cloud management platform that enables broadcasters to share high quality, live video between multiple broadcast locations over the public Internet. The service seamlessly integrates into the daily workflow, and provides broadcasters with a highly cost-effective way to replace most of their satellite operations. Now they can share content across groups with minimal delay and without incurring satellite re-transmission fees.

CMG’s Washington, D.C. news bureau distributes live content multiple times each day to 14 of its call-letter broadcast stations across the country. Before MultiPoint, CMG distributed news stories to each of the stations via satellite uplink during scheduled feed windows, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

“For our one-man distribution operation, the steps involved in getting content out to our stations were complicated and challenging,” says CMG News Operations Manager, Kevin Johnson. “MultiPoint has effectively replaced the morning satellite window, saving both labor and expenses,” Johnson said. “We’re now able to transmit to multiple stations at the same time and not have to worry about bringing the system down and back up while configuring for each station, greatly reducing the cost of our morning shots.”

A key advantage of MultiPoint is it allows centralized web-based switching between destination stations, enabling a CMG news photographer to quickly move to the next station and set the configuration faster and with fewer steps. Before incorporating LiveU MultiPoint, CMG operations had to bring the transmission down, set the configuration for a station, bring the transmission back up and establish the connection – then repeat the process nine times. “It was stressful and presented more chances for something to go wrong,” Johnson explains.

For CMG’s coverage of the March 1 Super Tuesday primary elections, MultiPoint enabled the Washington bureau to send its news stories to multiple stations at the same time and to transmit those “live shots” one after another quickly and easily.

“Normally, we don’t transmit to all 14 stations at one time, but MultiPoint gives us the capability to do so when needed,” Johnson adds. “Our stations are happy with the quality of the transmissions and, because they receive our live shots with more lead time, they’re able to increase quality control and ease news room stress.”