ViewCast Emerges as a Leading Global Solutions Provider in Live Sports Streaming
Using ViewCast Technology, Major Broadcasters on Three Continents Streamed Beijing Coverage, Other Premier Sporting Events of 2008 to Millions of Viewers
PLANO, Texas—October 15, 2008— ViewCast Corporation (OTCBB: VCST), a leading global provider of streaming solutions that enable viewing of professional quality video via Internet and mobile devices, today announced that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and leading broadcasters in Asia and North America were among a number of international broadcasters who streamed live video coverage of the games in Beijing to millions of viewers with ViewCast Niagara encoders and Osprey video capture cards.
The trend of major broadcasters and organizations utilizing ViewCast technology to stream live and on-demand video of major events through their Web sites began long before the games in Beijing. In June 2008, viewers in North America were able to watch live Web-TV coverage of a premier boxing match in the U.K., as Amir Khan defended his lightweight title. In July, the storied English football club, Liverpool FC, began streaming games to its global fan base. And in August, the BBC installed Niagara Pro encoders from ViewCast for live streaming coverage of prestige sports and news events.
For online and mobile video coverage of the games in Beijing broadcasters stepped-up their use of ViewCast streaming equipment, and audience responses exceeded all expectations. More than 100 million viewers watched streaming video of the various sporting events during the first 10 days of the games via the Web site of China’s main broadcaster, and BBC Sports’ online video coverage of the games enabled it to break into the top 10 most-visited sites in the U.K, as reported by Streamingmedia.com (August 22, 2008).
Adobe® Flash® Media Server powered the live video streaming for the BBC’s coverage from Beijing. Adobe Flash Player, installed on 98 percent of all Internet-connected desktops, enabled viewers to enjoy high-impact online video across all major platforms and browsers.
Jim Guerard, vice president and general manager of Adobe’s Dynamic Media, commented, “Adobe Flash technology enables broadcasters to bring immersive, interactive Web experiences to millions all around the world, and ViewCast technology is a robust solution for its delivery.”
ViewCast President and Chief Executive Dave Stoner remarked: “The success of ViewCast is built in large part on alliances with valued industry leaders such as Adobe, which plays a key role in the online broadcast industry through its leading-edge innovations and Flash® Player technology. Through these relationships, and by listening to our customers needs and anticipating market trends, ViewCast will remain at the forefront of technology and continue to provide next-generation streaming solutions that enable broadcasters, government organizations and enterprises to deliver high-quality, compelling interactive experiences to their audiences globally.”
Stoner added: “In the coming years we see wider and substantially higher rates of adoption of streaming technology as broadcasters increase the use of streaming media over the Internet and mobile devices to meet the growing demand of consumers who want to watch video at the time of their choosing and on their terms.”
According to an ABI Research report (September 2008), the number of American consumers watching streamed videos almost doubled from 32 percent a year ago to 63 percent today.