Fatstone Signs Broadcast Services Contract With Ericsson

Oslo-based Fatstone Media has signed a four-year contract with Ericsson for consultancy and playout managed services required to launch Fatstone’s outdoor action sports TV channel.

The Fatstone channel will be dedicated to lifestyle sports such as snowboarding, kitesurfing, rock climbing and the like. Fatstone will initially be transmitted to the Nordic countries, with plans to expand transmission to the rest of Europe and the US.

“Ericsson was the right choice of partner, as it is a global company and already manages more than 1.5 million hours of broadcast TV in Europe every year,” says Ann-Mari Albertsen, CEO at Fatstone Media. “We felt that Ericsson can provide the flexibility and speed needed to meet the demands of our dynamic business environment. Our CTO, Gaute Kristiansen, worked with Ericsson’s broadcast engineers to draft a roadmap document covering the planned system and future service expansions in territories such as the US.”

Under the terms of the contract, Ericsson will provide playout of content delivered by Fatstone in the form of digital video files to Ericsson’s broadcast services facilities. The workflow is entirely tapeless and the system provided by Ericsson is fully redundant and configured to the highest standards.

“We are very excited to work with such a creative and dynamic partner,” says Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast Services at Ericsson. “We want to ensure that Fatstone can focus on developing their business in the TV and Social Media space while we support them with our flexible and scalable platforms. We believe that our innovative TV technology, deep industry insight, managed services expertise and ability to leverage economies of scale make us the ideal broadcast partner.”

Ericsson has a strong broadcast services foothold in Europe, transmitting more than 200 channels of TV every year for well-known local and global broadcasters.

Since 2007, Ericsson has been applying the managed services business model it developed for telecom operators more than 15 years ago to broadcasters – thereby enabling broadcasters to focus on content and customers.