NESN taps Burst to Deliver Cellphone Video into EVS Workflow

Burst, a technology platform that allows for cellphone video to more easily become a part of live TV production, has partnered with EVS on an integration that allows EVS operators to easily bring video acquired from mobile devices into their existing workflow. One of the first customers to use the new integrated system is NESN, New England’s most watched sports broadcast network.

The integrated Burst and EVS solution enables NESN to better engage with their increasingly mobile audience. Network can now showcase fan videos during live Boston Red Sox telecasts within minutes of submissions. Once a fan uploads a video using the Burst platform, the video is reviewed by legal and, upon approval, is automatically uploaded and transcoded into a broadcast-quality format, streamlining the mobile-to-broadcast workflow.

“Mobile video allows us to directly engage with our fans via the two devices on which they spend the majority of their screen time — their smartphones and their television. By leveraging solutions from Burst and EVS, we can provide a more meaningful and interactive experience to our audience,” says Joseph Maar, NESN’s vice president of programming and production, executive producer. “Our team can quickly and easily crowdsource authentic fan-generated content directly from Red Sox Nation worldwide and incorporate it into a broadcast without adding an additional layer of hassle to the workflow. Fans now have the chance to see themselves on the live TV broadcast within minutes of submitting a video to NESN.”

While the convergence of consumer smartphone adoption and the growth in mobile video creates a perfect opportunity for fan and viewer engagement, most broadcasters struggle with the complexities associated with mobile video collection, management, integration and distribution.

Burst and EVS solve these unique challenges by providing a framework and process for the television audiences to quickly capture and upload their authentic fan-reaction videos directly to the media company without requiring the consumer to download a mobile app. The broadcaster can then seamlessly curate and publish this content thanks to the new EVS XFile3, where it can instantly be integrated into the live television in near real-time under their brand. The Burst platform is a low-cost way for broadcasters, publishers and other content creators to generate incremental video inventory for consumption on all devices. EVS provides the XT3 best-in-breed replay server that offers complete control from ingest to playout, including slow motion replays, live editing, content management and multimedia delivery solutions. Broadcasters and content creators who leverage EVS XT3 replay servers combined with new XFile3 content contribution workflow enabler can easily take advantage of the integrated solution.

“With the influx of on-demand television, live programming is critical to the success of a broadcaster, and making the experience as interactive and engaging as possible becomes that much more important,” explains Bryant McBride, CEO of Burst. “Through our integration with EVS, we’ve created the ultimate bridge that connects mobile video and broadcast TV and allows media companies to take control of user-generated content from mobile devices in a way that has never been possible.”

“At the forefront of smartphone adoption is the opportunity to engage with fans directly through their devices, yet broadcasters weren’t able to crack the code on mobile video,” said Laurent Petit, OB & live production solution manager at EVS. “We’re excited to team up with Burst, a like-minded organization, to help expedite the future of mobile-to-broadcast for our customers.”