Capital Concerts, PBS Relies on The Switch Transport Services for “A Capital Fourth“

The Switch was the primary provider of transport services for the Facebook Live and YouTube broadcasts of “A Capitol Fourth,” America’s national Independence Day celebration, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol.

Capital Concerts and PBS, host of the live television broadcast, relied on The Switch for both fiber and satellite contribution services to support the linear and Over-The-Top distribution of “A
Capitol Fourth.”

In addition, The Switch provided OTT production control room and personnel resources in Los Angeles to prepare, format and submit the program, including live Closed Captions, to both YouTube and Facebook for the Eastern Time Zone and Pacific Time Zone telecasts.

“Broadcasting the event over OTT, in addition to our live broadcast on PBS, allowed the program to be viewed by millions around the world including troops stationed internationally,” says Michael Colbert, President and Executive Producer, Capital Concerts.

“We are honored to be part of this annual program that celebrates our nation’s birthday,” says Scott Beers, Chairman and CEO, The Switch. “This year, we have added our suite of OTT products to enhance the delivery of this great event to multiple platforms around the world.”

2017 marked the 37th annual edition of A Capitol Fourth. This year’s event was hosted by Emmy Award- nominated actor and producer John Stamos and included performances from The Beach Boys, The Blues Brothers, and Kellie Pickler among others. The concert was free and open to the public; it drew hundreds of thousands in attendance.