Savannah Bananas Tap LiveU To Bring Bananas Baseball to Online Viewers

The team boosts broadcast quality in effort to expand its reach

The Savannah Bananas have done for baseball what the Harlem Globetrotters did for basketball, and a big part of their production efforts involve LiveU and, more specifically, the LU800 production-level transmission field unit.

According to Savannah Bananas Coordinating Producer Chad Reese, the LiveU ecosystem has made it possible to produce the show in many different ways (to check out a behind-the-scenes video of the efforts click here).

LiveU was brought in to bring a high-quality broadcast everywhere the team went, leveraging the company’s IP bonded-cellular encoders for connectivity and a REMI production workflow to produce the multicamera live-streamed broadcast.

“The LiveU solution gave us the ability to quickly set up our entire production, while still having the gear we use and the crew that normally runs the show from our home base in Savannah, GA,” says Reese.

Relying fully on the LiveU Ecosystem and LiveU’s patented cellular-bonding technology, the solution eliminated the worry about connectivity in any stadium or venue. “It has made it simple for us to show up, know the show, and produce it the best that we can and then move on to the next [stadium],” Reese says.

Like any growing franchise, the Savannah Bananas wanted to expand their reach: create a demand to go to games, build a fanbase, drive ticket sales, and sell merchandise. The team’s owner and production crew knew that their broadcast games needed to be available online to introduce viewers to the sport and entertainment elements to generate brand loyalty and fan following. Traditional live-production methods were off the table because of cost and complexity: production trucks, full crews and satellite connections were beyond the budget.

LiveU LU-800 transmission field unit

The LU800 production-level field unit connects to multiple camera sources spread throughout the stadium, including the broadcaster’s camera in the press box, high home, and centerfield. The LU300S lightweight encoders are deployed to all the on-field cameras. These units transmit all the live feeds to the LiveU receivers in the Bananas control room, where the show is switched live and distributed as part of the live broadcast on YouTube.

With thousands of viewers tuning in every night, the production team continues to elevate the broadcast, gaining attention from such broadcasters as ESPN and NESN, which would normally send a truck to cover the games but instead can leverage the production created by the lean Savannah Bananas production crew. The resulting engagement via the live broadcasts and content across social media has boosted Savannah Bananas revenue streams, including ticket and merchandise sales.