Category
Newsroom technology
Submitted by
BSkyB (Sky News) Design Team
Sky News: Bevan Gibson, head of future tech.;
Jackie Faulkner, head of ops.;
Andrew Croft, dev. exec., IT;
Matt Yelavich, dev. exec., IT Technology at work
AJA Video Systems Ha5
Hi5 video/audio
converter
Apple hardware
Axon Digital glue
BNCS Colledia
Cisco firewalls and routers
Comrex audio over IP system
Folsom Imaging scan
converters
Harris Platinum router
Livewire store and
forward server
Panasonic monitoring
Raritan KVM/IP
Slingmedia SlingboxPro
Streambox
ACT-L3 encoder
ACT-L3 decoder
Distribution server
IFB server
TANDBERG Television
Contribution
MP4 over IP encoder/
decoder
Telex talkback
Tektronix WFM 7020
Thomson Sky+ HD boxes
TSL audio monitoring
BSkyB creates a news delivery system for the 21st century
The Sky News NOC is at the very heart of our newsgathering infrastructure. This dynamic hub has been devised and built to ensure we stay ahead of the competition in the fast-paced world of delivery in any format, from any platform. The NOC has transformed how we receive content into the Sky News Centre.
Prior to this, Sky News relied on traditional broadcast technology to deliver content in real-time over satellite and leased facility lines via Sky’s MCR. Now using the NOC, a dedicated, standalone facility for Sky News, we can seamlessly contribute the majority of our media, including live video streams and packages from anywhere in the field and from our bureaus around the world via a variety of IP networks.
Like other media organizations, we have become increasingly reliant on content fed via the Internet or through our private data networks. The NOC, coupled with the aforementioned infrastructure, allows us to be live and submit packages in higher quality, more quickly and in a more cost-effective manner than before.
The NOC uses a variety of IP providers, enabling Sky News to acquire content from multiple sources. Using the latest streaming technology, we have the flexibility to receive material across the whole spectrum, from low bit-rate, lower quality, highly portable kit to full broadcast-quality, full-bandwidth deployments in our major or fixed locations.
Our specialist team of dedicated NOC staff has hybrid skills, adapted for this emerging technology. It has IT and broadcast experience to respond and adapt quickly to technical change, as well as for fault finding.
Our field crews recently underwent fundamental changes in training and use of equipment, but it’s the NOC specialist team that ensures the whole IP based operation runs smoothly. Sky News has designed the NOC to be flexible enough to quickly adapt to the latest advances in technology. The changes in this industry recently mean we must be able to rapidly install any hardware or software that enables us to take advantage instantly of whatever might be just around the corner. This edge allows us to keep doing what we do best.
Use of the NOC within Sky News has allowed us to cover breaking news in a way not possible before, both logistically and financially. The NOC opens up additional possibilities for instant deployment worldwide. We believe the high availability of reliable Internet connectivity in numerous locations around the world enables our crews to be far more effective than they would have been prior to our investment in the NOC.
Sky News is proud of being first with the news, and it’s this center which makes sure we deliver on that message. Within the NOC, we believe we have the best 21st century operations center in the business.
