Submitted by
BSkyB (Sky News)
Runner-up: The AP
Submitted by: Professional Products
The Sky News NOC is at the very heart of the channel's newsgathering infrastructure. This hub has been devised and built to ensure the channel stays ahead of the competition in the fast-paced world of delivery in any format, from any platform. Using the NOC, it can seamlessly contribute the majority of its media, including live video streams and packages, from anywhere in the field and from its bureaus around the world via a variety of IP networks.
Like other media organizations, Sky News has become increasingly reliant on content fed via the Internet or through its private data networks. The NOC, coupled with the aforementioned infrastructure, allows the channel to be live and submit packages in higher quality, more quickly and in a more cost-effective manner than before. It uses a variety of IP providers, enabling Sky News to acquire content from multiple sources. Using the latest streaming technology, the channel has the flexibility to receive material across the whole spectrum, from a low bit-rate, lower quality, highly portable kit to full broadcast-quality, full-bandwidth deployments in our major or fixed locations. A 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. Field crews recently underwent fundamental changes in training and use of equipment, but the NOC specialist team ensures the whole IP-based operation runs smoothly. Use of the NOC within Sky News has allowed the channel to cover breaking news in a way not possible before, both logistically and financially. The NOC opens up a additional possibilities for instant deployment worldwide. The organization believes the high availability of reliable Internet connectivity in numerous locations around the world enables its crews to be far more effective than it would have been prior to the investment in the NOC.
