Level 3 Communications has reached a new agreement to provide FOX Sports with its Vyvx VenueNet+ sports broadcasting services — including video, voice and Internet — in venues throughout the U.S. for the current professional football season. The new contract is an expansion of Level 3's multiyear relationship with FOX Sports, in which Level 3 has supported their broadcast needs with VenueNet services at professional sports venues.
Earlier this year, Level 3 upgraded its Vyvx VenueNet technology in major professional football and hockey venues around the country to include video, voice and Internet services for broadcasters and content owners that are provided through a single connection panel at the venue. Since April, the new VenueNet+ has been deployed in 31 major professional football venues in the U.S. with deployment in NHL venues also under way. The VenueNet+ service offering is designed to easily support demand now and as data needs increase and new applications emerge.
As part of the VenueNet+ services, Level 3 will provide FOX Sports with the following capabilities: Video: Level 3 will provide backhaul services from sports venues back to FOX Sports' production headquarters in Los Angeles. The service will also now allow FOX Sports to connect uncompressed HD video directly at the VenueNet+ panel. In addition, Level 3 will offer JPEG 2000 compression services, which FOX Sports will trial at several venues for the 2010 football season.
Internet: Level 3 will deliver high-speed Internet access directly from the VenueNet+ panel. Consistent high-speed Internet access with symmetrical upstream and downstream connections represents a significant new advantage for production trucks, enabling new capabilities and applications, and providing Internet connectivity that surpasses that which is available in many venues today.
Voice: Each VenueNet+ installation includes phone line services from each venue, delivered via the Level 3 Enterprise voice platform.
Cisco is providing its Digital Content Manager Gateway to enable JPEG 2000 video transport for Level 3 Communications' VenueNet+ contribution network infrastructure at sports venues that are directly connected with Level 3 fiber access.
