HACKENSACK, N.J.—SBS Golf, a leading South Korean public television sports channel, has turned to LiveU for the live production of its 2023 professional golf tournaments.
The SBS deployment of LiveU's IP-video solutions and on-site workflow replaced traditional Radio Frequency (RF) and cabled-cameras, which require line-of-sight and longer set-up times. That reduced costs and offered increased efficiency, the companies said.
The production covers over 50 KPGA (Korea Professional Golf Association) and KLPGA (Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournaments. SBS's live coverage is transmitted live on its linear pay-TV channels, digital channels and YouTube Live to millions of golf fans in the region.
For the production, multiple LiveU field units are being used around each golf course, connected wire-free to the LiveU receiver in the production van or other outside broadcast (OB) facility. The camera crew simply turn up on the day with the LiveU backpacks. T
he deployment followed extensive testing of the LiveU EcoSystem underpinned by its LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol. LiveU's reliability was a key factor in the decision to deploy the solutions.
"We became fascinated by the possibilities enabled by LiveU, seeing that we were good to go so quickly – with lower costs and less work!” explained Young-min Kwon, executive producer, SBS Golf. “There's no heavy labor required before each tournament where previously we had to set up lengthy cables and RF systems, including a crane 40 meters up in the sky. We also saw the resiliency of LiveU's technology for ourselves when the units continued to operate in a thunderstorm on Jeju Island. Our reporter was able to carry on interviewing the players with no interruption."
“LiveU's portability means that our camera crew can follow each player as they take their shots, creating a truly immersive fan experience,” Kwon continued. “It fascinated us that we could even stream live from the halfway houses (snack bars), something we couldn't do before with RF due to signal loss."
Yaal Eshel, general manager added that “this use case demonstrates the efficiency of our EcoSystem over traditional production methods for golf and other live sports when production teams need to cover so much ground. Using LiveU, camera crews are free to move with the players, transmitting in real-time via the on-site receiver to linear TV and online destinations."
SBS Golf is part of SBS Medianet, a South Korean company by SBS Media Holdings, producing media, broadcast and telecommunication products for non free-to-air networks.
