Enterprise integration platform a winner for Fox Sports

Broadcaster using integration platform to deal with 50 terabytes of data every day

Keeping track of data generated throughout a typical broadcast day at Fox Sports has become easier since the broadcaster rolled out an enterprise integration platform.

CTO Michael Tomkins said the broadcaster implemented MuleSoft Anypoint platform in 2011 to connect applications, data and devices.

“We have roughly 50 terabytes a day flowing through Fox Sports. The orchestration is all through MuleSoft.”

By running data through the platform, Tomkins said he can see data flows and make predictions throughout a broadcast day.

‘When the flows start to differ from what is scheduled, I use Kibana as a visualisation tool. I can’t see a faulty video file but I can see if my volumes are skewing off,” he said.

Fox Sports bets on private cloud

Fox Sports uses metadata searching to find unique shots for viewers.

“Once you get a certain number of cameras, what I am after is the emotion and the unique angle of that. I need to be able to find that and get it to you [the viewer] on any device very quickly. The only way to do that is through metadata,” said Tomkins.

He said that the Fox Sports audience “is on the move” so he is most interested in delivering coverage to the best available screen. For most Australians, that is the smartphone screen in their pocket, he said.

Staying with coverage, Tomkins added that Fox Sports ran a trial in August 2014 with two 4K cameras during a Carlton versus Port Adelaide AFL match. The footage was stitched together in the studio to create 8K footage.

“4K is great for netball or small grounds but I need 8K for an AFL game because the field is so big and we’re following the background action,” he said.

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia

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