Telstra Expands Global Capabilities With MediaCloud Acquisition

Telstra Broadcast Services (TBS) will broadcast some of the world’s biggest events to more parts of the globe and play a key role in delivering 24/7 programming to millions of people with the acquisition of the business and assets of MediaCloud.

The acquisition of MediaCloud will provide TBS with a suite of software-defined and cloud-based capabilities, media cloud delivery experts and a London master control room, that is equipped with the capability to support major global companies and events.

The addition of MediaCloud capabilities to TBS’s Professional Media portfolio will enable it to offer:

• Managed Streaming — a complete as-a-service offering that enables broadcasters to specify, launch and monitor over-the-top services with minimal resources while maintaining broadcast-grade SLAs.
• Internet Delivery — the ability to deliver high-quality video content and live broadcast streams including HD, SD and Ultra HD (4k) to any registered destination point, across the public internet. It is expected that this internet delivery capability will form a new entry-level tier of services, the Telstra Internet Delivery Network, available to broadcasters and media companies wishing to use TBS’s global networks but not requiring the premium service level agreements offered by its current solutions.
• Media Management and Content Orchestration — a fully managed, or platform-as-a-service offering, providing media asset management, content orchestration of complex media workflows and localization. This will also include the ability to import, manage and preview video, audio and subtitle assets, along with various transmission schedules.
• Playout — a fully managed 24/7 service for the creation of broadcast-grade linear and complex television channels.

As part of the acquisition, Australian free-to-air TV channel SBS has renewed its playout contract for MediaCloud services for seven years. This means everything from SBS News to the latest primetime show will be assembled and played out via TBS.

Darren Farnham, SBS acting chief technology officer, said: “We’re pleased to have extended our agreement for MediaCloud services with the backing of Telstra, and to continue delivering SBS’s unique content to audiences on their device of choice.”

Head of Telstra Broadcast Services Andreas Eriksson said that the addition of the MediaCloud platform will provide broadcasters with incredible flexibility to manage their content offerings through virtual environments.

“The global media industry is expanding to cloud-enabled and software-defined capabilities. Adding these leading new capabilities alongside TBS’s existing global fiber and satellite networks sets us up to meet the evolving needs of the broadcast market as well as expand our value proposition to our global client base by providing a world-class broadcast operations in London. The new capabilities will help broadcasters deploy new services and channels to respond to special events, programming opportunities and new markets in these changing times.”

The MediaCloud acquisition is the latest offering from TBS, following recent expansion into new regions, as well as new advancements and partnerships to its Telstra Global Media Network.