Eurovision Sport engage with Blackbird to drive cloud native video production workflow efficiencies

Posted: 16/11/2021

16 November 2021, London, UK and Geneva, Switzerland – Blackbird plc (AIM:BIRD, OTCQX: BBRDF), the technology licensor, developer and seller of the market-leading cloud native video editing platform, Blackbird, announced today that Eurovision Sport has engaged with Blackbird to drive cloud native video production workflow efficiencies for its members in a multi-year deal.

Eurovision Sport is utilising Blackbird for professional, collaborative and scalable cloud native video editing and publishing of sports content. Blackbird has been deployed to enable Eurovision Sport to complement its digital services, providing cloud native editing tools for its members to take advantage of within their media supply chains.

Eurovision Sport – a division of the European Broadcasting Union (“EBU”) – manages the media rights for 17 sports on behalf of its public service media members, delivering up to 30,000 hours of sport a year through agreements with international sports federations.

Blackbird is enabling the Eurovision Sport editorial team and EBU Members to immediately access multiple live streams, seconds behind live, from any location in the world through its browser-based editor. Not only can users perform fast, collaborative clipping in Blackbird, but they can also take advantage of a multi-track non-linear editor with a professional toolset, creating high quality content that would be impossible with any other video editing technology. Content can be rapidly published to media partners and multiple digital endpoints including social, web and OTT platforms for viewers to enjoy.

Blackbird is enabling remote production, removing the need to travel to a facility or event and also eliminating the need to transit material to and from multiple local storage environments. Proven to reduce carbon emissions by up to 91% compared to traditional video editing workflows, Blackbird is playing an active role in supporting Eurovision Sport’s sustainability goals. Blackbird also reduces infrastructure costs by up to 75% due to its cloud native architecture.

Eurovision Sport Head of Content and Services, Franck Choquard, said: “In this time of Digital Transformation where not only EBU members but also all our Federations’ partners are aiming at publishing more content on their various platforms, having the possibility to quickly turn around content and enrich it through the Blackbird solution is really effective for us. We are now able to reach more fans in a more effective way and are aiming at developing our ecosystem further within the coming months. Last but not least for the EBU community, we are aiming at being more sustainable within our workflow and Blackbird is definitely a great partner in this journey.”

Blackbird plc CEO, Ian McDonough, added: “As part of the European Broadcast Union, with members in over 50 countries, Eurovision Sport is a giant in sports broadcasting. In its role in helping stakeholders navigate technological innovation in sports production, Blackbird is delighted to be playing a part as a central hub for cloud native video editing. We are really excited to add Eurovision to our growing roster of large global OEM partners and to be directly enabling their members in efficient cloud migration.”

Blackbird drives awareness, monetization and efficiencies for brands in the sports, news, entertainment and enterprise sectors. Customers include Univision, Tata Communications, EVS, IMG, Deltatre, Sky News Arabia, A+E Networks, BT, NHL, Eleven Sports, Cheddar News, Riot Games, the U.S Department of State and 75 local US news stations with TownNews.