Skweek uses the LiveU Studio SaaS to stream EuroLeague Basketball events in France and Monaco to multiple platforms simultaneously, adding cloud-based remote local commentary.
Skweek is a lifestyle streaming platform designed specially for basketball fans, players and brands. It also serves as a cost-effective localized service for European basketball coverage, operating on a pay-per-view model for consumers. Skweek holds the exclusive rights to the men's EuroLeague Basketball tournament in France and Monaco, streaming up to 12 simultaneous live games per evening, and EuroCup.
Skweek uses the LiveU Studio SaaS to stream EuroLeague Basketball events in France and Monaco, with cloud-based remote local commentary added to matches featuring French teams, including LDLC ASVEL (ASVEL Basket, Lyon), AS Monaco, JL Bourg en Bresse and Paris Basketball.
"We wanted to reduce our video production costs significantly and introduce more flexibility to the workflow," said Cyril Méjane, Managing Director, Skweek Studios. "Delivering live commentary to the cloud is a different way of working for our commentators but they quickly adapted to the change and have found the process to be straightforward.”
Cloud Native Production SaaS
With LiveU Studio, which is a cloud-native IP-based live video production service, Skweek’s team can work with the remote operators on a vision mixer and distribute content to up to 30 linear and digital platforms simultaneously. It includes native support for LiveU’s proprietary protocol for IP bonding and wireless connectivity, LRT. The system gives a single operator the ability to produce synced multi-cam events from a single browser screen, complete with video switching and graphics, audio mixing, replay, ISO Record, remote callers and social media content.
From the match venue, Skweek receives the international feed from IMG media group and ingests it into LiveU Studio, adding branding and French commentary sent directly from the commentators themselves who connect to LiveU Studio as remote guests. Having this connection gives commentators greater flexibility and reduces preparation time.
To produce frame-accurate multi-camera productions, LiveU Studio automatically synchronises LRT, SRT, RTMP and other protocol sources.
Skweek can also use LiveU Studio to stream occasional matches, with live local commentary, directly to YouTube and other social media platforms. Taking advantage of the system’s ability to publish to multiple destinations, it can ingest live feeds through its subscription-based VOD service and stream them elsewhere.
New Functionality
Some recent updates to LiveU Studio v2.0 services will be especially useful to Skweek. For instance, Instant Replay delivers multi-angle replays and slow-motion playback, replaying up to four camera angles in sync, in one click. The service now includes ISO recording, independently capturing up to six camera feeds. These give post-production teams more editing flexibility without losing efficiency. Dynamic ad insertion using SCTE-35 marker insertion is another new option for generating revenue streams across OTT and FAST platforms.
LiveU has also worked with third-party partners to set up direct integrations into the LiveU Studio workflow, including HTML-based graphics, logos and custom elements, and AI-driven video editors. Regarding collaboration and opportunities to scale live digital productions, Remote Guest functionality gives access to eight guests to interact in real-time during live shows.
Flexible Payment
Cyril remarked that the Studio toolbox has the functionality they need for complex production while only charging them for what they have actually used. LiveU has a flexible payment package option that Skweek uses to scale up or down as demands change throughout the season. It means they can expand production capacity but only pay for the associated infrastructure while it is needed.
The LiveU team responded quickly to EuroLeague’s initial request and had the system up and running in a short time. Philippe Gaudion, Regional Sales Manager, LiveU said, "Very soon after our initial LiveU Studio demonstration and in-house testing, Skweek were using the solution in earnest for Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball. As well as saving Skweek significant costs, they have the autonomy to control their live remote cloud-based commentary and distribution workflows." www.liveu.tv
