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National German Basketball League taps Blackmagic for live streaming

League has also partnered with OTT service airtango to facilitate the live streaming of matches

Germany’s second tier national basketball league, 2. Basketball-Bundesliga, has developed a live production workflow using broadcast infrastructure from Blackmagic Design to live stream matches from venues across the country.

Developed with support from Teltec GmbH, each of the 16 portable production units (PPU) comprises two Micro Studio Camera 4K and a pair of Blackmagic Studio Cameras for acquisition, with an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K used for vision mixing.

As a rights owner, the Basketball-Bundesliga partnered with OTT service airtango to facilitate the live streaming of league matches.

“Not only did we want to broadcast matches online, we also wanted to produce highlights packages and coverage of press conferences as well as club news, which fans could access for free,” said Daniel Müller, managing director, 2. Basketball-Bundesliga. “To ensure that content is treated with consistency we’ve standardised our production workflow around a PPU system that is powerful yet user friendly.

“Each system is incredibly intuitive and provides enough creative flexibility that means clubs can experiment with the type of content they produce on the court and off.”

Match action is acquired in 1080i/50 from a pair of cameras in courtside and steadycam positions, while two fixed camera positions above each hoop supply the ‘basketcam’ shots. Live signals are taken into a bespoke production rack, where the ATEM switcher brings together graphics, scoring overlays, commentary and ambient audio.

“To achieve this, the livestreams have to reflect the speed, tension and excitement on the court and translate it for an online audience, so our footage has to be fast paced and accurate,” added Müller. “Delivering nationwide, broadcast quality livestreams has been a massive long term project, requiring careful planning, budgeting and training, and Blackmagic Design’s pricing, reliability and high quality production have been essential in its successful deployment.”

A live program mix from stadiums around Germany is then uploaded to airtango where multiple live games can be streamed simultaneously.