Menu
Olympics

Alibaba's First Project For IOC Involves Cloud For Broadcasters

Chinese online retail and cloud computing giant Alibaba has delivered its first major tech project for the IOC in its 12-year sponsorship: A cloud storage tool designed for the intensive data needs of Olympic broadcasters like NBC and Eurosport. Olympic Broadcasting Services, the IOC subsidiary that produces the basic feed of the Games and coordinates with the rightsholders, will launch the tool at the '20 Tokyo Games. No rightsholders have promised they will use the cloud so far, but Alibaba GM for the Global Strategic Accounts & Sports Business Unit Joey Tan said the Asian Broadcasting Union worked closely with the tool at the recently completed Asian Games. The basic proposition of the OBS cloud is simple -- it will be big and strong enough to handle live sports. In recent Olympics, the explosion of digital media channels has put intense demands on Olympic content producers, but cloud computing technology is not fast enough or reliable enough to use during live sports broadcasts. Today, broadcasters have to ship physical servers to the host city and operate them at extraordinary cost. “The idea is for them to send less equipment, less stuff, and less presence to the host city but at the same time deliver more content to their viewers,” said OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos. OBS will distribute standard visual and audio assets to rightsholders via cloud, and rightsholders will also be able to build their own content management systems on the cloud, giving them the option to disassemble them or keep them up for the next Games without physical shipments. Tan said the OBS Cloud project is “an exciting initiative to expand the reach and accessibility of the Olympic Games content” and will continue to be tested at smaller events before Tokyo, such as the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2018/09/19/Olympics/Alibaba.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2018/09/19/Olympics/Alibaba.aspx

CLOSE