Mediaset has revamped its workflow through a collaborative effort with technology partners. Operating on an advertisement-based model, The broadcaster company manages 13 FTA channels (free-to-air) along with an on-demand streaming platform named Mediaset Infinity.

Recognized for its adeptness in adopting and leveraging new technologies, Mediaset has focused on refining its OTT headend, a pivotal component in the video streaming workflow responsible for encoding, packaging, distribution, and monitoring. On the other hand, Video Progetti, Unified Streaming’s software reseller in Italy since 2022, has played a significant role in optimizing Mediaset’s workflow, particularly in enhancing its OTT headend.

Challenge

Mediaset tasked Video Progetti with implementing its first entirely cloud-based OTT headend system. The primary objective was to achieve top-notch quality, operational flexibility, and reliability, especially considering Mediaset’s acquisition of Champions League broadcasting rights.

With premium football content in their lineup, the Italian broadcaster aimed to elevate service quality further, including the delivery of native 1080p/50fps video to a broader range of end-user devices. Future-proofing the workflow and meeting SMPTE IP2110 infrastructure compatibility requirements were also essential.

Solution

A collaborative effort between Mediaset and Video Progetti’s technical team ensued. Video Progetti proposed a solution based on integrating leading brands in the market, ensuring independence, modularity, and freedom from vendor lock-in.

The selected products, each excelling in their respective fields, formed a robust lineup.

Unified Origin from Unified Streaming was chosen for packetizing streams according to end device requirements, with a just-in-time approach. The streaming solution also handled DRM and encryption, critical for delivering Mediaset’s platform services securely. In addition, and to enhance workflow resilience, Unified Origin was deployed with full redundancy.

Results

According to developers and clients, the new OTT service not only went live smoothly but also surpassed Mediaset’s expectations.

Sales Director of Video Progetti Francesco Struzzi said, “The collaboration with Unified Streaming on the Mediaset OTT project was optimal. Unified supported the project in a very professional way, and helped with the integration of Unified Origin in a complex workflow with Elemental encoders. We are very happy with the end result and look forward to collaborating with Unified Streaming in new projects.”

Streaming Solutions Architect at Unified Streaming Giacomo Benelli said, “Working with Video Progetti, and helping achieve such a clear victory in the Mediaset OTT project, was fantastic. We were able to provide tech support and best practices to leverage Origin capabilities for efficient delivery of restart-live URLs. Also, working alongside Video Progetti, we ensured that Mediaset received a bespoke DASH manifest manipulation to support the live restart logic of some players.”

As a conclusion, the three companies stated that the partnership between Mediaset, Video Progetti, and Unified Streaming has resulted in a robust, high-quality OTT streaming solution, setting new standards in the broadcasting industry.