Among the advantages signaled by the manufacturer, there is rapid deployment and seamless distribution to over 45 international broadcasters

Grass Valley® has announced its collaboration with SPL Media House (SPL MH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This partnership highlights the implementation of Grass Valley’s advanced AMPP SaaS Platform in the region. As the media division of the Saudi Pro League, SPL MH has adopted Grass Valley’s AMPP to produce and distribute live football match content globally.

Additionally, SPL MH employs Grass Valley’s Framelight-X cloud-native asset management solution to craft various video packages featuring Saudi Pro League clubs, players, and highlights, which are then streamed across multiple digital platforms.

Faced with the task of distributing match content and no existing broadcast hardware, SPL MH needed a cloud-based solution that could be quickly deployed before the season’s kickoff in just six weeks. They required a system that avoided complicated third-party integrations, and Grass Valley’s AMPP fit the bill perfectly.

Peter Van Dam, COO of SPL Media House, explained, “Grass Valley’s AMPP proved to be the only end-to-end SaaS platform in the world that could be run in the cloud and ‘built-out’ in our very tight timeframe. It is also the only ‘tried-and-tested’ solution that is reliable and robust enough for our demanding application.” The SaaS model of AMPP also facilitated an operational expenditure (OpEx) model, as opposed to the traditional capital expenditure (CapEx) model, allowing for easy integration, modification, and scaling as requirements evolved.

“With a global audience of roughly 140 million viewers, there is strong interest in watching our matches and following our teams and players,” Van Dam added. “We were free to deploy an all-native-cloud solution because we weren’t locked into any traditional hardware or infrastructure.”

To deploy AMPP, SPL MH converted a small room in its production facility into an international broadcast Network Operations Center (NOC). Weekly feeds from nine matches are sent to AMPP using Haivision & LiveU SRT or NDI from the OB trucks at the stadiums. From the NOC, these game feeds are distributed to various social media and service platforms used by SPL and its rights holders to create alternative content. Additionally, AMPP fully controls remote commentary and distribution for the Saudi Women’s Premier League (WPL).

“We are pleased that SPL MH is using AMPP to deliver live Saudi Pro League matches to their fans worldwide,” said Hany Bartella, Sales Director for Grass Valley, Middle East and Africa. “All eyes are on what SPL MH and the League are doing. It’s great to be at the core of their innovative operational success.”