Planetcast goes into bat for IPL media services
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Editor
| 05 April 2023
In a massive hit for the New Delhi-based broadcast technology and media services provider, Planetcast Media Services has been selected as media services partner by Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket rights winners Star Sports, Viacom18 and Times Internet.
Planetcast IPL Wankhede Stadium 5April2023
With 10 teams and a total of 74 matches, the TATA-sponsored IPL 2023 season started on 31 March and concludes with the final on 21 May. Seven IPL seasons were auctioned in June 2022 for the 2023-2027 TV and OTT rights cycle at a cost equivalent to $6.2 billion. This makes the IPL the world’s second most valuable sports rights on a per-game basis, equating to $15.1 million per match, more than the English Premier League’s $11 million per match and only trailing the USA’s National Football League’s $17 million per game.Viewership of IPL in India has regularly topped 400 million total viewers.

The league’s matchday coverage is regarded as being among the world's most complex live sports video challenges, with simultaneous matches broadcast and streamed over numerous channels and OTT services in multiple languages. To help rightsholders meet new IPL audience demands, Planetcast says it has pioneered a host of innovations to enhance viewer experience and monetisation, from near-real-time ad insertion to AI-based instant highlight creation to supporting the first 4K production since its launch by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Planetcast will enable IPL 2023 rightsholders to deliver live high-definition (HD) and ultra-high-definition (UHD) coverage. These services include playout, feed management, live feed acquisition, low-latency encoding, graphics management, multi-language commentary and AI-based highlights editing. Planetcast is the technology mainstay for 17 Star Sports channels and several pop-up channels, with feeds in eight languages.

It will also enable Viacom18 to bring IPL coverage to Indian streaming audiences via the JioCinema platform. In addition, it provides international OTT distribution for Times Internet to the USA, Canada, the Middle East and North Africa via its Cricbuzz website. The entire media services framework is deployed across 10 stadiums and three Viacom Sports Hubs in India.

To enable Star Sports’ UHD broadcast, Planetcast will be supporting HD1080P distribution using a satellite news gathering (SNG) kit at Dharamshala and Guwahati venues, representing India’s first SNG transmission of live sports using the latest HEVC technology with Dolby Atmos. Planetcast has created an IP setup based on the latest standards for 4K production, enabling parallel HD and UHD content delivery via compatible televisions and devices to consumers across India. There will be the opportunity to support HDR in the future.

“It is hugely gratifying that IPL rightsholders have once again put their trust in Planetcast to ensure their coverage is breaking new ground while being delivered seamlessly around the world,” said Planetcast Media Services chief executive officer Sanjay Duda. “The work we’ve done at IPL matches almost every season since the first in 2008 has enabled Planetcast to build a reputation for handling incredibly complex and valuable live events. With the IPL now the world’s second most expensive sports rights on a per-match basis – just behind the NFL – media leaders like Star Sports, Viacom18 and Times Internet more than ever need to give TV viewers the best possible viewing experience, including UHD viewing on TV and mobile devices.”