Spark New Zealand, the country’s largest digital services provider, will utilise The Switch’s MIMiC cloud-based production-as-a-service offering as part of a multi-layered solution to deliver live sports feeds from Formula 1, the English Premier League and New Zealand Cricket to Spark Sport subscribers.

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The Switch: The MIMiC cloud-based production service is being used to edit, package and deliver clips to social media

Spark Sport will leverage The Switch’s global network reach to support live streams to its OTT service. MIMiC will ensure flexible delivery of live streams and packaged content to social media, allowing live coverage or near real-time highlights to reach viewers on any screen. The service can handle all aspects of delivery workflow in the cloud.

Andrew Martin, Spark Sport’s content operations lead, commented: “We’re committed to giving sports fans in New Zealand access to the best sport and the best viewing experience, getting them as close to the live action as we can. We chose The Switch because it can act as a one-stop-shop for all our requirements, from content aggregation through to delivery to putting highlights on social media. We have the added benefit of The Switch’s experience in supporting live sports content and its deep understanding of premier live sports production.”

The company has been building out its content aggregation based on The Switch’s fibre-based IP network, and the addition of integrated production services leveraging MIMiC represents the next phase of the project.

Spark holds a six-year broadcast deal with New Zealand Cricket for domestic and international home matches and has also secured exclusive rights to the Formula 1, 2 and 3 series and English Premier League.