Swarmcast yesterday formally announced that they powered video for Raycom’s online video coverage of the ACC Basketball championship. The games were broadcast on TV to Raycom regional affiliates and ESPN and simulcast free online supported by pre-roll advertising.
Raycom was forced to find a new online video partner after the dissolution of Turner’s Play-ON sports division which the ACC had previously relied on for live streaming. For the regular season the company partnered with CBS College Sports Network but went with Swarmcast’s Autobahn HD platform “to provide the highest quality viewing experience for our audience” according to Colin Simth, Raycom Sports VP of New Media & Distribution.
Swarmcast delivered video in two quality options, an HD stream broadcast at 2Mbps and a lower quality SD feed. “Whats really key about this” said Said Kelly C. Egan, VP, Business Development & Sales at Swarmcast. “Is it’s [Raycom's] first jump into live streaming, they chose to go straight to HD quality…what Raycom found was that their fans really respond to HD quality, the majority of fans viewed the HD feed.”