Paris 11-May-2022
towerCast unveils a live 5G Broadcast distribution of the Eurovision Song Contest in Paris
Paris, France — The Eurovision Song Contest – a large scale, televised concert with fireworks, dancing and pop songs – continues to captivate audiences of nearly 200million viewers around the world. This year’s ESC22, hosted in Torino, Italy, is a special one as it witnesses the latest cutting-edge multimedia distribution solution, 5G Broadcast which brings the live concert to France.
The live event will be produced and distributed to selected mobile devices by Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana – the national public broadcaster of Italy – using the latest broadcast and multicast technology: 5G Broadcast from the heart of Paris. towerCast – a technology leading broadcast network operator – will make most of the live demonstration via an end-to-end 5G Broadcast-ready system, offering show attendees a totally new experience with an advanced live mobile experience.
In order to make the live show happen and deliver a full end-to-end live 5G Broadcast live demonstration, towerCast selected Rohde & Schwarz – a global leader in broadcast transmitter and media technologies, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. – the driving force behind the development, launch and expansion of 5G Broadcast. Running throughout the show, the demonstration will showcase capabilities of Broadcast over 5G where the live encoded content produced by RAI in Torino, will be transmitted live in Paris by towerCast using a 5G Broadcast signal over-the-air to smartphone form-factor test device from Qualcomm Technologies.
The 5G Broadcast solution is built on the 3GPP Rel-16 feature-set, operating in a Receive-Only Mode (ROM), Free-To-Air (FTA) and without the need for a SIM card (SIM-free reception). The 5G Broadcast dedicated mode will be demonstrated with a standalone broadcast High Power High Tower (HPHT) infrastructure while operating within the UHF band.
Rohde & Schwarz's end to end 3GPP compliant 5G Broadcast solution is the selected choice for the European countries broadcasting ESC22 live to their audiences in Italy, Austria, Germany and France. It comprises 5G Broadcast enabled transmitters and the Broadcast Service and Control Center acting as a core network.
“During this year’s Eurovision we are showcasing how 5G Broadcast can open the door to an exciting new world and enable an unrivalled user experience,” commented Manfred Reitmeier, vice president broadcasting and amplifier systems at Rohde & Schwarz. “We are proud to collaborate innovative partners, such as Qualcomm Technologies Inc.and towerCast to show just what 5G can offers.”
Lorenzo Casaccia, vice president of technical standards, Qualcomm Europe, Inc., commented: “We are proud to have worked with the EBU, RAI and Rohde &Schwarz to bring a new viewing dimension to fans of Eurovision. Eurovision is not only about what is happening on the stage but what is happening in the greenroom, in the audience, in the locations submitting votes and is the ideal vehicle to showcase 5G Broadcast’s capabilities. This exciting activation is another important step in the R&D development of 5G Broadcast.”
“We believe that 5G Broadcast opens new perspectives for the entire TV ecosystem in France that will allow us to address new mobile audiences and will guarantee a new complementary live TV experience.”, commented Hugues Martinet, managing director of towerCast. “The strong collaboration built with both Rohde & Schwarz over 15 years joined by Qualcomm shows that the broadcasting world keeps a specific place for a long time by innovation”
5G Broadcast offers network operators and broadcasters opportunities to create exciting consumer experiences across a range of new and existing business areas – all while enabling high spectral efficiency and reduced costs.
Broadcast over 5G is not restricted to linear and live content distribution. For network operators and media content providers it offers a completely new range of business models for delivering content or data to unlimited numbers of consumers and without affecting the regular cellular 5G mobile network. Venue and automotive sectors are particularly suitable for new consumer applications while the high power, high tower free-to-air/no-SIM offers emergency services and national authorities more secure ways to deliver public messages during natural disasters or emergencies.
Rohde & Schwarz Broadcast & Media
For decades, Rohde & Schwarz has been a leading technology innovator in broadcast distribution and a trusted partner in media production. Broadcast solutions from Rohde & Schwarz deliver the latest generation of energy-efficient, software-defined transmitters and enable network operators to leverage new broadcast technologies. Providing solutions for live and studio production, post-production, multiviewing and playout, Rohde & Schwarz helps media professionals produce and deliver great content.
