When the EBU’s dynamic switching CDN toolbox Eurovision Flow first appeared as a pilot at IBC 2017, it was likened to both Google Maps and Trivago for its functional simplicity.
Its stacking of CDNs and their capacities to give the user the best price and/or quality options is enabled by the use of dynamic switching algorithms. It has been bought and deployed by many EBU members, but in a new ‘preferred distributor’ deal with Leaseweb, a specialist in cloud computing and web services with 8,000 clients, three aspects are contracted out by the EBU.
These are for the sales of Flow in growth markets beyond public service media, product support, and the addition of technical aspects developed in house.
Bram Tullemans, senior product manager, Technology & Innovation, EBU, said: “Eurovision Flow is a service technology we produce. Leaseweb will add to that especially in the areas of switching technology and a management layer. We provide a solution that maximises quality of experience and leverages economies of scale. It also tells CDN partners where they are performing well.”
Wilfried Dudink, managing director at Leaseweb, added: “We have seen an upturn of multi-CDN solutions in various markets, and the technology is getting more traction with media companies.”
The algorithms developed for Eurovision Flow suggest other distribution solutions. “We are going to look at other domains where we can use those toolsets. One is to see if we can deliver IP directly to the home, directly to vehicles, or directly to 5G base stations, using satellites as an extra contribution layer,” said Tullemans. “Then we will deploy the distribution algorithms.”
Behind this thinking lies not paying for Unicast traffic as well as reducing internet networking congestion.
“You would improve the quality of the experience because you would cache popular content in a local network. You could use personalisation tools and the algorithms to fill those caches,” added Tullemans.
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