The Comcast Media Center (CMC) has inked a deal with United Launch Alliance to provide live and on-demand coverage of rocket launches across various media platforms.
United Launch Alliances (ULA) designs, builds and launches rockets for a variety of clients, including NASA, the Department of Defense and commercial customers.
Live and archived webcasts of ULA launches and related events are delivered via the CMC in broadcast-quality IP video formats, including HD, for multi-platform content distribution. CMC delivers the feeds via terrestrial fiber for closed-circuit viewing at ULA’s 11 locations across the U.S., including control rooms at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB; ULA’s production, maintenance and storage facilities in Decatur, Ala., San Diego, Denver and Harlington, Texas; and its offices in Washington, D.C., and Denver. Comcast-owned CMC is located in the Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo.
CMC also supports thousands of concurrent views by the general public of live simulcasts on ULA’s website. CMC’s in-house capability supports multiple formats, including Flash for live viewing online and through Flash-friendly mobile devices, as well as HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and other media formats for viewing on devices using the Android and iDevices media platforms. ULA events are also captured and hosted by the CMC for subsequent on-demand viewing.
Steaming media services available from the CMC include transcoding, hosting, storage and IP multicasting to support multi-platform content distribution.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to apply our wide spectrum of media asset management solutions to support ULA’s educational mission,” said Richard Buchanan, CMC’s vice president and general manager of content services. “In addition to being one of the country’s leading providers of content management and distribution solutions, including the preparation of native video content for multi-platform distribution, CMC is very focused on providing a quality viewing experience, which really comes through with our delivery of the dramatic footage of these rocket launches, which literally take viewers along for the ride.”
