Canal+ : Multifeed Sports Production at scale

The problem

Canal+ Group is active in over 50 countries worldwide. In 2022, they moved into their new HQ in Paris and seized the opportunity to go full IP and full software.

A key revenue driver for Canal+ as a private pay-TV is the broadcasting of sports events, which they deliver at scale across multiple channels. As sports production rights are versatile, Canal+ was looking for solutions that were flexible and ready for the future. As they stated, they wanted to shift from a wired logic to a programmed logic.

Solution

Artisto was chosen as the audio solution for the Canal+ One facility, handling audio for the Multifeed, Branding and Supervision control rooms.

With the help of our local partners, it was designed, integrated and put into operation in less than 4 months. The full redundant setup with multiple distributed engines is hosted in Canal+'s data centres, situated a few kilometres apart and connected through fiber.

In parallel, operators in the HQ can transparently take over any production. Web GUIs and physical controllers are served remotely over the network to technical operators. API calls sync all the solutions (audio, video, orchestration…).

Deployment

The project was carried out with French integrator CVS and Red Bee Media.

Artisto is deployed on 3x2 physical Windows servers in a fully redundant setup (real-time mirroring) across separated data centres.

In the Canal+ One facility, operators can access Web UIs and physical controllers transparently – they don't know which resource on which server they operate. On top of existing audio mixer UIs, custom interfaces have been developed for Canal+ to enable some operations from 2U rack-mounted touch screens.

Thanks to its comprehensive API, Artisto is also controlled by the orchestrator, EVS Cerebrum.

Initially, ST2110 was handled through external hardware devices. Canal+ is now looking at the native implementation of ST2110 by On-Hertz. The new setup will migrate from Windows to Linux/Docker. The audio pipeline can be transferred transparently from one deployment to another. The engine can even manage the existing and ST2110 setups in parallel, ensuring a smooth transition.