Hogmore Media, a European sports media rights company, is using Eutelsat Broadband’s NewsSpotter satellite newsgathering service to distribute coverage of the continent’s top football matches across Europe. In the past year, the company has used NewsSpotter to live stream and distribute coverage of more than 1,000 national, international, pre-season and friendly football matches directly to television channels, IP TV channels, football clubs and agents. Teams covered by Hogmore Media include Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Ajax and Valencia.

“There is a lot of interest in seeing the games of some of the biggest clubs in Europe,” said Klemens Kögl, Managing Director, of Hogmore Media. “However, many of the pre-season and friendly games can often change at short notice and be held in small or unusual venues around Europe. The great benefit of the NewsSpotter service is that we can quickly set-up the system anywhere in Europe and in just a few minutes be streaming live coverage directly across the continent.”

Klemens added: “Before we had the NewsSpotter service, we had tried a variety of methods of transmitting our coverage including mobile, but nothing comes close to this solution. In the past year, we have covered more than 1,000 matches and never had an issue. The NewsSpotter service is fast, cost effective and very reliable.”

The NewsSpotter service, provided via Eutelsat’s KA-SAT satellite, has transformed the ease and economics of satellite video streaming and distribution. The latest generation of lightweight equipment, with guaranteed bandwidth up to 10 Mbps, supports transmissions of live video and audio in SD and HD.

Flexibility and mobility are at the heart of the NewsSpotter service. Bandwidth can be reserved on a pay-as-you-go basis through an online booking system. Users simply log in and enter their terminal number, location, time slot and the desired bandwidth.

NewsSpotter satellite terminals are available as Flyaway models or Autopointing versions. The mobile systems used by Hogmore Media are small and light enough to be carried in a pack.

In the future, Hogmore Media sees applications for the NewsSpotter service in covering a much wider range of sporting events across Europe, including volleyball and tennis.