The Partner:

PokerStars is the world’s leading online poker operator, hosting live events and tournament trails around the world, with their flagship series being the European Poker Tour (EPT). PokerStars is home to the biggest weekly online poker tournament – the Sunday Million – plus the annual World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).

The Goal:

Pokerstars produce world class live coverage of their EPT, with over 40 live streaming days per season across multiple events and destinations. Due to the popularity of poker and the scale of these tournaments, PokerStars live streams held significant global appeal. However, as with many other live sports and events, commentary is a vital part of the viewer experience and PokerStars needed to cater to an international audience. PokerStars had one clear goal: localize the EPT live stream for their key established and emerging markets around the world. This meant they needed commentary in over 10 languages.

The Solution:

Remote Commentary Over IP

Instead of flying commentators round the world, we sent the studio to them..

We provided each remote commentary team with our bespoke Remote Broadcast Devices (RBD), which allowed the commentators to see the show, hear the director and commentate on the action.

The regional teams didn’t need to hire expensive studios or technicians in each country, they just needed a quiet place to sit with a robust Internet connection, and we provided central technical support for all the markets from our Stream Control centre.