MUMBAI: When it comes to live sports, there’s no room for buffering, glitches, or lag—unless you want angry fans and viral memes.

South Korea’s leading provider of linear and digital sports content, Spotv knows this all too well. To keep the action seamless across southeast Asia, the broadcaster has rolled out a turnkey, fully automated playout system from Imagine Communications, ensuring top-tier reliability and rapid turnaround times.

Broadcasting from a state-of-the-art teleport and broadcast centre in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, Spotv’s setup is powered by Imagine’s Versio™ integrated playout platform and ADC™ automation. This future-proof ecosystem is built to scale with evolving demands, simplifying operations while delivering world-class transmission.

Why the upgrade? Spotv isn’t just any sports network—it’s the go-to destination for Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, MotoGP™, Roshn Saudi League, and Major League Baseball, among others. As the audience demand for high-quality sports broadcasting continues to skyrocket, Spotv sought a robust, flexible, and proven solution to keep up with the pace. And that’s where Imagine Communications came in.

“Imagine Communications understood our requirements and equipped us with a tightly integrated, highly reliable playout infrastructure that can grow as our needs change,” said Spotv head of broadcast operations and engineering Prakash Maniam. “We know that many media companies around the world have successfully deployed Imagine playout technology, and we are confident that our modern, new system will be able to support our channel playout requirements for years to come.”

Spotv’s newly deployed 6+2 channel origination workflow runs on Imagine’s Versio playout system, featuring embedded ADC automation software. The system integrates seamlessly with more devices and business systems than any other automation product, ensuring a smooth, end-to-end workflow.

Here’s the play-by-play of how it all works:

. High-performance video servers: The Nexio+™ AMP® servers with automatic input format detection take care of ingesting content effortlessly.  

. Seamless content management: The Versio Content Portal and Nexio Motion™ asset management software ensure that the right content is prepped and loaded for playout—way before game time.

. Less hardware, more efficiency: Versio reduces the number of physical devices needed in Spotv’s transmission chain, enabling a leaner, more efficient operation.

. Single-user interface: Spotv’s team can now monitor and manage playout seamlessly from a single interface—because who needs unnecessary complexity?

Spotv’s selection of Imagine Communications’ technology isn’t just about keeping things running smoothly today—it’s about preparing for tomorrow’s broadcasting needs. The Versio platform’s scalability allows Spotv to easily expand and adapt to new content demands, ensuring it stays ahead of the game.

And it’s not just Spotv that’s impressed. Imagine Communications is celebrating yet another successful implementation of its cutting-edge technology in the global sports broadcasting industry.

“We are honoured that Spotv has joined the ranks of leading global media companies who have made Versio their playout platform of choice,” said Imagine Communications SVP & GM EMEA and APAC, Mathias Eckert. “This implementation reflects Spotv’s commitment to excellence in live sports broadcast in the region and will enable them to work more efficiently today and prepare for whatever their future holds.”

The new playout system at Spotv was implemented in collaboration with local Imagine partner and systems integrator JAA Systems (JAA.S).