Appear – The sustainable future of sports broadcasting: remote production, hybrid compute, and IP transport
Matthew Williams-Neale, Vice President, Marketing at Appear
The sports broadcasting industry is at a critical turning point. Fans demand ever-more immersive, high-quality experiences, while broadcasters and production companies face increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint. Traditional production models – characterized by large-scale travel, extensive on-site infrastructure, and energy-intensive workflows – are no longer sustainable.
To address these challenges, the industry is embracing a new era of production models driven by remote and distributed production workflows, hybrid compute infrastructures, and IP-based video transport. By minimizing travel, optimizing resource allocation, and leveraging cutting-edge compression and transport technologies, broadcasters are significantly reducing their carbon footprint while maintaining, and even enhancing, production quality. These innovations are shaping the future of sports broadcasting, ensuring that sustainability and operational efficiency go hand in hand.
Remote and distributed production: minimizing travel and optimizing collaboration
One of the most impactful changes in sports broadcasting is the rise of location-agnostic, remote and distributed production, which reduces the need for on-site personnel and infrastructure. Traditionally, large teams, including camera operators, directors, engineers, and commentators, would travel to event venues, bringing with them vast amounts of technical equipment. This approach, while effective, generates considerable carbon emissions through air and land travel, equipment shipping, and energy consumption at event sites.
Remote production dramatically reduces these emissions. By centralizing control rooms, broadcasters can operate multiple events from a single location, eliminating unnecessary travel and allowing production teams to collaborate across continents in real-time. This model was prominently used during Euro 2024, where ITV Sport deployed a “reverse remote” production setup with multiple remote galleries and a centralized master control room (MCR).
Beyond sustainability, remote production enables more agile and efficient workflows. Instead of dedicating an entire team to a single event, operators can dynamically switch between productions, covering multiple matches or sporting events in a single day. This not only maximizes human resources but also reduces production costs, making high-quality coverage feasible for a broader range of sports, including lower-tier leagues and niche events.
Additionally, advances in remote camera operation – including AI-assisted tracking, robotic cameras, and ultra-low latency IP connections – allow camera operators and directors to adjust angles and shots from anywhere. This further enhances creative flexibility while eliminating the need for physical presence at venues.
Hybrid compute: balancing scalability, energy efficiency, and cost
The transition to remote and cloud-based production has created a new challenge: how to balance scalability, performance, and cost-efficiency in compute infrastructure. While cloud-based production offers immense flexibility, operating 24/7 in the public cloud remains cost-prohibitive for many broadcasters. This has led to the emergence of hybrid compute models, which combine on-premise hardware with cloud-based resources to achieve an optimal balance of efficiency and sustainability.
Why hybrid compute makes sense
Firstly, hybrid compute enables scalability. Public cloud solutions such as AWS, Google Cloud and Azure, provide on-demand compute power that is ideal for temporary, high-intensity events like the Super Bowl or the FIFA World Cup. Broadcasters can scale up infrastructure during peak demand and scale down when not needed, avoiding excessive energy consumption.
Secondly, hybrid compute helps to optimize costs. For continuous production workflows, maintaining dedicated on-premise infrastructure often proves more economical. Private data centers offer predictable operating costs and greater control over resource allocation, reducing dependency on high-cost cloud services.
Hybrid compute is also energy efficient, and high-density, modular hardware solutions like Appear’s X Platform, provide ultra-low latency video processing while reducing power consumption per channel. These purpose-built solutions are significantly more energy-efficient than general-purpose cloud instances, especially for high-bandwidth live video processing.
Lastly, hybrid compute enables the integration of AI-driven production tools, such as automated highlight generation, player tracking, and video analysis. These AI-based solutions help broadcasters streamline production workflows, enhance storytelling, and further reduce operational costs.
IP-based video transport: the backbone of sustainable production
As broadcasters adopt remote and distributed workflows, IP-based video transport has become the foundation of sustainable production. Legacy transmission methods, such as satellite and dedicated fiber networks, require significant infrastructure investment and often result in underutilized bandwidth. IP transport, on the other hand, offers flexibility, scalability, and reduced operational costs by leveraging standard networking infrastructure.
Key benefits of IP-based transport
Compared to satellite or dedicated fiber networks, IP transmission is inherently more energy-efficient, offering lower energy consumption and reducing power requirements for signal distribution. It also offers adaptive bitrate streaming which allows broadcasters to optimize bandwidth usage and ensure high-quality transmission while minimizing energy waste. In terms of resilience and redundancy, technologies like SMPTE 2110, SRT (Secure Reliable Transport), and JPEG XS ensure reliable, low-latency video transport over standard IP networks. These solutions are increasingly favoured over traditional satellite links for high-value event contribution.
JPEG XS in particular, has emerged as a key enabler of sustainable remote production. This low-latency, visually lossless compression standard allows broadcasters to transmit pristine video quality over IP networks while consuming far less bandwidth than uncompressed formats. By reducing data transfer requirements, JPEG XS helps minimize the environmental impact of video contribution and distribution.
Furthermore, 5G/6G and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity are playing a growing role in mobile and remote sports broadcasting. These wireless solutions enable seamless connectivity in remote or temporary event locations, further reducing the need for energy-intensive infrastructure deployment.
Sustainability without compromise: the future of live sports broadcasting
The shift toward remote and distributed production, hybrid compute, and IP transport represents a paradigm shift in sports broadcasting. However, this transition does not mean compromising on quality, reliability, or creative flexibility. In fact, these innovations are enabling broadcasters to deliver more immersive, data-rich sports experiences while reducing environmental impact.
From multi-camera coverage with enhanced data overlays to AI-powered replays and automated highlights, modern production workflows are redefining fan engagement. Meanwhile, advances in low-latency encoding, efficient compute utilization, and sustainable transport solutions ensure that broadcasters meet their sustainability commitments without sacrificing performance.
As the media industry continues its decarbonization efforts, the adoption of modular, scalable, and energy-efficient solutions will be paramount. By leveraging hybrid production models, open IP standards, and AI-assisted workflows, sports broadcasters can achieve both sustainability and operational excellence.
The future of sports broadcasting is not just about delivering the best live content, it’s about doing more, and doing it responsibly, efficiently, and sustainably. By embracing next-generation production technologies, broadcasters are leading the way towards a greener, smarter, and more agile media landscape.
