JW Player Teams With Discovery to Deliver Eurosport's 'Flawless' Digital Video Experience for Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018
JW Player selected by Discovery to supply its video player service as part of the company's delivery of the first digital Olympics across Europe
LONDON, June 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- JW Player, the world's largest network-independent video platform, today announced details of its role in supporting Discovery to supply its market-leading video player to present Eurosport's streaming coverage of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on Eurosport.com, including views which contributed to record-breaking European* audiences.
PyeongChang 2018 was Discovery's inaugural Games and saw the company deliver the first truly digital Olympics across Europe, including streaming every moment of the Games live. In preparation, Discovery took significant steps to ensure users accessing Eurosport.com had the most engaging experience possible across every screen. Part of that process was surveying the marketplace for a new video player, acting as the "glue" that connects all parts of a modern video stack. After reviewing proposals, Discovery chose JW Player as its official video player for the Games.
By choosing JW Player, Discovery was able to deliver live video to both free and premium users of Eurosport.com on the Web and on iOS and Android devices. JW Player's fully customized player delivered video to millions viewers in 48 markets and 21 languages while fully supporting the Olympic Games' standards in protecting content. In total, JW Player's enterprise-grade infrastructure supported 4,000 hours of coverage, 900 hours of live action and 100 different Olympics events with zero downtime.
"Given our commitment to deliver the first truly digital Games across Europe, users expected flawless delivery across every screen, device and property. We spent months designing and building a modern video stack to deliver just that," said Ralph Rivera, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Eurosport Digital. "World-class partners such as JW Player were essential, enabling us to customize to our unique needs, create a modern video stack and deliver an integrated experience - exceeding our promise to users."
"We were honored to be chosen to support Discovery for such a prestigious event as the official video player, helping them deliver video on Eurosport.com that contributed to the first fully digital Olympics across Europe," said Dave Otten, co-founder and CEO of JW Player. "The sheer scale and complexity of delivering every moment, sport and event live on video speaks to the capability of JW Player as the gold standard for delivering video worldwide."
Discovery will continue to use JW Player as its official player on Eurosport.com for upcoming global sports events in 2018 including the French Open, Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the US Open.
* Discovery's Olympic Games agreement excludes France 2018-2020. Excludes Russia. Official Broadcaster in the UK 2018 and 2020.
About JW Player:
JW Player pioneered video on the web over a decade ago and continues to innovate as the world's largest network-independent platform for video delivery and intelligence. Media companies including Fox, VICE, Business Insider, and Univision, in addition to hundreds of thousands of creators of all types and sizes, rely on JW Player to deliver and monetize their content across all devices. JW Player's massive global footprint of over 2 billion unique devices creates a powerful data graph of unique consumer insights and generates billions of incremental video views. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in London and Eindhoven, and was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 500™ in 2017. For more information, visit http://www.jwplayer.com.
About Discovery:
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps and Discovery Kids Play; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Eurosport Player and Motor Trend OnDemand; and digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media. Discovery's portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal Planet, and Science Channel, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit www.corporate.discovery.com and follow @DiscoveryInc across social platforms.
About Eurosport:
Eurosport is the number one sport destination in Europe, fuelling the passion of fans and connecting them with the greatest sports events in the world. As the Home of the Olympic Games in Europe, Eurosport delivered the ultimate Games experience for PyeongChang 2018 reaching both record linear and digital viewership across localized Eurosport services. Firmly established as the Home of Cycling, Grand Slam Tennis and Winter Sport, Eurosport channels – Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 – reach 242 million cumulative subscribers across 75 markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Eurosport.com is Europe's No 1 online sports news website with an average of 42 million unique users per month and, along with the Eurosport app (available on iOS and Android), the only place to watch Eurosport anytime online, on mobile and on tablet devices. Eurosport Events specializes in the management and promotion of international sporting events. More information is available by visiting corporate.eurosport.com.
Contact: Eric Franchi, 1-201-778-0158, efranchi@jwplayer.com
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