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