There are few broadcast challenges as critical as live sports. With global audiences in the tens of millions and upwards for many events, all of whom are expecting to see high quality live video on a variety of platforms, it is vitally important to ensure that all equipment in the chain is functioning at an optimum level at all times.
 

The reputational and economic consequences of failure are severe, which is why sports broadcasting is the crucible in which all other broadcast equipment is tested. Diversity and multiple redundancy paths are taken as granted, with the infrastructures established to handle the transmission of the major, week-long events that occur every few years reaching impressive sizes and scales.
 

Cable paths are often taken in two directions – east and west – and in case of seismic activity disrupting a signal, satellite redundancy is introduced, plus the system is stress-tested to ensure that nothing can take it down.