Scaling Live Sports Streaming

Executive Summary

TV 2 Norway built a video platform on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support live streaming of more than 20,000 sporting events each year, including 1,000 simultaneous live broadcasts.
Content delivery spans traditional linear channels and the TV 2 Play app, with a representative estimating that as much as 90% of streaming and broadcast workloads are on AWS.
The platform combines live adaptive bitrate (ABR) encoding, packaging for CDN delivery, caching with a CDN failsafe path, and automated channel provisioning tied to match schedules.

Cloud-based live video pipeline design
TV 2 Norway’s platform uses AWS Elemental MediaLive for live adaptive bitrate (ABR) encoding, enabling a single live feed to be encoded into multiple bitrate/quality variants for playback across different devices and network conditions.
AWS Elemental MediaPackage is used to segment and prepare video for CDN delivery, placing packaging and origin preparation into a managed service layer before distribution.
Distribution architecture with caching and failover
Amazon CloudFront is used for caching before delivery to an external CDN, and also functions as a CDN failsafe, providing an alternate delivery path if needed.
The specific CDN beyond CloudFront caching is not identified in the provided material.
Automation for high-volume event scheduling
AWS Lambda provisions resources for live channels on an as-needed basis, using a CRON expression to check when matches are scheduled to begin. This ties infrastructure creation to event timing rather than maintaining always-on capacity.
Recording and storage workflows
Live content is automatically recorded to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), supporting availability to distribution partners or movement to deep storage.

Operating at large event scale
The platform is designed to support more than 20,000 sporting events per year and handle concurrency up to 1,000 simultaneous live broadcasts, aligning the workflow with large catalogs of live events and overlapping match schedules.
On-demand channel provisioning for scheduled matches
A schedule-driven workflow uses AWS Lambda and CRON-based checks to provision live channel resources only when needed, matching infrastructure allocation to match start times and reducing the need for persistent channel capacity.
Multi-device playback via ABR encoding
AWS Elemental MediaLive performs live ABR encoding, producing outputs suitable for adaptive playback behavior where clients select appropriate renditions based on available bandwidth and device capabilities.
Packaging, caching, and resilient delivery
AWS Elemental MediaPackage segments and prepares video for CDN delivery, while Amazon CloudFront provides caching and a failsafe distribution option, supporting continuity of delivery if the primary CDN path requires redirection.
Archival and partner distribution
Automatic recording to Amazon S3 creates a storage-backed workflow for downstream distribution partners or for transferring assets to deep storage, enabling reuse beyond the live window.

Concurrency and scale require automation
Supporting 1,000 simultaneous live broadcasts implies operational pressure on provisioning, monitoring, and teardown; a CRON-driven Lambda provisioning model directly addresses the need to align compute and channel resources with match schedules.
End-to-end workflow integration reduces handoffs
Combining live ABR encoding (MediaLive), packaging/segmentation (MediaPackage), caching and failsafe delivery (CloudFront), and automatic recording (S3) forms a cohesive pipeline where each stage has a defined role in preparing, distributing, and retaining live streams.
Hybrid and migration paths are represented
TV 2 Norway migrated some aspects of its linear channels to AWS and uses a hybrid approach in some cases, indicating that cloud-based live streaming and linear channel workflows can coexist during transitions.
Operational control tooling can be built around delivery
TV 2 Norway used generative AI to develop base code and built a UI to manage URL delivery and redirect traffic if needed, showing an approach where internal tooling supports distribution control and operational response.

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/media/tv-2-norway-scales-to-support-20000-live-sports-streams-with-aws/