Network18 consolidated operations within one environment supporting both broadcast and digital workflows, selecting Playout X for its open architecture and cross-platform integration.
Indian media conglomerate Network18 Media & Investments operates over 25 linear television channels and is successfully expanding the reach of its OTT and digital web services. To modernise its news playout operations, Network18 has started deploying Grass Valley’s Playout X solution based on the AMPP OS. The company’s adoption of the system extends its relationship with Grass Valley, which began more than 15 years ago.
Network18 wanted to consolidate and simplify its operations within a single environment that could support both its broadcast and digital workflows. Consequently, Playout X was selected for its open, format-agnostic architecture and its ability to integrate processes across multiple platforms, applying a unified approach to playout while preparing their operations for the future. The system is now live across its linear, OTT and web services.
Because Playout X is built on Grass Valley’s AMPP platform, broadcasters like Network18 can to deploy channels on-premises, in private or public clouds or in various hybrid setups. This flexible deployment leads to scalability – users are able to adapt their playout configuration based on the specific distribution needs of each channel, including compressed and/or IP streams, or SDI formats.
At the same time, AMPP’s centralised orchestration makes it possible to use Playout X to control diverse channel deployments from a single interface. Other advantages are customisable HTML5-based user interfaces and dashboards, API support and real-time monitoring.
Grass Valley Playout X
“With Playout X, we now have a unified platform that converges our linear, OTT and web channels under one interface, instead of depending on several different vendors to supply and maintain separate solutions,” said Rajesh Sharma, Sr. Vice President Technology and Operations, Network18.
“Grass Valley’s approach is open, integrated and flexible, and has allowed us to simplify our workflows. In turn, it means we can reduce costs, and accelerate operations. This deployment not only addresses our immediate needs but also positions us for strong future growth and innovation.”
Gaurhav Sethi, VP Sales South Asia, Grass Valley commented, “Speed and flexibility are critical for Network18. Playout X helps operations teams go live faster, respond instantly to change, and manage complex playlists with confidence as news priorities shift throughout the day.”
The new system, deployed across Network18’s facilities in both Noida and Mumbai, fully integrates playout, ingest, secondary recording, ad-replacement, watermarking and OTT delivery. By replacing fragmented, multi-vendor solutions with a single, consolidated AMPP OS-based platform, Network18 can work more efficiently and scale for the future.
For Grass Valley, the project shows Playout X’s ability to unify broadcast and digital delivery in one platform. Network18 and Grass Valley are continuing discussions regarding future projects, including potential upgrades in news production and wider deployments following on from this pivotal implementation. www.grassvalley.com
