LONDON, June 28, 2010
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced it is providing its Internet Broadcast services to a number of European broadcasters, including Spanish broadcaster Telecinco, to stream the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ games in high-definition (HD) to online audiences. During Spain’s game against Switzerland, approximately 220,000 concurrent users watched the broadcast at Telecinco’s website, making it the most-watched event the broadcaster and Level 3 have ever delivered to online audiences in Spain.
“Few sporting events command the world’s attention like the World Cup, and since we have been working with Level 3 to stream our programming over the past few months, we were confident in their ability to handle the high volume of traffic that can accompany a major international event like this,” said Jorge Martín Ibarra, IT director at Telecinco. “Our confidence in Level 3 has been confirmed after seeing their seamless delivery of the online broadcast to record-breaking numbers of Spanish viewers.”
Level 3’s Internet Broadcast service leverages the company’s Vyvx and Broadcast Encoding Centre infrastructure and its international Tier 1 backbone to support broadcasters and other content owners through the process of event delivery from content capture to consumption.
When live content from the FIFA World Cup is fed onto the Level 3 network, the Level 3 Encoding service then transfers the video to any major media format. The content is then transmitted over Level 3’s content delivery network (CDN) to be viewed by fans online. While the video is being broadcast, it can also be recorded and stored on the Level 3 Origin Storage server network for archival or video on-demand.
Level 3’s Internet Broadcast service supports next-generation streaming formats, which can use adaptive bit rate technology to switch seamlessly between streams, depending on the user’s bandwidth and computer performance at the time. The end result allows broadcasters to offer true HD streams to customers with sufficient bandwidth while still providing the live stream to viewers with lower connection speeds.
“The tremendous number of online users who have watched the live stream of the World Cup so far demonstrates both the potential for growth in the delivery of live events across multiple devices and emphasises the importance of having a CDN provider you can trust to meet demand, even when traffic spikes,” said James Heard, president of European Markets at Level 3. “Level 3’s Internet Broadcast services provide end-to-end support for content owners – from signal acquisition through encoding, transcoding and delivery on our CDN – to ensure the quality viewing experience that online audiences have come to expect from an HD broadcast.”
To learn more about Level 3’s content delivery and live event services please visit www.level3delivers.com.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is a leading international provider of fiber-based communications services. Enterprise, content, wholesale and government customers rely on Level 3 to deliver services with an industry-leading combination of scalability and value over an end-to-end fiber network. Level 3 offers a portfolio of metro and long-haul services, including transport, data, Internet, content delivery and voice. For more information, visit www.Level3.com. Level 3, Vyvx, Level 3 Communications and the Level 3 Communications logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Adobe and Flash are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks, trade names and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements made in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. These forward looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3’s control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. The most important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the current uncertainty in the global financial markets and the global economy; disruptions in the financial markets that could affect Level 3’s ability to obtain additional financing; as well as the company’s ability to: increase and maintain the volume of traffic on the network; successfully integrate acquisitions; develop effective business support systems; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; manage system and network failures or disruptions; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; adapt to rapid technological changes that lead to further competition; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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