28 April 2010: The UK's leading sports broadcaster, Sky, has purchased a Quantel Enterprise sQ integrated production system to produce Sky Sports News at its new Harlequin 1 production facility. The Quantel system was chosen by Sky after extensive evaluation and will form the backbone of all Sky Sports News' programming.
At the heart of the system are seven Quantel multi-resolution sQ servers with 1500 hours of storage. These support 84 sQ Cut journalist desktop editors and three sQ Edit Plus craft editors. The system also integrates two Final Cut Pro systems within the Quantel workflow.
"With its requirement for second-by-second updates as multiple simultaneous sports events unfold, sports news presents the ultimate challenge for journalists and editors - and the systems they use," said Darren Long, Head of Operations at Sky Sports. "We chose the Quantel solution because it is the fastest and most efficient system for adding real production value to rapidly developing stories. Equally importantly, it is also very easy to learn and use - a vital consideration for our staff in this fast-paced environment."
"Sky Sports News sets the bar high in its requirement for very fast turnaround of high quality imagery, and also in its need for the system to be able to support future developments and growth as Sky Sports News continues to innovate," said Martin Mulligan, Quantel Sales and Marketing Director. "Our server-based production systems have been designed to meet just such exacting standards, and Sky Sports News decision to go with Quantel shows that we have clearly achieved them."
