UEFA has appointed NTT Communications and Delta Tre to develop a service which will bring the UEFA Champions League live to the Internet.

Best service
The Live IP Video project is being developed as part of UEFA’s ongoing efforts to provide the best service to the broadcasters who need assistance in developing simultaneous live internet broadcast of football games. For the first time, therefore, global football fans will be able to watch football matches live on their computers (equipped with broadband connection) from broadcasters' websites.

2006/07 start
The service will start during the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League season and will be able to serve up to 50,000 concurrent live video streams for broadcasters. The Live IP Video project is co-ordinated by UEFA Media Technologies, a fully owned subsidiary of UEFA, and will be developed by a partner alliance consisting of NTT Communications and Delta Tre. Security and billing solutions will be provided by Entriq.

Fully confident
"We are very excited to be at the forefront of the 'Video over IP' developments," said Alexandre Fourtoy, CEO of UEFA Media Technologies SA. "With our partners, we are fully confident that we can provide the highest possible level of service delivered to our broadcasting partners, and therefore ultimately to football fans across the world. The capacity to watch football matches live over the internet will provide our broadcasting partners with considerable added value to their broadcasting rights."

'Groundbreaking project'
Weynand Kuijpers, NTT Communications vice-president, said: "NTT Communications' continuing involvement with UEFA through this live internet video service is a great example of our commitment to lasting and productive client solutions. This is a truly groundbreaking project which promises to provide football viewers with unparalleled opportunities to watch football when they want in a quality format that is completely accessible."

Innovative solutions
Giampiero Rinaudo, CEO of Delta Tre, said: "As technology advances and consumer habits change, we are constantly challenged to develop new solutions to service an evolving marketplace. The Live IP Video service builds on our long-standing relationship with both UEFA and NTT Communications to offer yet another innovative solution to the market, and we are delighted to be involved in such a project."

Worldwide platform
Jan Steenkamp, CEO of Entriq, said: "With our platform, we are able to provide sporting bodies like UEFA with the ability to manage and protect their content while enforcing strict geographic policies that conform to broadcaster rights. Our involvement is indicative of how the broadcasting market is changing as broadband proliferates."

UEFA partners
NTT Communications is one of the world's largest operators of websites for businesses and a leading provider of global IP solutions. Delta Tre is UEFA's application development partner for many of its technology needs. Entriq Inc. provides a full, end-to-end solution to secure and monetize premium video and audio content for broadband, mobile and IPTV consumers worldwide.