NewTek TriCaster™ Chosen to Produce Live Video Streams

Fans at home and on-the-go had access to all the action, via the TriCaster powered high definition (HD) live stream at Facebook. “We’ve used NewTek TriCaster to support our onsite and online video needs for the last five X Games,” said Kate Nelligan, live event programming producer, ESPN X Games. “With TriCaster, we expand our in-venue coverage without expanding our production budget, to deliver real-time access to fans, everywhere.”

Last July, at the summer X Games in Los Angeles, live video streams of the event were available at Facebook.com/xgames on the “X Cast” tab and the X Games live stream page, with content that featured the Skate and BMX Park/street practice, daily “Inside X” show, athlete chats and jumbotron feed. With TriCaster, ESPN produced some 446,398 streams that garnered 2,253,380 viewer minutes and 124,776 unique viewers.

“When it comes to live events, especially action sports, producers, directors and content editors are always looking for ways to offer their fans more,” said Philip Nelson, senior vice president, strategic development, NewTek. “TriCaster allows a producer to elevate the overall event experience and provide unique coverage like no one else—up close and personal.”

With TriCaster, anyone can simultaneously produce, live stream, broadcast, project and record HD and SD network-style productions. A single operator or small team can switch between multiple cameras, virtual inputs and live virtual sets, while inserting clips, titles and motion graphics with multi-channel effects. In addition to the ESPN X Games, TriCaster is used by sports organizations, broadcasters, schools, houses of worship, government agencies and others to provide a new level of extended programming and content to their audiences.

About Winter X Games

The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on extreme action sports. The Winter X Games is a competition compiled of the greatest winter action sport athletes from around the world, all competing for medals and prize money on an annual basis. The competition contains day and evening events including skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling.

About ESPN Action Sports

ESPN (originally an abbreviation for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day.

About NewTek & 3DStorm - NewTek Europe

Benefiting producers and artists with cost-effective and groundbreaking technologies, NewTek is a worldwide leader in portable live production, video editing, 3D animation and special effects tools, including the TriCaster™ product line, 3PLAY™ and LightWave 3D®. NewTek has won numerous industry accolades, including two Emmy® Awards. Clients include: ESPN X Games, ESPN Radio, Fox Sports, NHL, NBA Development League, New York Giants, Airbus, BBC, the EU Parliament, France TV, Mediaset, RTBF, RTL, SISLive, Twit.TV, MTV Music Group, Fox News, Nickelodeon, the Steve Harvey Morning Show, CBS Radio, USA TODAY, “Furious World,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NewTek products have been used in blockbuster films and television shows, including "Avatar", “Repo Men”, "Angels and Demons", "Battle for Terra", "The Dark Knight", "Iron Man", "Tropic Thunder", "V", "FlashForward", "Lost", "Fringe", “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and more. NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas.

NewTek products are distributed and supported in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Pakistan by 3D Storm - NewTek Europe, located near Bordeaux, France.