Ericsson to provide video contribution and distribution systems for NBC Olympics' of the London Games

High efficiency MPEG-4 AVC compression enables NBC to maximize content value from the London Olympics, July 27, 2012 - August 12, 2012

April 12, 2012. Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) will provide a range of video processing solutions and support services to NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, during its coverage of the 2012 London Olympic Games from London, England July 27 – August 12, 2012. The announcement was made today by David Mazza, Senior Vice President, Engineering, NBC Olympics, and Staffan Pehrson, Vice President and Head of TV, Ericsson.

The Ericsson solution is helping to deliver NBC Olympics’ HD content across both contribution and distribution feeds to ensure the highest picture quality from the Olympic venues to millions of viewers in the United States. Ericsson is providing a range of products including MPEG-4 AVC encoders, professional receivers, multiplexers and satellite modulators as well as a team of support engineers in both London and New York. These engineers will assist in equipment/system set-up, maintenance and troubleshooting ensuring no great sporting moments are lost in transmission.

“The Games are the biggest sporting event in the world, and as a result viewers expect coverage to be of the highest quality,” said Staffan Pehrson. “Live events like this create TV memories and I’m sure that the team at NBC Olympics will raise the bar again this summer. We are proud to provide solutions that allow NBC Olympics to bring U.S. viewers closer to the action and give them the best seat in the house.”

David Mazza added: “With the athlete’s moving so fast, TV coverage of sporting events is some of the most demanding content to compress and transmit. With millions of viewers throughout the United States watching these events, it is essential that we deliver the best quality pictures possible. Based on our long association with Ericsson, we can be sure its technology will deliver exactly what we need, from the opening ceremony through to the final events.”

As the market leader in linear content acquisition, exchange and distribution, Ericsson knows about the challenges of delivering live sports event coverage to huge TV audiences. In addition to its market leading compression solutions, the company’s skilled engineers have years of experience in delivering a highly valued support on the ground. Ericsson engineers have been present at all major Summer and Winter Games including Salt Lake City, Sydney, Torino, Athens, Vancouver and Beijing.

Ericsson encoding solutions were used by NBC Olympics for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2006 Winter Olympics from Torino, Italy.