Pitch International Launches Cloud-Based FA Cup Distribution With Globecast And Synamedia

Globecast and Synamedia have confirmed that Pitch International has gone live with cloud-based distribution of Emirates FA Cup matches, giving rights holders the option to receive feeds via IP or continue via satellite for the first time. The hybrid set-up delivered every third-round match with consistent quality and low latency.

The FA Cup, the world's oldest football competition, drew nearly 100 million viewers in the 2023/24 season. Pitch holds broadcast rights across Western Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and through the new collaboration is offering affiliates in these territories either IP-based reception or satellite delivery, all managed via Globecast's platform.

Pitch selected Globecast's Connect Live SRT service, powered by Synamedia's Quortex Link, to deliver high-quality, low-latency IP streams to affiliates across multiple markets. The cloud platform provides the scalability and robustness needed to support dense match schedules while maintaining broadcast-grade performance, and enables per-affiliate format and frame-rate alignment.

By blending Quortex Link's pay-as-you-use cloud distribution with traditional satellite, the workflow provides security, redundancy, reach and predictable performance, even during the most operationally complex rounds.

Alex Mehrer, Head of Live Production & Distribution at Pitch International, said: "The FA Cup has a magical quality, with incredible drama, such as non-league Macclesfield's victory last month. Our new partnership with Synamedia and Globecast gives broadcast rights holders more choice with the option to receive FA Cup match streams over AWS cloud using Quortex Link or to continue with satellite. Interest in switching to the cloud-based stream has already exceeded our expectations."

"The FA Cup brings together football heritage and global scale," said Steve MacMurray, Head of Digital Media Development at Globecast. "Synamedia's Quortex Link platform is a key enabler in allowing us to extend that heritage into a modern, IP-first distribution environment—without sacrificing reliability. The real success of this project is that the delivery was entirely predictable, despite the complexity."

Edward Allfrey, EVP and General Manager of Video Network, Synamedia, commented, "The world's greatest domestic cup competition brings exceptional pressure on content distribution to perform at the highest levels and our collaboration with Pitch and Globecast shows how cloud-based services can meet those demands. Quortex Link brings the benefits of cloud-based distribution while working alongside traditional delivery methods, and the FA Cup joins a growing list of leagues and sports associations, including the organisers of a current winter sports event in Italy, who are realising the benefits of this approach."

Quortex Link is a multi-tenant, pay-as-you-use SaaS platform designed for secure, reliable video distribution. It removes the need for permanent, capital-intensive infrastructure and streamlines one-click delivery for events, news, sport and pop-up channels. By avoiding always-on resources, it accelerates time to air, lowers risk and reduces energy usage—turning what once took months and major Capex into a matter of seconds on an open platform.

www.globecast.com/
pitchinternational.com/
www.synamedia.com/