Zixi, the industry leader for enabling dependable, live broadcast-quality video over any IP network, and provider of the award-winning Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP®) today announced that Family Entertainment Television, Inc., a leading family entertainment company reaching over 75 million households through Family Entertainment Television (FETV) and Family Movie Classics (FMC), has deployed Zixi, replacing satellite distribution to deliver content to 50 affiliates across the United States.
Family Entertainment Television, a provider of family entertainment content with a top 50 Nielsen-rated audience, has seen substantial popularity growth in recent years, driven by demand for high-quality, timeless programming. By leveraging Zixi-as-a-Service (ZaaS) in FETV’s operations, content distribution has been streamlined by eliminating the need for satellite infrastructure and seamless transitioning to a cost-optimized cloud infrastructure while maintaining the reliability associated with legacy delivery. Primary to this transformation is the Zixi Broadcaster, which acts as the conduit for content from on-premises sources to the cloud where the SDVP efficiently processes and disseminates content to affiliates, all overseen by ZEN Master, the control plane ensuring operational efficiency and end-to-end visibility.
FETV's previous distribution workflow relied on satellite uplink, necessitating 24x7 maintenance while partners outside the satellite coverage zone had to receive streams via alternate methods. As more satellite spectrum is allocated to 5G and capacity becomes scarce and costly, FETV needed to revamp its distribution workflow. The company's growth demanded a dynamic content delivery system with substantially reduced total cost of ownership and the ability to scale and adapt to changing business requirements. The transition to IP-based distribution facilitated by Zixi's SDVP not only expedites the addition of new affiliates but also enhances operational agility while optimizing costs. By replacing satellite with streamlined on-premise servers for content onboarding to cloud and tapping into the expansive Zixi Enabled Network, which consists of over 1,000 media companies and 400 technology partners, FETV significantly reduces time-to-market from weeks to mere hours.
Zixi's renowned reliability and scalability, supported by patented features such as Hitless Failover and protocol efficiency, ensure seamless content transport. The ZaaS platform delivers all the benefits of SDVP while providing a cost-optimized cloud infrastructure, reducing the time and resources required for system architecture and allowing for more the primary focus and investment in business and revenue generation. Zixi's protocol optimization minimizes egress costs and computational overhead, resulting in a lower total cost of ownership for FETV. The intuitive interface of ZEN Master empowers engineers and operators with the necessary tools to orchestrate, control, and monitor signals across the distribution network. The advantages of the Zixi protocol, fortified by patented hitless failover, ensure reliable signal transmission. Proprietary null compression technology has further enabled the reduction of egress costs, unlocking additional opportunities to develop new business models and generate revenue.
"The broadcast landscape is continuously evolving, and the inflexibility of satellite delivery no longer aligned with our needs," said Adam Sumrall, Executive Vice President of FETV and FMC. "After evaluating the economics and superior total cost of ownership offered by Zixi's platform, transitioning to IP became a strategic imperative."
"Zixi’s vast experience in delivering large-scale workflows is extremely valuable to our customers," said Tim Wilson, Senior Director of Sales at Zixi, adding, "From inception to execution, our team of experts were by FETV's side throughout the entire journey, making the switch to IP an effortless process.
