What happened to Megogo on June 17?

According to the company, experts carried out a detailed analysis to find out why the broadcast was stopped. However, they ensure that live broadcast quality is the highest priority for the service. As stated in the description, the sports broadcasting system is extremely complex and is constantly being improved to withstand high loads.

The start was due to technical problems Stormy weather conditions in Kiev. It was noted that it all started when the broadcast was interrupted with a black screen due to heavy rain and showers, making it impossible to receive signals from the main and backup satellites. The company writes that this is “an absolutely unique situation in which two satellites failed simultaneously.” The transition to third took 40 seconds.

At 17:16, users observing broadcast problems and trying to get a signal began reconnecting to the broadcast, causing a massive avalanche of requests on many of the service’s systems. An abnormally higher increase in the number of CDN calls for this match than the predicted maximum was recorded.
– he said in the statement.

As a result, the content delivery subsystem failed. At approximately 17:50, at the end of the second half of the match, it was possible to stabilize the situation and continue work.

Meanwhile, the television signals of the TV channels were available and the football broadcast was continuing, as it was not dependent on the operation of the Megogo content distribution network.

“The media service team is working in Kiev, especially in difficult martial law conditions, including the electricity-saving mode on generators due to the risks of power outages. Unfortunately, this time the elements caused conditions that were technically impossible to predict and quickly disappeared. “Let’s remove it,” they added.

How does live streaming work?

The company also explained how the live streaming process actually works and how complex the process is.

• Signal reception and distribution. Systems in Ukraine receive signals via satellite from stadiums and arenas around the world. Main, backup and additional satellites are used for system stability. There are also two geographically independent pickup locations, automatically switching between them as needed. Usually one main satellite operates, but in wartime two backup satellites are used for greater reliability.
• Signal processing. The signal enters the studio in its original quality where production, dubbing and broadcasting take place, including adaptations for the hearing and visually impaired. Each sports program includes a team of approximately 100 people, and the IP network allows work from different parts of the country, regardless of alarms and power outages.
• Formation of the program. The finished program goes to the presenters who create the television channel or object. At this stage you can create a broadcast grid, add graphics to the app, add QR code and ads to raise money for the army.
• Content delivery network (CDN) and transcoding. During transcoding, the program is converted into various quality versions, which allows the application to adapt to the Internet speed and users to receive signals from any device. And the main task of a CDN is to transmit the signal with the best quality even in unstable Internet conditions.