CNBC UK is using MediaKind Beam to help modernise its infrastructure, allowing teams to move live news feeds between distributed studios and production and playout environments.
CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel) UK has undergone an infrastructure refresh that enables its teams to move live news feeds reliably between geographically distributed bureaus, studios and downstream production and playout environments. CNBC Europe is a business and financial news television channel airing across Europe. The station is based in London, and coverage from its UK portal focusses on the UK’s financial performance.
MediaKind’s Beam, cloud-managed, on-remises contribution, receiver and head-end software for broadcast and streaming, has been selected for the upgrade project. Chosen for its ability to modernise CNBC’s contribution and distribution infrastructure, Beam’s more flexible architecture is anticipated to increase resilience. It will also introduce cloud-connected control to the channel’s live broadcast operations.
Speed and Reliability
"For a global news organisation, speed and reliability are critical. The new architecture is designed with emphasis on three priorities – low latency, resiliency and channel density – and is intended to give our operational teams greater visibility and control across distributed infrastructure," said Neil Burt, Senior Director Technical Operations EMEA at CNBC UK.
Beam also applies a more flexible software model, allowing processing licenses to operate independently of individual servers. Through this model, CNBC UK will be able to set up appropriately sized COTS infrastructure for each location, which is expected to save costs.
CNBC UK anticipates certain other advantages from working with Beam’s flexibility. For instance, resilient, high-density media processing can be carried out across geographically distributed locations, supporting low-latency contribution and distribution, which is important for time-sensitive live news. Meanwhile Beam’s secure cloud connectivity keeps monitoring and management centralised.
Evolving Broadcast, Contribution and Streaming Workflows
Beam’s flexible architecture serves as a foundation for evolving broadcast, contribution and streaming workflows, supporting field reconfiguration for IP or satellite contribution at up to 4:2:2 10-bit UHD. This feature makes it especially useful for live events. Beam’s cloud connection enables both direct and automated control, as well.
"More frequently now, modern video infrastructure needs to combine the performance of professional media processing with the operational simplicity of cloud-connected software," said Tony Berthaud, SVP sales, EMEA & APAC. "With Beam, CNBC UK can modernise a proven contribution and distribution environment while gaining the flexibility and control required for today's distributed video operations."
MediaKind believes the deployment reflects a broader shift in how modern video services are now built, combining efficient, high-performance media processing at the edge with cloud-connected software. These capabilities can simplify operations and ease direct integration into existing workflows.
MediaKind will show Beam and its broader cloud-connected portfolio for contribution, distribution, processing and streaming at IBC2026, 11-15 September at the RAI, Amsterdam. www.mediakind.com
