Reuters video news - faster thanks to the pandemic

Reuters cloud-based solution allows for video to be streamed directly from the field with connected cameras straight to the cloud, enabling global production at speed.

“As the pandemic hit in 2020 and the shift to work-from-home began, we were uniquely positioned as our teams were planning and building a solution for remote working before it became an unexpected necessity,” Michael Young (photo) writes in Broadcast magazine.

“Our new process means video editing is quicker, which enables our customers to access Reuters video content much more quickly, giving us - and them - a competitive advantage.”

Another advantage, once it is rolled out across the world, is that all bureaus will work in the same content management system, meaning the work of Reuters 2,500 journalists can soon be available to anyone in any bureau to edit content that exists within Sony’s Hive system. Reuters video news is used by more than 2,000 broadcast customers and digital clients.

“As the pandemic served to push our video innovation forward, the cloud-based system proved to be a successful driver in instances such as Reuters coverage of Cannes Festival 2021 and the COVID-19 lockdown. Our producers are now able to begin editing video even before an event is over, and the requirements for in-office editing equipment are a thing of the past,” Young writes.

“Before the pandemic hit, we had been thinking about the current challenges of our video capabilities and how to transform our technology so that the thousands of pieces of video content we produce each month are more accessible, more efficiently edited and delivered with speed.

“This led to executing a carefully crafted plan to ensure technology and editorial workflows as well as bureau infrastructure converged on a revolutionary solution - transforming our video production to a future-ready, industry-leading, cloud-native platform.” ■