Since 2018, Freecaster (a subsidiary of BCE – Broadcasting Center Europe) ensures the live streaming of the sessions as well as their on-demand video publishing on the Bundesrat website.

Following a public call for tender, the Bundesrat selected Post Telecom Luxembourg and Freecaster. The connectivity of the Luxembourgish telecom operator combined to live content production and distribution over the internet expertise of Freecaster were key factors for the success of this project.

Thanks to live metadata enrichment during the Bundesrat live meetings streaming, all the video content is delivered to the public with crystal-clear information about each session including sections, themes, speakers, political parties, etc. Freecaster developed a tailor-made video player which allows the view and chapter selection based on this metadata.

In addition, the files are available as video on-demand immediately after the live session on the “Mediathek”. Developed by Freecaster, this portal allows the Bundesrat to easily classify and organize its video content and make it available for the public (on demand streaming or download), resulting in a vast library of more than 7 years of sessions. The platform was seamlessly integrated in their content management system allowing the Bundesrat to manage and publish their sessions independently.

To ensure the service resilience, a dedicated instance of the Freecaster OVP (Online Video Platform) has been deployed in two datacenters located in Germany with a failover mechanism implemented at the CDN (Content Delivery Network) level. The redundant encoding and network equipment at the Bundesrat in Berlin feeds the live content to the two datacenters, in which all the mirrored on-demand videos are stored.

“After a year of coronavirus, we must underline the importance to keep in contact with the public. In 2018, the Bundesrat was a real trendsetter in terms of public video communication, giving access to live information.” Explains Baptiste Fosséprez, Products & Services Development Director at BCE. “With its strong online video expertise, BCE can answer all the needs of prominent institutions with resilient, yet secured, high quality services. Today we are proud to be part of the history of the Bundesrat and we are looking forward to support the institution in its communications and future developments.” Concludes Baptiste Fosséprez.