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MTV Poland · 2018 and 2019
Live streaming for a TV channel — a gallery built in MTV’s meeting room
Even a television channel can be a client with nowhere to broadcast from. MTV Poland wanted its cast live on Facebook right before the season premiered on air — from its own office, with no studio and no line. We built a full four-camera gallery inside it.
The challenge
Broadcasting for television, but not from television
MTV Poland has a transmission chain of its own, but the premiere of the new „Ex on the Beach” season was to get something extra: a live conversation with the cast on Facebook, an hour before the first episode aired. Viewers would meet the cast, ask them a question and go straight into the episode.
That kind of broadcast does not run through the on-air chain, though. The location was the channel’s own headquarters — office space, not a studio. There was no gallery, no lighting and no connection prepared for pushing pictures out to the world. Everything had to be brought in.
How we did it
Four cameras, a flypack and an internet line made of five modems
The whole production fitted into flight cases. A meeting room became the gallery, the room next door became the set, and we built the uplink ourselves — because a broadcaster’s corporate network is not there to push a live stream out of the building.
Four cameras on a dozen people
The cast is more than a dozen people in one shot. Four Sony XDCAMs give a wide of the whole group, two tighter shots and a camera on the host — without that, a conversation in a group this size becomes unreadable.
A gallery on a conference table
Flypack, mixer, monitoring and full audio production set up in the room next to the set, plus PA so that the people in the room could hear what was going on.
Five LTE modems instead of a line
A Teradek Bond aggregates five SIM cards into a single uplink. When one network drops — and in a city centre that is easy — the picture keeps going over the rest. The same approach we describe in our broadcast from a venue with no internet.
Comms and a hard out
Blackmagic and Altair intercoms for the whole crew. The stream had to end exactly when the episode started on air — this is not an event that can overrun.
Equipment
What we took to MTV
4× Sony XDCAM + flypack
A mobile gallery with the capability of an OB van, packed down to fit an office interior. The same kit is available through our streaming equipment rental.
Teradek Bond + 5× LTE
Five modems bonded into one stable uplink. The signal went out through our own streaming server to the channel’s page.
Sound and intercom
Full audio production and PA, with Blackmagic and Altair intercoms — so the crew can hear each other in an office full of people.
A year later
A second production for MTV: „Warsaw Shore”
In 2019 we came back to MTV Poland with the same format — a live stream immediately before the on-air premiere of the next season of „Warsaw Shore”.
That one turned out to be a record. The number of comments and reactions under the stream beat everything we had produced up to that point. The show had a huge and very active audience, and the „live right before the episode” format landed perfectly with it.
A client coming back a year later says more about a production than any description can. A television channel has its own directors and knows exactly what a well-made broadcast looks like.
Artwork announcing the stream before the „Warsaw Shore” season premiere (2019).
The result
The number of comments and reactions beat every event we had produced up to that point.
A pre-premiere stream works differently from a trailer. A viewer who has just written a comment and had it answered by someone from the show stays for the episode — because they have just become part of the event.
The second lesson is technical, and it applies to any brand, not just to broadcasters: the place you broadcast from does not have to be a studio. A meeting room, a showroom or your own office will do, as long as the full kit and an independent uplink arrive with the crew.
For the client that means less logistics: the cast is already on site, nobody has to be driven to a studio, and the whole rig goes up in a matter of hours.
FAQ
Live streaming for a TV channel — common questions
Why would a TV channel hire an outside crew for a live stream?
Because it is a different chain from the on-air one. A Facebook or YouTube stream from the channel’s office does not run through the studio or the transmission gallery — it needs its own set of cameras, mixer, sound and uplink that can be set up in any room without tying up on-air resources.
Can you broadcast from an office with no line prepared for it?
Yes, and that is the usual case. We bring our own uplink on bonded LTE modems — at MTV there were five of them. A corporate network is rarely built for pushing a continuous stream out, and it is usually better left alone.
How many cameras does a conversation with a dozen-strong cast need?
Four is the sensible minimum: a wide of the whole group, two tighter shots and a camera on the host. With two cameras most people drop out of frame exactly when they start speaking.
How long does the setup take at a client’s office?
Usually half a day: bringing the kit in, positioning cameras and lighting, patching sound and testing the uplink. You also need permission to bring flight cases in and a room that becomes the gallery for the day.
Can the stream carry the channel’s own graphics?
Yes — slides, lower thirds and bars are produced in the client’s identity, exactly as in a television production. For a programme premiere that matters, because the audience should read the stream as part of the campaign, not as a separate piece.
Do you produce pre-premiere streams for other industries?
The same pattern works for a product, film or campaign launch — anywhere a live stream is meant to warm the audience up right before the main event. One example is our Sony Xperia product launch stream.
What does a production like this cost?
It depends on the number of cameras, the graphics package and whether an independent uplink is needed. A four-camera setup at the client’s premises is a different budget from a single camera on a phone. Tell us where and when you want to broadcast — we quote within a day.
Want to broadcast from somewhere that isn’t a studio?
We bring the cameras, the gallery, the sound and our own uplink — to an office, a showroom or a set. Exactly as we did twice for MTV Poland.