I lead the architecture, development, and delivery of a global streaming platform supporting large-scale live broadcasts, digital media distribution, and monetization infrastructure for the international performing arts community.

Role: Product Lead / Platform Architect

Responsibilities included:

• Live streaming platform architecture
• Broadcast infrastructure design
• Cloud media storage and distribution
• API integrations with Brightcove and Akamai
• Digital media monetization systems
• Live broadcast operations and production

Platform Alignment & Enterprise Modernization

Client: The Fan Network
Industry: Sports, Media & Performing Arts
Platforms: thefannetwork.org

Scale:

• 90K+ registered users
• 25K concurrent viewers during live events
• $1.5M annual recurring digital media revenue

Infrastructure:

• Brightcove Video Platform
• Akamai Content Delivery Network
• AWS Cloud Storage & Compute
• Global live broadcast pipeline

Objective:

Design and implement a dedicated live streaming platform capable of delivering high-quality broadcasts at scale while enabling a sustainable digital media business through secure video distribution and monetization.

The Problem

Delivering live performing arts broadcasts to a global audience presented significant technical and operational challenges.

The organization needed a platform capable of supporting large-scale live events while managing video processing, distribution, and digital monetization.

At the time, streaming infrastructure capable of handling this level of demand was not readily available as a turnkey solution.

The platform needed to support:

• reliable live broadcast delivery
• secure premium video distribution
• digital purchases and access management
• scalable infrastructure for large live audiences

Without a dedicated platform architecture, delivering consistent, high-quality broadcasts to tens of thousands of viewers would not be possible.

Problem Overview

Large performing arts events attract significant global audiences, requiring reliable live delivery and high-quality streaming.

Major events required infrastructure capable of supporting:

• 90K+ registered users
• 25K concurrent viewers

Platform Scale

The Fan Network needed to support a growing digital audience while maintaining broadcast-quality delivery and uptime during live events.

The platform was responsible for coordinating:

• live broadcast production
• real-time video encoding pipelines
• global content distribution
• digital video purchases and downloads

As viewership increased, the streaming infrastructure needed to scale dynamically to support thousands of simultaneous viewers.

Operational Capabilities Required

The architecture needed to enable:

• live video ingestion and broadcast workflows
• multi-bitrate streaming outputs
• secure video asset storage
• global content delivery through CDN infrastructure
• digital purchases and entitlement-based access
• analytics and performance monitoring

These capabilities had to operate seamlessly during live broadcasts where reliability and latency were critical.

The Solution

To support global live broadcasts and digital media distribution, the initiative focused on designing a scalable streaming platform architecture integrating broadcast infrastructure, cloud media processing, and global content delivery networks.

The solution centered on three key components.

1. Broadcast Ingestion and Encoding Pipeline

Live events were captured through professional broadcast workflows and transmitted through a dedicated encoding pipeline.

Each event included multiple video inputs such as program feed and camera feeds.

These inputs were encoded into multiple streaming outputs to support adaptive streaming across different network conditions.

This configuration enabled the platform to deliver both high-definition and adaptive streams during live broadcasts.

2. Media Processing & API Integration

Video processing and distribution were managed through integrations with enterprise media infrastructure providers.

The platform leveraged Brightcove and Akamai APIs to manage video encoding, asset processing, and global distribution.

These integrations allowed the platform to:

• process live and recorded video streams
• generate multiple streaming outputs
• distribute content through a global CDN infrastructure
• manage video assets programmatically

The API layer served as the orchestration point connecting broadcast ingestion with global media distribution.

3. Digital Media Storage & Distribution

Digital media assets were stored in Brightcove cloud infrastructure, enabling scalable storage and delivery of video content.

This allowed the platform to:

• store large video libraries
• support on-demand digital downloads
• distribute media efficiently through CDN infrastructure

Cloud storage also provided the flexibility needed to expand the platform’s content library over time.

Fan Network Streaming Platform Architecture

Scalable PPV + VOD streaming platform using Brightcove and Akamai CDN

Architectural Principles

The platform was designed around several key principles:

• scalable live broadcast infrastructure
• cloud-based media storage and delivery
• API-driven media processing pipelines
• global CDN distribution for performance
• secure digital media monetization

These principles ensured the platform could reliably deliver high-demand live broadcasts while supporting a growing digital audience.

Outcome

The Fan Network became the organization’s primary digital broadcast platform, enabling global audiences to watch live and on-demand performances.

The platform successfully delivered large-scale live broadcasts while supporting a growing digital media business.

The system ultimately:

• scaled to 25K concurrent viewers
• supported 90K+ registered users
• generated $1.5M annual recurring digital revenue

The platform became a central component of the organization’s digital strategy and contributed to a multi-million-dollar acquisition.