From Extensive Fiber Network to Infrastructure for Photographers, Bexel Deploys for the 2015 Oscars®

February 22, 2015 - Burbank, CA – Bexel marked its 13th consecutive year supporting the live global broadcast of the Oscars® with its largest effort to date. The company delivered a host of solutions for the 87th Academy Awards®, seen by an estimated one billion people worldwide, including the deployment of a logistics-defying, custom fiber infrastructure and support for the vast array of media outlets covering the event.

Working with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Bexel implemented a comprehensive fiber optic network for the event, providing the conduit facilitating the production of the primary awards show, as well as the multitude of live broadcasts and media streams emanating from the event. Connecting multiple production locations beyond the Dolby Theatre, the customized solution linked the Hollywood & Highland Center, the Red Carpet on Hollywood Blvd., Loews Hollywood Hotel, and the domestic and international television compounds located more than a block away behind the El Capitan Theatre.In 2001, when AMPAS announced the Oscars were moving back to Hollywood, they looked to Bexel to assist in solving the logistical challenges inherent to the Dolby Theatre (then the Kodak Theatre). Bexel installed a permanent fiber network that included four miles of multi-strand cables from the Hollywood & Highland and Dolby Theatre complexes, as well as under Hollywood Blvd. That underlying backbone has been enhanced by Bexel every year to meet the show's specific and unique complexities, and the required infrastructure has now effectively tripled in size. In addition, for the 87th Academy Awards, more than 17 miles of temporary fiber was also deployed to successfully transport massive amounts of HD video, audio, data and communications signals, as well as digital images for the photographers covering every aspect of the event.

"Our fiber network is really ‘the conduit’ for all the entities that utilize it, and it gets larger every year," said Bexel's Craig Schiller, vice president of engineering and operations. “It’s the reason we are able to service all of our customers there so effectively, especially as the event has such a large footprint. It’s remarkable how much content is produced and delivered each year.”

Bexel’s fiber optic infrastructure supported more than the event’s broadcast operations. Still photographers from Getty Images, The Associated Press, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Reuters, USA Today and many other outlets were provided with 40 fiber connections from the Red Carpet, Orchid Court and the Dolby Theatre. They were also equipped with sufficient bandwidth to connect to their workrooms in the Loews Hollywood Hotel, enabling immediate delivery of still images to media and photographic services worldwide.

Carl Erwich, Manager Events for Getty Images, commented, “Having Bexel’s fiber connectivity at all of our photographer’s positions throughout the Hollywood and Highland complex allows us to ensure our editors receive every photo seconds after they are taken.”

“Whether the photographers are on the Red Carpet, in the Dolby Theatre or in the Press Room, we’re able to move their images over our fiber network or via network cable," noted Schiller. "In less than a few seconds, a photographer can capture images, send them half a mile away to their work stations at the Loews Hotel, and then distribute them out to the world. It is truly unbelievable. As a Vitec Group company, Bexel is sister companies with Manfrotto and Gitzo, two of the leading photo supports companies in the world. The Oscars are a fantastic opportunity for us to help support the Imaging division in a complementary way with our connectivity offerings. Vitec’s products and services are behind every picture; empowering professionals and individuals to capture exceptional images.” To support a live event of this scale, Bexel had a credentialed staff of more than 40 fiber engineers and support technicians onsite. Senior teams arrived two weeks prior to the show to begin cleaning and testing both the permanent and temporary fiber network.

"Bexel has been involved in some way with the Oscar telecast for over thirty years," concluded Schiller. "Our incredible team of professionals really delivers for this event. We’re very familiar with the location and understand the unique complexities of this production. The structure we put in place has to support so much more than just the Oscar broadcast itself. We're tasked with enabling point-to-point connections for more than 50 different entities, to ensure live, simultaneous broadcasts of all of the Red Carpet pre-shows, the backstage media and photo rooms, the pre- and post-show programs, “The Oscars Backstage” on WATCH ABC, and the official Governors Ball, in addition to the Academy Awards telecast itself. "It's a crazy few weeks, but our team strives to provide exceptional services to every customer we have at this amazing event.”

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