Appear and Planetcast Demonstrate Strategic Collaboration to Deliver Next-Generation Media Services

Planetcast Media Services

New Delhi, India and Oslo, Norway – 21st May 2025 – Appear, the global leader in media processing and delivery technology, and Planetcast, one of Asia’s foremost media services companies, today announced a strategic collaboration to deliver next-generation, end-to-end media services. This brings together Appear’s world-class contribution and distribution technology with Planetcast’s robust cloud-first platform, NexC, offering broadcasters and streamers a powerful, integrated approach to managing and distributing content across all platforms including empowering media organisations to deliver premium live content from ground to cloud.

The two companies will showcase their offerings at BroadcastAsia 2025 in Singapore (29–31 May), demonstrating how their partnership addresses the evolving needs of the region’s media landscape; enabling operational efficiency, flexible deployment, and unparalleled scalability.

Collaboration Delivers Performance, Flexibility, and Scale

At the heart of the partnership is a shared vision to reduce complexity in media workflows. By integrating the advanced contribution and compression technology of Appear’s X Platform with Planetcast’s cloud-native playout, OTT and FAST distribution, and IP-based delivery tools, customers benefit from best-in-breed solutions optimised for the dynamic demands of the APAC and ME markets.

“Our goal at Appear is to empower media organisations to move fast, operate efficiently and deliver high-quality experiences across platforms, especially in live sports where ground-to-cloud workflows are critical,” said Shakunt Malhotra, Vice President APAC at Appear. “Planetcast shares this vision, and together we’re delivering a powerful proposition to help customers in the region scale rapidly and monetise content with ease. BroadcastAsia is the ideal platform to show what we can achieve together.”

As a proof point of the partnership’s value, Planetcast recently announced a milestone contract with beIN Asia Pacific, serving 16 linear HD sports channels running 24/7 across Southeast Asia and Australia, plus disaster recovery backed by six additional channel feeds, integrating live events with pre-recorded material and multi-layered graphics. All channels will be delivered via 10 drop points (fibre and IP over internet) spread throughout the region.

To enable this service, Planetcast selected Appear’s ultra-dense X20 platform, deploying 36 fully featured decoders housed in a compact 2RU chassis. These decoders support demodulation, BISS decryption, HEVC and AVC decoding, as well as 8 stereo audio pairs and Dolby decoding; all critical for ensuring high-quality, reliable playout. As part of a comprehensive ground-to-cloud workflow, the X20 decoders enable seamless bridging between live venue feeds and Planetcast’s cloud-based playout ecosystem, delivering the performance and flexibility needed for premium sports broadcasting at scale.

The Appear decoders will be seamlessly integrated into Planetcast’s playout automation and monitoring system, aligning perfectly with its cloud-first infrastructure and enabling fast, low-latency delivery. This reinforces the strength and interoperability of Appear’s X Platform, which continues to set new benchmarks in density, efficiency, and flexibility for live media operations.

This deployment, which also leverages Planetcast’s Cloud.X Turbo for low-latency playout and Recaster for global IP delivery, exemplifies how the two companies empower broadcasters to deliver world-class sports experiences at scale.

A New Gold Standard for Media Services in APAC

Planetcast’s NexC platform has been developed to simplify the content supply chain. With its integrated, single-window architecture that combines scheduling, playout, post-production, OTT and FAST distribution, NexC enables customers to deliver and monetise content quickly across multiple geographies.

“Planetcast has always focused on building agile and scalable services, designed for the complexity of today’s broadcast and streaming landscape,” said Venugopal Iyengar, Chief Operating Officer – Digital, Planetcast. “Our collaboration with Appear will further extend the value we bring to our customers by enhancing contribution and distribution capabilities. We’re excited to demonstrate this at BroadcastAsia and show how together we can help media companies grow across APAC and beyond.”

Meet Appear and Planetcast at BroadcastAsia 2025:

Attendees at BroadcastAsia 2025 can meet both companies to see real-world demos and discover how their capabilities are solving the region’s most pressing media challenges.

  • Appear: Booth 5C1-7
  • Planetcast: Booth 5C1-1

About Appear

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Appear is a leader in live production technology, specialising in high-capacity, sustainable solutions for media processing and content delivery. Our portfolio is designed to support the most complex scenarios of live event contribution, adapting seamlessly to the ever-evolving dynamics of the media, entertainment, and sports industries.

Over the past 20 years, Appear’s world-renowned team of experts made us the most progressive and forward-thinking company in the industry. Our relentless emphasis on modularity and functional versatility places us at the forefront of driving innovation in live production technology.

We proudly count the world’s leading content creators amongst our esteemed list of customers who trust our solutions to deliver the highest profile live media with integrity and efficiency. Appear’s global operation includes centres of excellence in London and Los Angeles. For more information, visit: www.appear.net

About Planetcast Media Services

Planetcast Media Services is a leading provider of services and solutions that touch a billion lives in India and Southeast Asia. Owned by Apollo Global Management, Planetcast has a 25+ year heritage in broadcast and media services and employs over 1,000 professional staff. The company counts some of the world’s largest media brands as its customers, including Disney Star, Viacom, Sony, Amazon Prime, Discovery and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Planetcast’s cloud-first media services enhance, organize, protect, and deliver video content, enabling media companies to reduce costs and improve quality across the entire broadcast chain – from acquisition through to final distribution to the consumer. For more information, visit: www.planetc.net and www.nexc.cloud/