Sveriges Television (SVT), the Swedish national broadcaster, has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by executing its first fully software-defined live sports production during Rally Sweden 2025, the second leg of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in Umeå. The event featured drivers navigating snow-covered stages, showcasing their exceptional skills in challenging conditions. SVT’s adoption of Ateliere Live, an innovative technology provided by Ateliere Creative Technologies, has led to a 50% cost reduction per hour of live production and a remarkable 70% reduction in the carbon footprint of the production.
This transition to a software-driven workflow replaces traditional broadcast hardware with an agile setup of software and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. Christoffer Ainek, Technical Producer at SVT, states, “An entire complex production was delivered using software-based tools and streaming media, marking a major milestone in our evolution toward software-defined workflows. We are beyond the proof-of-concept phase and fully operational with flexible, software-based live production.”
This achievement aligns with SVT’s Project Neo initiative, launched in 2020, which aims to transition from conventional broadcasting practices to a completely digital and environmentally friendly operation.
The project’s key goals include reducing environmental impact by at least 50%, optimizing production processes, and cutting costs while reallocating resources to expand compelling content creation. The cloud-native platform played a crucial role in this transformation, eliminating the need for costly proprietary equipment. During the production of Rally Sweden 2025, the platform’s real-time adaptability was critical when a rally stage was modified at the last minute.
Svt’s software-defined milestone at rally
The integrated system allowed for instantaneous updates, ensuring uninterrupted, high-quality coverage regardless of changes on the ground. A representative from Ateliere states, “Our platform exemplifies our commitment to transforming live production.
By enabling a fully software-defined workflow, we’re eliminating the need for costly proprietary hardware and unlocking unprecedented flexibility for broadcasters to scale quickly and sustainably. SVT’s achievement paves the way for a more efficient and eco-friendly future in live sports production.”
During Rally Sweden, SVT integrated studio and REMI production, featuring localized control, seamless mobility with roaming reporters, and cutting-edge collaboration using a hybrid workflow with SVT’s cloud-based NEO system in Stockholm. By eliminating the reliance on expensive proprietary hardware and replacing it with COTS, commercial GPUs, and consumer-grade mixers and displays, SVT has drastically cut operational costs.
The integration of NeoCom, SVT’s open-source talkback system, further streamlined communication between remote and studio production teams, improving both efficiency and production quality. Dennis Buhr, Head of Production Development at SVT, says, “After years of development, testing, and collaborative efforts, SVT is finally realizing the vision of true software-defined production—a vital step leading to the 2026 Olympics.”
SVT’s transition to software-defined workflows marks the broadcaster’s most significant technological leap since its remote production at the 2012 London Olympics. Earlier this year, SVT launched its NEO platform during the Singapore Smash Table Tennis Tournament, allowing a single journalist to oversee the localization of a live international production for a Swedish audience using only a laptop.
Rally Sweden 2025 represents the next step in this evolution, marking SVT’s first complex multi-operator production that was 100% software-defined.
Image Credits: Photo by Alex Perz on Unsplash
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
