Previously, TFC has only been used on shows supported by NEP production trucks or facilities, but now, it is available to the entire industry as a licensed service.
NEP Group, a global media services provider for sports and entertainment, has announced the industry-wide availability of its TFC (Total Facility Control) broadcast orchestration platform. Originally developed for internal use across NEP’s global facilities, TFC is now offered as a licensed software solution for broadcasters, production houses and media organisations around the world.
The TFC platform acts as a centralised system that integrates hardware and software from multiple vendors, streamlining control, automating complex tasks and standardising workflows. It is designed specifically for broadcast environments and simplifies the management of IP-based productions through a user-friendly interface, removing the need for deep IP expertise.
Since its inception, TFC has supported some of the world’s biggest live broadcasts, including the Super Bowl, The Masters Tournament, the World Cup and the 2024 global sporting event in Paris. The platform has been instrumental in NEP’s work with broadcasters such as Seven Network Australia and organisations across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Soames Treffry, President, NEP Australia, New Zealand and Japan, said: “Today, TFC is integrated across our NEP facilities worldwide, including our broadcast compounds and NEP Production Hubs. It’s become a solution our customers trust and depend on to deliver the biggest events to their audiences. We’ve learned so much over the years, and now we’re very excited to take this next step in the technology’s evolution by making TFC available as a scalable service partnership.
“TFC can now be used by any broadcaster, rightsholder, league, federation or sports and entertainment producer. The platform is also technology agnostic, giving customers the power of choice when it comes to choosing multiple vendors to support a particular show, and the service is always backed by our 24/7 global engineering support.
“TFC has been a major part of NEP’s vision and innovation story for a long time. With this new wide-scale offering we’re confident the platform will continue to drive meaningful transformation by delivering the reliability and innovation the broadcast industry demands.”
TFC is an all-in-one platform, offering key functions that solve challenges and create opportunities for engineering and production teams, including broadcast control, software-defined networking (SDN), real-time monitoring and unmatched 24/7, 365 global tech support.
As a broadcast control platform, TFC ties together multi-vendor hardware and software, simplifying what is commonly a complex IP 2110 management process requiring deep IP expertise. TFC simplifies this workflow by providing a user-friendly, intuitive touch-screen experience for any operator.
As a purpose-built SDN, TFC is designed exclusively for broadcast environments, with no extra configuration required, and with real-time monitoring and alerts, engineering teams are able to stay ahead of challenges with the platform providing instant alerts and updates on network health, uptime, latency and device status.
NEP’s TFC platform is for customers experiencing challenges managing IP, those who don’t have in-house network engineering expertise, or customers migrating from traditional baseband environments to using IP, software and cloud production. TFC’s security layer is also a key component and therefore a solution for any highly visible media platform or critical project.
Michael Raimondo, Vice President of Broadcast Technology for the PGA TOUR, added: “TFC has completely changed the way engineering and production teams are able to manage many different layers of hardware and software on a major show site or in a production facility. The platform takes something very complex in our industry and simplifies it for our operators, allowing our producers and creators to focus on their number one goal of delivering amazing content to our viewers and fans.”
With this release, NEP aims to drive broader industry transformation, offering a reliable, flexible, and intuitive solution for any broadcaster, rightsholder, league or production team managing complex high-stakes events.
