With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar upon us, the expectation here at Brightspot is that no news is good news.
As in, our teams have been hard at work over the past several months preparing for the fact that all the action is happening on the pitch.
For customers relying on the Brightspot CMS to deliver up-to-the-minute news, live blogs and on-demand streaming for the tournament's 64 games, the platform behind their digital experience needs to perform without ever becoming the story.
"We’re excited to be working with our media customers all around the globe as their coverage of the World Cup brings record visitors to their Brightspot-managed sites," says David Habib, Brightspot Chief Information Officer. "Each customer’s coverage and audience is unique to them, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to getting ready."
Indeed, just as with other major events that result in massive spikes in online interest in a matter of days or even hours—whether that's the recently completed U.S. midterm elections, sudden geopolitical events such as wars or natural disasters, or large sporting gatherings like the World Cup or Summer Olympics—the digital infrastructure that's needed to handle is a matter of both technical sophistication as well as planning and flexibility.
Preparations have included ensuring site bandwidth can scale to accommodate live-event coverage at all hours from different timezones across the globe, plus focusing on core areas of each customer's World Cup experience to optimize specific pages and data-intensive entry points for maximal service and seamless coverage.
"We have worked with our customers to understand their traffic forecasts and expected site usage patterns," notes David Habib, "and have adjusted the technology behind the scenes to adapt to the increased attention."
Customers for whom these plans are already ensuring the smoothest coverage possible span several continents where interest in the World Cup is peaking as regional favorites embark on their quest to qualify from the group stages and go for ultimate glory through the knockout phases in December.
Univision and Televisa are both servicing huge digital audiences in the U.S. and Mexico, while SBS Australia will be training a keen eye on how the Socceroos fare in their group stage following an early but entertaining loss to defending champions France.
Mexico's TV Azteca will also be hoping for a successful showing for El Tri following Mexico's qualification for its eight-consecutive World Cup. Other Brightspot-powered media sites across the globe ready for an amp-up in action and interest include Colombia's Caracol Television, Israel's Haaretz and the West Coast's own burgeoning soccer-mad metropolis of Los Angeles through coverage on LATimes.com.
And with the action on the pitch in the Middle East now fully underway, the best hope for Brightspot teams and our customers is that the tournament plays out with zero drama when it comes to the content-management piece of what the world knows as the beautiful game.
Or as Brightspot's David Habib assures: "Our team is watching the servers—and the matches—with great interest."
