Comcast and Fastly’s New Content Delivery Model Powers Highest Quality Experience for Peacock’s Biggest Live Events

Creates a Blueprint for Expanding Capacity and Improving Efficiency Across High-Demand, Real-Time Streaming Experiences

NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast and Fastly are working with NBCUniversal to deliver live sports and other high-demand streaming events on Peacock from infrastructure located closer to viewers. The new approach runs Fastly’s content and application delivery software directly on Comcast’s highly distributed, nationwide network – expanding capacity and improving efficiency during Peacock’s biggest live moments, including marquee sports such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, and more.

“Live sports place extraordinary demands on streaming infrastructure, with millions of viewers often arriving at the same moment and expecting a consistent, high-quality experience, which creates enormous demand for network and streaming capacity,” said David Bohunek, Senior Vice President, Global Video Engineering, NBCUniversal Media Group. “By working with Comcast and Fastly to move high-demand content closer to viewers, we can add capacity where it matters most, reduce the amount of duplicate traffic and unnecessary distance in the delivery path, and help ensure fans can watch together with the quality and reliability they expect from Peacock.”

“We pioneered network virtualization technologies, putting computing power, storage, and intelligence deeper into our network and closer to customers,” said Elad Nafshi, Chief Network Officer, Comcast. “Our work with Fastly and Peacock demonstrates what becomes possible when partners can leverage these capabilities at the edge of our network. As sports streaming continues to grow, this is an important first step in creating a blueprint to redefine what live event delivery can become.”

“By integrating Fastly’s programmable edge platform directly into Comcast’s distributed edge, we can help Peacock intelligently scale live streams, critical APIs, security, and application performance closer to its audience when demand is at its highest,” said Kip Compton, Chief Executive Officer at Fastly. “It’s a powerful example of what becomes possible when content providers, edge platforms, and network operators work together to rethink how streaming is delivered.”

Bringing Peacock Content Closer to Fans

Comcast operates more than 200 AI-powered edge compute centers across the U.S., putting computing resources close to the customers it serves. The new model developed by Comcast and Fastly, announced earlier this month, enables Fastly’s software to run from these locations, giving Peacock another way to customize, manage, and deliver high-demand content closer to viewers.

More Efficient Content and Application Delivery

The Comcast and Fastly architecture is particularly well-suited for massive live events. Traditionally, content delivery platforms operate outside an Internet service provider’s network, repeatedly requiring identical content to travel from centralized locations across long network paths before entering the network that connects the viewer. The model instead runs Fastly’s software directly within Comcast’s network, where it can use distributed computing and storage resources to help dynamically manage and deliver Peacock content closer to viewers.

A Network Built for Live Streaming and More

Live streaming is one of the most immediate applications for this approach, but the underlying advantage of running technology closer to where it is needed extends much further. Gaming, cybersecurity, AI inference, and enterprise cloud services can all benefit from greater proximity to customers. Comcast is continuing to explore additional applications that can take advantage of computing resources distributed throughout its network.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company. From the connectivity and platforms we provide, to the content and experiences we create, our businesses reach hundreds of millions of customers, viewers, and guests worldwide. We deliver world-class broadband, wireless, and video through Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky; produce, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through brands including NBC, Telemundo, Universal, Peacock, and Sky; and bring incredible theme parks and attractions to life through Universal Destinations & Experiences. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About Fastly, Inc.

Fastly’s (Nasdaq: FSLY) powerful and programmable edge cloud platform helps the world’s top brands deliver online experiences that are fast, safe, and engaging through edge compute, delivery, security, and observability offerings that improve site performance, enhance security, and empower innovation at a global scale. Compared to other providers, Fastly’s powerful, high-performance, and modern platform architecture empowers developers to deliver secure websites and apps with rapid time-to-market and demonstrated, industry-leading cost savings. Organizations around the world trust Fastly to help them upgrade the internet experience, including Reddit, Universal Music Group, and SeatGeek. Learn more about Fastly at www.fastly.com, and follow us @fastly.