Akamai’s Media Delivery solution enables Nobelprize.org to present live webcast of the award ceremony from the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden
CAMBRIDGE, MA – December 9, 2008 – Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leader in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, announced today that Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Foundation, the organization who arranges the world famous Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies, is using Akamai’s Media Delivery solution to stream this year’s ceremony live online on December 10, 2008. This year, Nobelprize.org experienced a four-fold increase in video traffic when the Nobel Prize Laureates were announced. Having used its own infrastructure to stream the event in the past, Nobelprize.org realized they needed to leverage Akamai’s global platform for events moving forward in order to provide a high-quality, scalable experience for all interested parties around the globe.
Hans Mehlin, Director of Technology at Nobelprize.org, said, “Due to the increase in traffic we began to experience recently when the Laureates were announced, we want to ensure there would be unrestricted access to the streaming of this year’s Prize Award Ceremony. Having used Akamai previously, we approached them to utilize their streaming solution to support this year’s event.”
Utilizing its network of over 40,000 servers in over 70 countries, Akamai’s Media Delivery solution has been relied upon to support the streaming of major news, sporting and entertainment events to global audiences. Customers of Akamai’s services pay on the basis of the capacity they use rather than having to maintain large and expensive data centres, or lease large amounts of bandwidth in advance from an ISP in expectation of audience size and likely demand.
Brad Rinklin, Vice President, Global Marketing at Akamai said, “The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony is a global event of great significance and importance. The Internet is a perfect medium to enable a worldwide audience to experience live the proceedings at this year’s event. We’re excited to be able to support the award ceremony this year.”
Akamai Media Delivery offers a complete solution for companies to build successful digital media businesses by helping media providers deliver and monetize media assets quickly and effectively. Akamai’s global streaming platform extends reach instantly, bypassing traditional server and bandwidth limitations, and can handle peak traffic conditions and large file sizes with ease—all without requiring additional infrastructure. Akamai Media Delivery also enables the secure delivery of innovative rich media experiences—from video sharing to high-definition video online.
About Nobel Web AB
Nobel Web AB is responsible for Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Foundation. Nobelprize.org acts as the online gateway to the Nobel Foundation’s activities and hosts a unique collection of archival material on all Nobel Prizes from their inception in 1901 to the present day. Currently receiving well over 35 million visitors a year, Nobelprize.org aims to be the best source of information and educational materials related to the Nobel Prizes, and the site offers audio and video interviews, articles and interactive games alongside coverage of Nobel Prize Announcements and the Award Ceremonies. Building on this deep base of resources focused around every individual Nobel Prize, Nobelprize.org aims to offer extra levels of understanding, affording visitors a larger view of the history of science and exhibiting each Prize within its broader context.
The Akamai Difference
Akamai® provides market-leading managed services for powering rich media, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. Having pioneered the content delivery market one decade ago, Akamai’s services have been adopted by the world’s most recognized brands across diverse industries. The alternative to centralized Web infrastructure, Akamai’s global network of tens of thousands of distributed servers provides the scale, reliability, insight and performance for businesses to succeed online. Akamai has transformed the Internet into a more viable place to inform, entertain, advertise, interact, and collaborate. To experience The Akamai Difference, visit www.akamai.com.
