BitFire and Appear have announced a strategic partnership that integrates Appear’s high-density X-Platform with BitFire’s IP transport network and cloud production ecosystem, delivering faster and more flexible live video from venue to viewer.
In this integrated workflow, Appear’s compression and transport endpoints will pair with BitFire Engines to enable direct ingest into BitFire’s Transport Network, providing high-quality, low-latency video contribution and distribution, and granting access to BitFire’s virtual production tools for remote control, monitoring, and distribution from anywhere.
The collaboration also includes access to BitFire’s Cloud Switcher and Cloud Replay, along with the FireBridge remote talent interface, enabling streamlined remote production and distribution workflows for broadcasters and streaming platforms.
“This partnership merges best-in-class edge encoding with professional IP transport and scalable cloud production,” said Jim Akimchuk, President and CEO of BitFire. “By combining Appear’s efficient encoding with BitFire’s flexible infrastructure, we’re removing traditional geographic and hardware constraints for all live content producers.”
The combined Appear and BitFire solution targets high-demand environments such as live sports and entertainment, where near-instant transport and flawless quality are critical. Appear’s X Platform solutions will feed directly into BitFire’s IP transport network and cloud production platform to support rapid deployment of cloud, REMI, and hybrid productions.
“Partnering with BitFire allows us to better serve the evolving needs of broadcasters and cloud operators by directly connecting our products with a world-class IP transport and cloud production provider,” said Andy Rayner, CTO at Appear. “Whether for global sporting events or full-time distribution, we’re collectively raising the bar for efficiency and quality in live production.”
The integrated solution is currently being evaluated by major sports and entertainment clients in North America and Europe, with full-scale deployments expected to begin in early 2026. Both companies will showcase the combined workflow at upcoming industry events, highlighting scalability, cost-effectiveness, and reliability.
About Appear: Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Appear is a leader in live production technology, specializing in high-capacity, sustainable solutions for media processing and content delivery. The company emphasizes modularity and flexibility to meet complex live-event contributions, with centers of excellence in London and Los Angeles.
About BitFire: BitFire provides software-defined live production and IP transmission with cloud-based control over integrated broadcast systems, designed to enable scalable, high-quality content creation regardless of geographic location or equipment constraints.
