Plugging In to the Democratic, Republican Conventions

2008 DNC and RNC Are Leveraging Streaming Video, Social Networking, More

Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who once referred to the Internet as a “series of tubes”, may be confounded by communications technology and what it can do. But the people running the Democratic and Republican national conventions this year certainly don’t seem to be.

These events, being held Aug. 25-28 in Denver and Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn., respectively, will be the most plugged-in conventions to date.

That probably doesn’t come as a surprise given the Internet’s important role — both as an information source and fundraising medium — in this presidential election. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 46 percent of Americans have used the Internet to get political news and share their thoughts about the campaign this year. Of course, much also has been made about Barack Obama’s success in raising funds online, primarily from small contributors.

This ongoing embrace of all things digital is extending into the Democratic and Republican conventions, which both are delivering live HD video of activities at the Denver Pepsi Center and the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, respectively, via their Web sites. Both convention committees also are offering links from their sites to popular social networking locales for information about their candidates. But these are just two examples of how communications technology and service providers have come into play during these important events related to this year’s presidential contest.

Streaming Video

“We’ll be streaming in HD, which is definitely a first for the convention,” said Grant van Rooyen, president of content markets for Denver-based Level 3 Communications Inc., the Official Live Video and Content Delivery Services Provider for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. “We think that consumers have voted for HD already, and there’s no reason they won’t vote for HD online.”

Level 3 will deliver live analog and high-definition video broadcast services from the Pepsi Center, which the carrier has brought on-net with fiber for the Democratic National Convention and future events at this venue. In addition, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) will use Level 3’s content delivery network (CDN) to provide online video downloading and live streaming of the convention. Level 3’s CDN also will cache the convention’s Web site on servers across its network in an effort to deliver a high-quality, online viewing experience. (Qwest Communications International Inc. has been designated the DNC’s telecommunications provider.)

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp., the Official Software and HD Web Content Provider for the 2008 DNC, will employ its Silverlight platform for interactive Web applications and HD video, in conjunction with the Level 3 network, to bring live, gavel-to-gavel convention video coverage to a worldwide audience via the DNCC's Web site.

A company called Ustream.TV has been tapped as the 2008 Republican National Convention’s Official Live Video Streaming Partner. Qwest, the RNC’s Official Communications Provider, will provide the high-speed Internet connections over which that video will be sent out of the venue and onto the Internet.

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