Case Study: RTL Nederland achieves scalable, cost-effective live streaming with Microsoft Azure

Bursting to the cloud to reach more viewers

RTL Nederland, a leading Dutch commercial broadcaster with eight channels and millions of viewers, faced a shifting market as audiences—especially younger viewers—moved from linear TV to on-demand and live streaming. To handle short, intense bursts of online traffic (for example tens of thousands of concurrent live viewers for special programming) without investing in seldom-used hardware, the company needed a scalable, cost-effective way to deliver high-quality video across many devices and launch new features quickly.

RTL implemented a hybrid cloud solution built on Azure Media Services, CDN, Blob Storage and ExpressRoute to scale media resources up and down for peak demand, protect content, and stream from redundant datacenters in Amsterdam and Dublin. The move eliminated infrastructure maintenance, saved roughly €50,000 in build costs, improved reliability and device compatibility, and accelerated feature deployment—letting RTL concentrate on next-generation video services and reach more viewers across linear, VOD, and live platforms.

RTL Nederland

Fardau van Neerden

Senior System Engineer