Echelon taps The Switch’s London facility to produce fitness content
July 1, 2021
The Switch, a provider of production services and global delivery of live video, has been chosen by Echelon Fitness to produce and deliver live and on-demand exercise content across different time zones from its London studio facility. Echelon, the innovative connected fitness brand, uses a new, dedicated set-up at one of The Switch’s central London studios to record and livestream fitness classes, with support from The Switch’s production team. The content is delivered at low latency directly to the Echelon Fit app via The Switch’s global network.
Echelon offers a line of connected fitness products – bikes, rowers, fitness mirrors and treadmills – and an app experience that allows its members to participate in both live and on-demand fitness classes. To bolster the production of classes from its own studios in the US (Chattanooga, TN and Miami, FL), Echelon needed a UK-based studio that would extend its ability to create more fitness content around the clock for its global membership base. With multiple headend studios in London, The Switch was able to create a dedicated, full-time fitness suite from which Echelon’s trainers can present classes.
Helen Wilkinson, Managing Director, Echelon Fitness, commented: “It was vitally important that we get up and running at a professional quality London studio. The Switch has made the process of setting up a London facility hassle-free, handling everything from the studio’s design and construction to the production and livestreaming logistics. We’re incredibly happy with the outcome of the studio, and our fitness instructors have already been able to produce some incredibly engaging content for our innovative app. We look forward to continuing expanding our fitness content offering, drawing on the experience of The Switch.”
The Switch reconfigured one of its London studios specifically for the needs of Echelon, building in fitness mirrors, staging, camera equipment, lighting and Echelon branding. This set-up provides the ideal setting for its fitness instructors to lead live exercise classes and record on-demand sessions, supported by The Switch’s experienced producers in a dedicated control room. Echelon is also trialing The Switch’s Cloud Video Services platform, MIMiC, in the recording of some live classes.
Nicholas Castaneda, Senior Vice President of Sales at The Switch, said: “Working with Echelon, one of the fastest-growing brands in the connected fitness market, to help drive its international growth and deliver more content to its members worldwide is an exciting opportunity. As Echelon looked to produce fitness content beyond the US, our London studios seemed a natural base from which to deliver more classes to more time zones. Our modern facility and three-camera set-up provide Echelon with all the tools and crew needed to produce and deliver live and on-demand content to its global fitness-first membership. We’re excited to continue working with Echelon’s UK management and fitness instructors to provide exceptional live content.”
The Switch studios are located in the world’s foremost media centers – Los Angeles, Burbank, New York and London. Echelon’s fitness instructors use the London studio each morning and evening to film live spinning classes, which are made available to anyone via the Echelon Fit app – amounting to a minimum of 25 classes per week.