This chapter turns its attention to the underlying infrastructure that constitutes the material foundation of the global TV system. Technology is the application of science and knowledge to accomplish a task inside a domain, while infrastructure consists of the material elements that actualise it: it is the buildings, cables, servers, switches, and routers needed to transport data packets from point A to point B; it is the firms, machinery, engineers, and technicians who design, build, update, and repair these material components. This chapter examines the cloud infrastructure that sustains streaming, focusing on two key components: undersea cable networks and data centres. The final section describes the contours of the video ecosystem that technology and infrastructure have created, and within which television operates today.

This chapter covers the value-adding segments of television GVC’s media delivery phase. Media delivery begins when the final production master has been approved and the programme is ready to be distributed to audiences via various channels and platforms. The segments are: publication, transmission, and reception. The chapter argues that broadcasters had been in charge of the full transmission process of tasks deemed core to their business. Today, media delivery is externalised to the market and devolved to a network of suppliers that collaborate along the value chain. While some suppliers work solely for the media and entertainment sector, some are no ordinary firm, but tech giants that have developed deep global capabilities and can leverage an unprecedented infrastructure to deliver content to and from (almost) any location in the world. They gain further leverage by being cross-sectoral, serving clients across multiple industries. The chapter identifies these global (or transnational first-tier suppliers) and analyses their key features.