When Leo Messi debuted with PSG, half a million people watched it live on Twitch. Not on television. On Twitch. From a studio in Madrid, with the signal arriving in real-time from Paris. Manu Carreño was commentating alongside Ibai Llanos. And all the technical infrastructure—network, encoding, studio, cameras, crane, redundant power—was set up and operated by enbex.
This article tells how a game-changing broadcast was made possible in Spain. The day a professional football match was broadcast for the first time with broadcast production via Twitch, competing head-to-head with Telecinco for viewership. A technical, media, and cultural milestone that was conceived on the set of enbex.
The context: Piqué, Kosmos, and Ligue 1 rights
It all started with an unprecedented business move. Gerard Piqué, through his company Kosmos, acquired the broadcast rights for France's Ligue 1 in Spain. As a result, Messi's debut with PSG could be watched for free on Twitch through Ibai Llanos's channel.
The move was bold. Until then, no one had broadcast a professional soccer match on Twitch with official rights, and television-quality production. It's true that they had won the Copa América that same summer, but a European league match with Messi was on another level. Telecinco also had the rights and would broadcast the same match. Therefore, Ibai would compete live against a national television channel. The technical challenge for enbex was to live up to that commitment.
The enbex set in Madrid: the operations center
The broadcast was not made from an apartment with a webcam. On the contrary, it was made from enbex's own professional studio in Madrid, equipped for broadcast production. A space with studio cameras, professional optics, a crane, controlled lighting, and a complete production control room.
Ibai Llanos, Manu Carreño, and the rest of the team of presenters participated via live feeds on the enbex set. On the one hand, the cameras captured their reactions in real time. On the other, the crane provided cinematic movements. Meanwhile, the director cut between shots of the studio and the feed of the match coming in from Paris. In this way, everything was integrated into a production with a visual quality far above what is typical on Twitch.
Real-time signal from Paris
The game's signal Reims – PSG arrived at the Enbex set from France via Telefónica Audiovisual. That signal was received, processed, and integrated into the production along with the studio cameras. The director could cut between the action on the field and the commentators in Madrid seamlessly, just like in a conventional television program.
Receive a signal broadcast Broadcasting live from another country and integrating the feed into a local production is a process that requires precision. First, the signal must arrive in sync, with no accumulated delay and with the quality intact. Furthermore, any mismatch between the game’s audio and the video is immediately noticeable. For that reason, enbex managed the reception with the necessary protocols and equipment to ensure a seamless integration.
Critical infrastructure: redundant power and internet networks
When half a million people are watching your live broadcast, a power outage or an internet outage isn’t just an inconvenience. It’s a media disaster. That’s why the studio infrastructure was set up with contingency plans in place at every critical point.
Redundant electricity
The studio's power supply was reinforced with backup systems. In other words, if the main power grid failed, critical equipment—servers, encoders, network switches, and video mixers—had to continue operating without a single interruption. Protective measures were also implemented to prevent power surges or micro-outages from affecting production.
This level of caution might seem excessive for a Twitch stream. However, the numbers justified it. This wasn’t just an entertainment livestream with 5,000 viewers. At its peak, there were 500,000 people watching, with Messi’s debut on the line. A three-second blackout would have made headlines the next day.
Redundant network with load balancing and LAG
The internet connectivity It was designed with full redundancy. Specifically, multiple access links from different providers were used. Load balancers were also deployed to manage traffic between them. In addition, LAG (Link Aggregation) was configured on the switches to aggregate multiple physical links into a single logical link with higher capacity.
LAG configuration is especially important in productions where video signals travel over the studio's internal network. By combining multiple switch ports into a single link, the available bandwidth is multiplied, and at the same time, port-level redundancy is created. This way, if a cable or port fails, traffic continues to flow through the others without interruption.
Additionally, the internet output was duplicated. If the primary provider failed, the secondary one automatically absorbed the traffic. The Twitch stream could not be interrupted under any circumstances.
Dual encoding: the signal had a backup
The program feed from the ATEM switcher was sent to two encoders in parallel. The first was the primary encoder, encoding and sending the signal to the Twitch servers in real time. The second was configured as an active backup, ready to take over in the event of a failure.
In a conventional broadcast, a single encoder is usually sufficient. However, with the expected viewership numbers and the media impact of the event, operating without a backup would have been irresponsible. For example, if the main encoder crashed—something that can happen with hours of continuous broadcasting—the secondary one would instantly take over.
The result: a streaming milestone in Spain
The numbers from that night speak for themselves. A peak of 500,000 viewers on Ibai’s channel. An average of 343,000 throughout the match. More than 2 million people tuned in to the live stream during the broadcast. The pre-game show averaged more than 300,000 viewers. And the YouTube video subsequently surpassed 1.5 million views.
To put it in context, Telecinco broadcast the same match and registered an average of 2.2 million viewers. Ibai, from the enbex studio, achieved figures comparable to those of a national television channel. He did it through a streaming platform. Furthermore, he had Manu Carreño as a commentator and a full broadcast production. In short, all the technical infrastructure came from a studio in Madrid.
In fact, Vodafone later published a graph showing how Twitch traffic on its network skyrocketed during the broadcast. The impact was so great that it was noticeable at the telecommunications operator level. In other words, that gives a measure of what that night meant for streaming in Spain.
Why this project defines enbex
In short, this event brings together everything enbex does best in a single project. Audiovisual production Broadcast level with own studio, crane, and professional cameras. Real-time reception and integration of international signals. Redundant network with LAG, load balancing, and dual provider. Dual encoding for streaming without risk of cutting out. Electrical contingency for critical equipment. And, above all, the ability to operate under the pressure of knowing that half a million people are watching what comes out of your studio.
It wasn't just another stream. It was the day Twitch competed with Telecinco for the audience of a Messi match. And the infrastructure that made it possible had a name: enbex.
Technical specifications
Event: Leo Messi's debut with PSG. Reims – PSG, Ligue 1. August 29, 2021. Broadcast on Ibai Llanos's Twitch channel.
Audience 500,000 peak viewers. 343,000 average viewers. Over 2 million total viewers. Pre-show with an average of 300,000+. YouTube video with over 1.4 million views.
Plato: Private studio in Madrid. Cameras with broadcast lenses, jib, professional lighting, and production control with ATEM switcher.
Sign: Live broadcast from Paris via Telefónica Audiovisual. Real-time integration with the studio production.
Presenters: Ibai Llanos, Manu Carreño, and contributors. With contributions from Gerard Piqué (Kosmos, rights holder).
Red Redundant internet with multiple providers. Load balancing. Switches with LAG (Link Aggregation). Electrical contingency for critical equipment.
Encoding: Dual encoder to Twitch. Primary + standby active.
Result: Full uninterrupted broadcast. First professional football match broadcast on Twitch with broadcast production in Spain. Historic milestone for sports streaming.
Does your project need a professional studio with redundant broadcast and streaming infrastructure? Contact enbex. The set from which Ibai broadcast Messi is ours.