Mediatec Broadcast Chooses Grass Valley Solution For Ongoing HD Expansion

Mediatec Broadcast, an international leader in broadcast production, has chosen Grass Valley to enable its ongoing expansion in the global live broadcast and events market. Grass Valley will help Mediatec Broadcast standardize and streamline its broadcast acquisition and production workflows to increase productivity across the organization.

Headquartered in Sweden, Mediatec Broadcast will deploy a total of 46 complete Grass Valley LDK 8000 Elite cameras with 3G Fiber Transmission systems, two LDK 8300 live super slow-motion cameras, two Kayak 2.5 M/E HD digital production switchers and a number of other accessories to various departments in Scandinavia and Finland.

“With our international reputation for unparalleled technical expertise and high-end in-house technologies, it’s vitally important that we are able to provide innovative, flexible, and creative solutions for broadcast and production at major and smaller scale events worldwide,” said Paul Henriksen, CEO for Mediatec Broadcast. “The Grass Valley deployment offers a complete end-to-end solution, which will enable our cameras to become part of the workflow and switch to any of the current TV formats up to 1080p. This will help us to work smarter and meet the challenges associated with live TV production.”

As part of the deployment eight LDK 8000 Elite camera systems were sent to Norway, six to Finland, and 32 to Sweden. The LDK 8300 super slow-motion cameras were sent to Norway. By selecting the LDK 8000 Elite Series, Mediatec benefits from the most comprehensive, multiformat, and future-proofed camera system available on the market. It can capture HD images natively, and switch instantly between multiple formats and selectable frame-rates of up to 1080p50, taking HD to a higher level of quality than previously possible.

Also included in the sale were two Grass Valley Kayak switchers—highly affordable, compact, and flexible systems—offering a wide array of high-end features for everything from live studio and mobile production, to small corporate studios and editing applications. The Kayak switchers are the fourth and fifth identical units to be installed in a series of identical OB vans, designed and built to an exact match, enabling a uniform approach.

“With Mediatec’s rapidly expanding business, it’s important that the broadcast and production solutions Mediatec deploys allow the creative flexibility that they need, in addition to enabling the production efficiencies required in today’s fast moving market,” said Alan Wright,  Regional President for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Grass Valley.  “We’re proud to be supporting Mediatec to enable its ongoing expansion in the global live broadcast and events market.”

Mediatec’s move to greater efficiency reflects a key trend in the broadcast market. According to a recent industry report, consultants and market analysts agree efficiency is one of the key elements of a successful global strategy for the future. “Over the last few years we have seen the shift to file-based/tapeless workflows making it much easier to repurpose media again and again,” said Ian Bowker, a consultant and principal at Icon Broadcast. “Broadcast technology buyers are clearly focused on creating efficiencies wherever possible, while at the same time working to generate new revenue streams.”

Grass Valley Appoints Mike Cronk as Senior Vice President  of Marketing
Grass Valley announced the appointment of Mike Cronk as Senior Vice President of Marketing. Effective immediately, Cronk will have overall responsibility for product roadmap and strategy. Based at the company’s office in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, Cronk brings a wealth of industry experience to the role, and is returning to Grass Valley having spent nearly 20 years with the company between 1989 and 2008.

“As our customers revitalize their operations they are increasingly asking us to help them become more efficient and productive. We are committed to meeting their expectations, today and always, with the best solutions delivery and vision in the industry,” says Tim Thorsteinson, President and CEO, Grass Valley. “Mike has the experience and the industry knowledge to enable us to set the bar for excellence and will be a valuable member of our management team. I am delighted to welcome Mike back to Grass Valley.”

While previously at Grass Valley, Cronk was instrumental in repositioning the company and in identifying strategic acquisitions such as Vibrint, Inc. from which Grass Valley grew to be a leader in the news business.

After leaving Grass Valley in 2008, Cronk founded and served as CEO for Nmera, LLC, a lighting company which competed and won accounts from established competitors at end users such as Google. More recently, he has served clients as owner of Streamside Consulting, LLC. Cronk holds both Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“This is a dynamic and exciting time in the television industry.   Now more than ever it is imperative that we at Grass Valley continue our long tradition of listening to customers to bring technically innovative solutions to market” added Cronk.   “I’m thrilled to be contributing to that process again”.

Current Chief Marketing Officer Graham Sharp, will leave Grass Valley at the end of March to return to his consulting business. He will continue to work closely with Grass Valley, providing guidance on strategy and corporate development.

“I would like to extend my thanks to Graham Sharp for his contributions to developing Grass Valley’s strategy and marketing over the past few years.” added Thorsteinson.