SVG Sit-Down: Pat Sullivan and Scott Rehling on the Effect of Game Creek Video and L2 Productions Deal on Live Sports Production

Acquired by GCV, Austin-based firm looks to scale up offerings, REMI workflows

Last month, Game Creek Video and L2 Productions announced plans to join forces, with The Sullivan Family, owner of GCV, acquiring L2. Now under the same umbrella, the two independent organizations believe they are well-positioned to significantly expand their remote-production offerings and extend their collective support to clients in a post-COVID world.

In partnering with GCV, L2 will scale up in capability, capacity, and administration while controlling costs and maximizing efficiencies for its clients. The deal also allows the Austin, TX-based live-media–production company to provide more robust offerings worldwide and gain access to GCV’s state-of-the-art equipment, including cameras, lenses, replay, production, and graphics.

SVG sat down with Game Creek Video President Pat Sullivan and L2 Productions President/COO Scott Rehling, who continues in that role (Kyle Sullivan will become manager/CEO of L2), to discuss the deal, why it made sense, and how it will impact the live-sports-production industry.

Game Creek Video’s Pat Sullivan: “We were looking for a complementary business that had shown exciting revenue and technical growth. L2 had both.”

How did this deal come about, and why did it make sense for both Game Creek and L2 at this time?
Sullivan: We actually started this pre pandemic. We were looking for a complementary business that had shown exciting revenue and technical growth. L2 had both.

Rehling: After growing the business for seven years, L2 was at a point where, in order to continue the growth curve we were on, we needed to attract an investor and/or a strategic partner. With the Game Creek acquisition, we got both.

How has the growing demand for REMI/centralized production affected your business strategy, and how does the L2 deal help you better serve the industry?
Sullivan: We have always been about serving our customers in a more efficient way. Scott Rehling has developed a terrific business model that will help some of our customers and potential customers operate more efficiently.

L2 Productions’ Scott Rehling: “We will now be able to go after customers that can take advantage of both a REMI production solution and larger mobile units.”

What does Game Creek bring that L2’s offerings didn’t have before, and what does the deal mean for your customers?
Rehling: Strategically, it’s a great fit. Game Creek’s large fleet of world-class production trucks and vast engineering resources gives L2 the ability go after larger-scale events and customers and also gives us the ability to scale and grow much faster

How does this add to GCV’s portfolio of REMI facilities/resources, and what does it mean for your customers?
Sullivan: L2 is the perfect complement to some of our recent initiatives, such as GCV Anywhere, which has been successfully operating at scale for close to a year.

How will the two companies work together in the near term now that they are under the same ownership? Will there be any staffing or structural changes to either company?
Rehling: Game Creek will take over many of the operational functions of the L2 business, such as finance, travel, etc. And L2 will gain access to numerous Game Creek resources, including business development, operations, engineering. All of this is designed to allow L2 to focus on growth.

Is Game Creek on the lookout for any further acquisitions at this time?
Sullivan: While we have not grown by acquisitions in the past, I can’t rule out an acquisition that provides us with a great opportunity like L2.

What can the industry expect near-term from this partnership in terms of new offerings/services? How do you believe this deal better positions you to confront the challenges of a post-COVID world?
Rehling: From an L2 perspective, we will now be able to go after larger-scale events and customers that can take advantage of both a REMI production solution and larger mobile units. COVID pushed the entire industry to innovate with decentralized solutions and different forms of REMI production. The combination of L2’s solution and Game Creek’s solution gives us a very powerful and infinitely scalable solution that combines traditional approaches with REMI approaches.