SDTV’s Mark Yancey Is Retiring; HDLA Production Unit, Related Assets for Sale

Package includes A and B units, additional 30-ft. truck, booked projects, trademarks, client list

After more than 30 years in the business, SDTV President Mark Yancey is retiring and is looking for someone to buy the HDLA production unit and related assets, an attractive offering for a company or startup seeking a combo satellite/production truck.

HDLA was at the center of the production of the Carrier Classic.

“Our forte has been satellite-uplink trucks with real production in them,” says Yancey, “with the same type of switchers and cameras that you see on big shows: a real Calrec audio board, a large Grass Valley production switcher, 10 cameras, EVS machines. It’s enough firepower to go out and do a game all by itself.”

The company is looking to sell to an interested party or company that wants to provide a turnkey operation and leverage the HDLA brand and other assets.

“We want someone to take it to the next level,” he explains. “HDLA is a powerful working complete truck. In fact, we completed another eight-camera pay-per-view boxing event just last week that was televised live nationally.”

The HDLA truck offers a powerful combination of satellite and production capabilities.

Over the years, HDLA has worked for a number of major events, including Super Bowls, Academy Awards, and other special events. In a typical week, it can work on three separate shows.

“Not many trucks can do a set, shoot, strike in one day,” Yancey notes. “That’s a key element that HDLA offers. With a well-oiled crew, you can pull in, set up, go to lunch, do the shoot, do the strike, and be out of there in 10 hours. That saves a lot of expenses.”

Another strength of the unit, he says, is redundancy. “If an international broadcaster is using our truck, we need redundancy because their feed is seen by a whole nation. We have two of everything, so we don’t need to worry about failures. And that has resulted in a perfect track record.”

The company is looking to sell the entire package of the HDLA truck: the A unit, B support unit, and a similar four-camera 30-ft. truck, along with the already booked projects, trademarks, and client list complete.

“We are open to ideas on financing or other creative financing thoughts or ideas needed to complete a sale,” he says. “The pricing is well below the amount of revenue that this truck is capable of producing in just one year.”

With the satellite-uplink and production truck coupled together, Yancey says, HDLA offers one-stop shopping for clients looking to do individual shows or split-feed shows.

“A lot of productions have gone away from the 50-ft. tractor trailer as the mainstay of all sports to doing a REMI, where you bring a horse trailer with cameras and just shoot it live and switch it from someplace else,” he adds. “But our compact truck with real cameras, the uplink, and a smaller footprint offer good efficiency.”

The truck also can be purchased with existing contracts that have a right of refusal for such events as the Rose Parade, Super Bowl, and college basketball.

“When the truck sells,” Yancey says, “we give the new owner an option of doing those shows or not doing them, because I don’t want to encumber the sale of the company. Over the past 30 years, we’ve provided high-end, combination satellite uplinks with multicamera production vehicles.”

Additional information is available at www.SDTV.com or www.HDLA.com.