Grass Valley has acquired PubliTronic with the intention of targeting the fastest growing segment of the play-to-air market. Integrated playout is one of the fastest growing segments in broadcasting and expected to increase significantly over the next three years, officials announced at a web conference with the media. With the economics of launching new channels […]
Grass Valley has acquired PubliTronic with the intention of targeting the fastest growing segment of the play-to-air market.
Integrated playout is one of the fastest growing segments in broadcasting and expected to increase significantly over the next three years, officials announced at a web conference with the media. With the economics of launching new channels changing dramatically, innovative approaches are needed to support this growing segment. Multichannel service providers in the cable, satellite, and telco sectors, as well as broadcasters adding secondary digital channels, can benefit from a multichannel, integrated, automated playout approach.
When we decided to expand our playout offerings to include an integrated approach, we had a choice: do it on our own or invest through an acquisition, said Alain Andreoli, President and Chief Executive Officer of Grass Valley.
As we learned more about PubliTronics technology and people, it became very clear that a combination of our talents and resources could allow us to offer innovative and compelling products to our customers quickly. This second acquisition this year after Evolution, exemplifies our strategy of entering fast growing, new segments to take full advantage of all opportunities, as it presented a key growth opportunity for the K2 server family and Grass Valley. What this acquisition brings to customers is much more than a simple “channel-in-a-box” solution. Our next-generation K2 Edge server is a sophisticated and very powerful multichannel, integrated, automated playout system that delivers benefits to our customers from day one.
The Grass Valley K2 Edge multichannel, integrated, automated playout system is based on the technology platforms developed by PubliTronic.
While there are benefits for some facilities invested in traditional playout automation to continue with that approach, it is too expensive and unnecessarily complex for many of the new players coming online. A fully integrated system offers tremendous benefits, the least of which being lower initial capital cost. Total cost of ownership is also reduced by streamlining the playout workflow as each toolserver, graphics, master control, and the automation system itselfis seamlessly integrated and purpose-built to work together.
This acquisition by Grass Valley is great for PubliTronic’s customers as the entire team in Apeldoorn can now enjoy the resources of a true multi-national company, complete with deep knowledge in video and server technologies, said Harold Vermeulen, Vice President, Media Playout Solutions, Grass Valley and Founder and former Managing Director of PubliTronic.
Now, together, our technologies can bring real cost and operational benefits to the industry on a large scale.
Multichannel, integrated, automated playout is the next evolution in the programme playout market segment. While traditional playout solutions take advantage of IT-based technologies to control separate components, it is only when all of the applicationsasset management, channel design, media playout, and automationare designed to work together from the ground up, can one realize further workflow efficiencies.
PubliTronic is a great complement to the Grass Valley team, said Charlie Dunn, Executive Vice President, Products and General Manager, Editing, Servers & Storage Product Group for Grass Valley.
They have well engineered products and the same values and focus on the importance of leveraging IT technologies in broadcast as we do. This will not only help to quickly extend the K2 media server product family, but will help to deliver more complete solutions to our customers more quickly.
