Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 21, 2005. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
It looks as though there could soon be even more mergers among broadcast suppliers. The background is an industry-wide consolidation trend that will probably lead to a handful of major players capable of offering so-called end-to-end solutions.
In the process – as Avid has done with iNews Instinct (see news on this) – missing components will either be manufactured in-house or purchased. Avid is also a good example of this: During the company’s NAB press conference, the Pinnacle deal was only briefly addressed. According to this, the group plans to introduce potential Avid customers to Avid at an early stage in the consumer sector. Users can therefore expect a Pinnacle Studio in the Avid look. And in the broadcast sector, Avid has so far lacked products such as Pinnacle’s DekoCast and MediaStream Server. With revenues of 700 million dollars for Avid and 350 million dollars for Pinnacle, this creates a company with a billion dollar in revenue.
When asked, Thomson Vice President Jeff Rosica, who is responsible for global strategy, explained that the company wants to offer its customers complete solutions more strongly than before, but “will of course also enter into and maintain partnerships with other manufacturers.” That leaves plenty of room for speculation – we may be curious to see who will be bought next.
