Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 18, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Belden, which comes from cable production, has now acquired its third broadcast technology provider after Telcast and Miranda—and for US$220 million. Thus, Grass Valley’s sale price has risen considerably since its last acquisition by an investor conglomerate (Francisco Partners), because in 2010 Francisco Partners bought the struggling Grass Valley from Technicolor for 100 million.
According to unconfirmed sources, the Grass Valley brand, including its sales structures, is expected to continue, but the company will come under the leadership of Marco Lopez, the head of Miranda. Through the acquisition, Belden promises to be able to "offer overarching solutions".
To what extent this is, of course, relevant to the industry in DE—outside various broadcasters, which have in any case been working for years with the same cameras, control desks and other Grass Valley products—remains to be seen. It only becomes interesting when you look at the overall market concentration and, of course, that with Edius and the various cameras, routers and switchboards—including the newly acquired network technology—a full-service producer may just now be emerging that could perhaps grow far enough that a manufacturer can actually offer an entire broadcast chain. We are curious.
