NEP Broadcasting Acquires New Century Productions

Pittsburgh-based NEP Broadcasting has acquired the stock of video production company New Century Productions, located in Allentown, Pa. The companies intend to co-invest with an investment affiliate of American Securities Capital Partners in a new holding company that will own New Century and all operating divisions of NEP.

NEP is one of the major providers of mobile production for television, with nearly 40 trucks in the United States and the United Kingdom. New Century is also a remote video production company comprising five HD and five SD trucks. Tom Shelburne, one of NEP’s founders, helped create New Century in 1984.

American Securities Capital Partners is a private equity firm in New York that took a majority stake in NEP last February. Marc Saiontz, managing director of ASCP, said the two companies “perfectly” complemented one another.

New Century will roll a new HD truck, NCP XI in April, representing the first collaboration between Mike Mundt of NCP and Howie Naugle of NEP. The unit will be built by the NEP Systems Integration Group. New Century will also go ahead on previous plans to finish a new 20,000-square-foot field shop in Allentown.

The company’s list of credits includes gigs for all the major U.S. sports leagues as well as ESPN, CBS, FOX, CSTV, MASN and Comcast SportsNet.

NEP consists of divisions encompassing production trucks, mobile screen trucks and modular LEDs, and a New York television facility described by the company as the “No. 1 provider of independent television production studios and services” in the city.

NEP’s resume lists the Super Bowl, The Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, the Olympic Games, NASCAR, WWE Wrestling, the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon and French Open Tennis, the Grammy Awards, the U.S. and British Open Golf coverage, Sesame Street, The Rolling Stones, and The People’s Court.

New Century will continue to operate under its own moniker out of its Allentown offices with the same staff. Mike Werteen will be bumped up to senior vide president and general manager. New Century cofounder Barry Fisher will join the board of directors of the new parent company.