OTTAWA—Ross Video today announced that it is rebranding the company in advance of an IPO within the next two years. 

The Ottawa-based company, which launched in 1974 focusing on switchers, has expanded over the years to the point where it now offers one of the widest arrays of lens to glass production systems in the broadcast industry. It has approximately 1,300 employees worldwide. 

The announcement comes less than a week after the company officially opened the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Iriquois, Ontario, which doubled the square footage of the facility to more than 120,000. Ross said it expects to bring in $400 million in revenues this year, according to Standard-Freeholder. 

The company says its new brand platform, “Let’s Make it Real” is a “significant milestone in the company’s evolution, showcasing its commitment to customer imagination and enabling the transformation of ideas into reality. This is an especially important step towards a planned IPO in the next few years to communicate that customers remain the central focus for the company.”

Company CEO Dave Ross says the company has been doing its due diligence in advance of the expected IPO. 

“We've been doing a lot of work inside the company making sure our accounting and ESG are in place,” Ross Video CEO Dave Ross told TV Tech. “And one of the things is the brand, which also needs to be in place. We’ve had the standard red Ross logo, which we launched on our 40th anniversary in 2014. So we've had the current look for quite a few years.”

Ross adds that unlike the usual IPO process, Ross’s move to go public will demonstrate the company’s focus on its customers. 

“Something that we've seen in a lot of the companies in our industry that go public, ‘the street,’ or the investors, turn these companies into pretzels, and they become a financial instrument, as opposed to a customer serving company,” he said. “One of the things that makes Ross unique is that we are a large, privately owned company, where I still own 80% and the employees still own the rest. And even after an IPO, even if we went public and created about maybe 15% new shares for outside investors to participate in, they can't fire me. And my focus after 30 years of focusing on the customers isn't gonna change at all.” 

Ross said that acquisitions will continue regardless of when the IPO will take place, adding that the company expects to announce a new one sometime this summer. 

Being able to raise substantially more money will allow Ross to do a couple of things, Ross said.

“In the first round of the IPO, I don't make a penny, no employee makes a penny, basically money just goes into the company to do some cool new things by using some of the money for doing more research and development—making our existing products better, faster and make them integrate to each other even better than they have before,” he said. “So, I think from that point of view, the IPO is all about a superior customer experience.

Jeff Moore, EVP and CMO of Ross Video says the rebrand is a massive step for the company’s evolution. 

“Our technology is in more settings and hands than ever, and our customers are using it to design stunning productions on a daily basis,” he said. “This new brand platform welcomes our customers’ visionary thinking and puts them in the driver’s seat so that they can dream up creative solutions alongside us. The vibrance and energy of the new visual system is a significant evolution for Ross and a massive step in conveying who we are to this broader audience. It’s also fitting that this great work was a team effort. External partners bringing fresh eyes complimented by Ross staff who know and own the brand.”

Early pieces of “Let’s Make it Real” were teased out at the NAB Show in April. With the official launch today and full rollout continuing through the remainder of the year, the platform will anchor all marketing and communication efforts, including a revamped website designed to communicate how Ross has become a cornerstone of the industry while remaining laser-focused on customer success, the company said.

“Let’s Make it Real” was a collaboration between Ross’ internal creative design team and Toronto-based external partners Bruce Mau Design and strategy consultant Mary Jane Braide.

“The design system is a literal manifestation of ‘Let’s Make it Real,’ moving from abstract concept to final experience,” said Laura Stein, Chief Creative Officer at Bruce Mau Design. “Graphic pixels represent the process, ideation, and connections that progress bit by bit until we arrive at crisp, high-resolution images of the final experience.”

NEW YORK & OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.—Redbox has announced that it has completed its business combination with Seaport Global Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The merger will allow “Redbox Entertainment Inc.” common stock and warrants to begin trading on NASDAQ on Monday, October 25, 2021, under the ticker symbols “RDBX and “RDBXW,” 

Redbook had announced earlier this year that it would go public via a SPAC. 

“Today marks the beginning of Redbox’s next chapter,” said Galen Smith, CEO of Redbox. “Since revolutionizing the way Americans rent movies nearly two decades ago, Redbox has continuously evolved and expanded our reach – all while offering our millions of loyal customers exceptional value in home entertainment. Today, we are building on our legacy and reaffirming our commitment to delivering a wide range of choice and convenience for consumers, as well as value for our Redbox stakeholders.”

Smith also noted that “this transaction, and the incremental capital it provides” will help the company continue its digital transformation and “advance our goal of creating a one stop experience that spans multiple entertainment mediums and simplifies the streaming experience.”

In the runup to going public, Redbox has made a number of significant efforts to expand its offerings and digital efforts, including: 

• Entered into a multiyear distribution agreement with Lionsgate, under which Lionsgate will distribute Redbox Entertainment titles across home entertainment windows in addition to subscription video on demand (SVOD) licensing for select titles under the Redbox Entertainment brand.
• Expanded the distribution footprint for its streaming app to the PlayStation 5 console, allowing consumers to stream thousands of Ad Supported Video on Demand (AVOD) movies and TV shows, as well as over one hundred Free Ad Supported TV (FAST) channels.
• Signed a promotional agreement with Roku to further attract multi-platform users to the Redbox streaming app. Through mid-2022, consumers will receive a $5 streaming code on Roku players sold exclusively at Walmart.
• Announced it will add over 20 Free Ad Supported Television (FAST) channels to its streaming service including live local news, Spanish language, and kids programming, bringing the total number of channels available to over 100.
• Signed a distribution agreement with Vewd – one of the world’s largest providers of OTT and hybrid TV solutions – to pre-load the Redbox streaming app on new and existing Vewd powered TVs and set-top boxes in the US.

The business combination was unanimously approved by the parties’ Boards of Directors, and approved by Seaport Global Acquisition’s stockholders at a special meeting on October 20, 2021, Redbox reported. 

The transaction, combined with a fully committed private investment in public equity (PIPE) of $50 million led by Ophir Asset Management and backstop agreements with certain funds announced on October 11, 2021, will provide Redbox with approximately $88 million in cash. Redbox intends to use the funds from the transaction to pay down existing debt, pay transaction costs and fees, fund future growth investments, and for general corporate purposes.

The final number of shares redeemed totaled 12,346,223. As a result, Redbox will have approximately 45.4 million shares outstanding, of which approximately 2.0 million shares will be immediately tradeable. The shares that will be purchased as part of the backstop agreements, along with the PIPE, will be registered for resale separately in the future.

LOS GATOS, CALIF.--Connected device and streaming service provider Roku Inc. this week announced it will launch The Roku Channel, a commercially supported streaming channel delivering top films and other content free to its customers. The move comes on the heels of its announcement that the company plans an initial public stock offering with a target of raising $100 million.

"They have been very successful, especially in recent years,” says Bruce Leichtman, president and principal researcher at Leichtman Research Group. "Roku is at the top of one of the fastest growing segments –the standalone connected device [segment]–and it’s a good time to capitalize on that.”

From a business point of view, Roku faces two challenges: finding ways to capture more homes and getting “deeper into homes”—in other words, connected to second and third TVs, he says.

While Leichtman says it is hard to predict exactly what impact the new streaming channel will have on the IPO, The Roku Channel will add value for non-pay TV subscribers by making it easier for them to “cobble together” free viewing via the connected device. “Roku is the No. 1 standalone streaming device in all the surveys we do, and it skews a little more towards non-subscribers than others,” says Leichtman. 

The new channel offering will require no subscription, fee or login, the company says. It will offer movies like Ali, The Karate Kid, Legally Blonde and others from various studios, including Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Brothers. It also will help existing channel publishers, such as American Classics, Fandor, FilmRise, Nosey and Popcornflix, to increase viewership, says the Los Gatos, Calif., -based company. 

Roku expects the new channel to have about half as many ads per program hour as linear TV. The strategy of offering ad-supported content is smart for any new network seeking to get its footing, particularly when a channel must capture the attention of customers who can already choose from hundreds of others, says Leichtman. Roku is starting from “ground zero” with the channel, he says. Making it free can help to propel the channel to a position of prominence in the minds of consumers.

Roku plans to roll out the new channel in phases over the coming weeks.

PITTSBURGH – NEP Group, a global provider of live and broadcast production technology, has announced it has postponed its previously announced initial public offering. The decision to postponement was based on the unfavorable equity market conditions, according to the NEP board of directors, management and sponsor. NEP plans to continue to evaluate the market conditions for the proposed offering.

“Due to the recent volatility and uncertainty in the public markets, we have decided that this is not the right time for NEP to move forward with an IPO,” said Kevin Rabbitt, CEO of NEP Group. “We are committed to continuing to execute our plan, and we do not believe this decision will impact our ability to meet our on-going growth goals.”

NEP initially filed for an IPO back in July 2014 and announced it publicly this past June. The company had planned to offer up to $100 million of its common stock.