FRANKFURT, Germany—At the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22 in Las Vegas, Manifold Technologies will discuss its participation in NEP Platform, the new software orchestration system launched by NEP Group.

Manifold CLOUD—the company’s software-defined media processing platform—will be available as a deployable application within NEP Platform, enabling broadcasters and rights holders to instantiate manifold’s FPGA-accelerated multiviewer, UDX conversion, and graphics services on demand, across NEP’s global fleet of mobile units, flypacks, and facilities.

NEP Platform represents a fundamental shift in how live production infrastructure is deployed and managed. Rather than building fixed, dedicated systems per function, the platform provides an orchestration layer that deploys and runs trusted third-party broadcast software on shared commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) compute in modern IP environments. Approved application versions and configurations are validated for deployment, lifecycle actions—bring-up, scaling, tear-down - are automated, and telemetry provides real-time health, performance, and usage visibility.

For manifold, this integration is a natural alignment: manifold CLOUD was built on the principle that processing should be decoupled from proprietary hardware, running on COTS FPGA accelerator cards from multiple vendors. The platform delivers broadcast-grade services—multiviewers, UDX conversion and graphics insertion—with deterministic performance and subframe latency, combining the elasticity of cloud-native orchestration with the reliability that Tier One live production demands.

Within NEP Platform, manifold CLOUD joins a lineup of industry-leading media production specialists, and together their applications will be deployed and scaled dynamically, enabling production teams to configure the right setup for each event at the click of a button and adjust resources on demand.

The integration will be demonstrated at the NAB Show 2026 in NEP’s meeting space, N253, located in the North Hall Meeting Rooms, Level 2, as well as at manifold’s booth, which it shares with technology partner arkona (Booth C.1808). Visitors will interact with the NEP Platform user interface, select manifold from the application catalogue, and watch as the software is deployed onto shared COTS compute.

Once deployed, manifold appears as a virtual device within NEP’s TFC orchestration layer, where operators complete configuration and run a live workflow—demonstrating how software-defined processing can be instantiated in minutes, not days, and terminated just as quickly when the production ends.

manifold says the demonstration underscores a broader industry shift, and for manifold, NEP represents more than a distribution channel. Instead, they are a proving ground for software-defined, FPGA-accelerated production, highlighting how ‘software-first’ approaches grant immense amounts of operational flexibility, speed, power and adaptability, whilst maintaining the reliability and simplicity of traditional, fixed, single function, studio-rooted hardware approaches.

“Collaboration with our partners, including arkona and manifold, has been instrumental in turning the vision of NEP Platform into a practical reality,” said Dan Murphy, VP of NEP Platform. “Manifold’s FPGA-accelerated infrastructure harnesses the flexibility of COTS and software-defined processing capabilities with the power of hardware acceleration. This architecture combines deterministic performance with the scalability and agility modern productions demand. It is exactly this kind of partnership that enables us to deliver next-generation broadcast workflows for our customers worldwide.”

Aleksei Shevchenko, CEO and co-founder of manifold technologies, added: “NEP has always understood that the future of live production isn’t hardware or software alone - it’s how effectively both integrate. With NEP Platform, they’ve built the orchestration layer that makes that integration repeatable, scalable, and secure - and allows various service providers to come together and collaborate in order to offer a product which benefits the industry as a whole. We’re proud to be part of that vision and to have our technology available to NEP’s customers around the world”.

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has announced NEP Platform, a new software orchestration system designed to help its customers improve their management of media infrastructure and hybrid workflows.

NEP Platform unifies the deployment of critical production applications from multiple vendors within a single, secure interface. Currently deployed in many of NEP’s own facilities worldwide, including new “software first” mobile units recently launched in Australia and Norway, NEP Platform is commercially available for customers who wish to integrate it into their own facilities, backed by the ongoing support of NEP’s engineers.

NEP Platform offers today’s largest collection of trusted software applications for media production, so that NEP customers have more choice and control over their workflow design. Essential production functions like vision mixing, audio mixing, replay, infrastructure, multiview, and measurement are available from Bridge Technologies, Calrec, Grass Valley, Lawo, Manifold, Panasonic, Sony and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations, with plans to add more. At a click of a button, operators can configure the right setup for each event and adjust resources on demand, creating a truly dynamic, adaptable and scalable environment, the company said.

“The NEP Platform launch marks an important step in NEP’s innovation journey as well as how the industry uses software,” said Martin Stewart, CEO of NEP Group. “Companies are delivering more content, across more markets, to more audiences than ever before, and that requires great agility. Our goal has always been to simplify content production so our customers can easily and securely deliver their content at scale. I’m delighted that NEP Platform offers that long-term solution with the ability to change as our customers do.”

With NEP Platform, capabilities can be added through new applications and software updates instead of major rebuilds. It takes the efficiency of software a step further by automatically allocating resources as production demands change, ensuring teams only use the computing power they need. This provides clear insight into how infrastructure, licenses, and resources will be used, so costs can be forecast accurately.

In addition, NEP’s team of experts ensure that NEP Platform deployments are secure and that the system is resilient. NEP Platform provides continuous vulnerability scanning, strong identity and access controls, encryption, and ongoing monitoring to protect customer environments and keep productions on air. It also validates application versions and configurations at each deployment, avoiding many of the common pitfalls of software.

By scaling intelligently, NEP Platform supports more sustainable practices by helping productions reduce power consumption and the need to ship hardware, the company said.

“NEP Platform gives customers real choice without added complexity,” said Dan Murphy, vice president of NEP Platform. “From a single interface, teams can launch the applications they prefer, deploy workflows in minutes and scale as production needs change.

“With this new way of managing infrastructure, customers can transition to software-based solutions that seamlessly operate with existing hardware. This not only protects our customers’ investments; it positions them to take advantage of future technology.”

NEP will demo NEP Platform at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 18-22. To make an appointment, visit https://platform.nepgroup.com.

MELBOURNE, Australia—NEP Australia, part of NEP Group, has launched a new OB facility that targets the broadcast industry’s shift towards hybrid workflows combining new software solutions with traditional hardware.

NEP Australia’s newest OB introduces an intelligent technical design for major event productions across leagues including the NRL, AFL and NBL—and is a significant departure from traditional OB infrastructure, according to the company. Named “HG 31” within NEP’s global fleet, the truck houses just three racks of IT and networking equipment, handling all video and audio processing, routing and monitoring.

Rather than relying on conventional onboard production infrastructure, all production operations are managed remotely through NEP’s connected hub ecosystem, including the NEP Andrews Hubs in Melbourne and Sydney, and NEP’s Production Hub in Auckland.

HG 31 supplements traditional hardware control surfaces with software-driven touchscreens, enabling agile workflows onsite synchronised with a full hardware-based mixing board or audio console in remote production control rooms. Production and engineering teams can move seamlessly between software and physical interfaces as workflows evolve, making it one of the most flexible OB units ever designed, NEP says.

This combination of a compact, lightweight, software-driven OB unit working in tandem with an offsite production facility marks an industry first for top-tier live productions. The approach further advances NEP’s strategy of delivering flexible, scalable, and software-defined media solutions that adapt to the evolving needs of broadcasters and rightsholders.

“This marks another milestone for NEP in the global development of our software solutions, giving broadcasters the flexibility to scale production processes and configurations up or down as needed, all within a single, easy-to-use platform,” said Dan Murphy, vice president of NEP Platform, who is leading NEP Group’s software platform development globally.

"NEP has a proud tradition of combining the best-in-class technology available to deliver the right solutions for our customers. The evolving world of software processing expands this capability, and we’re excited to give customers more freedom to choose the right tools for each production and adapt even more quickly as requirements change."

NEP’s development of software-led broadcast solutions began nearly a decade ago with the creation of TFC, NEP’s all-in-one broadcast control, orchestration, and infrastructure platform. Designed to manage the complexity of IP workflows, TFC brings hardware and software systems together into a single, intuitive control environment for live production teams.

Today, TFC powers live productions across more than 120 NEP facilities and OBs worldwide and is available industrywide for rightsholders, leagues, federations, news organizations, and streamers to deploy within their own operations.

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has scaled up its connected solutions infrastructure in the United States with the launch of two new production control rooms in South Florida and tripling the size of its Dallas network operations center.

“Broadcast rights are evolving in creative ways, and more live content is being produced today than ever before,” NEP Connected Solutions President Joshua Liemer said. “With NEP’s Connected Solutions, we’re guiding our customers as they tap into the full ecosystem of NEP media services, supporting their entire content lifecycle from capture to distribution.”

As part of NEP’s Connected Solutions expansion, NEP Production Hub South Florida now features 19 production control rooms (PCRs), following the addition of two new large-scale PCRs.

With these investments, NEP is enhancing its support to production partners across the entire content life cycle—from capture to global distribution—helping broadcasters, rightsholders, streamers, sports leagues and other content owners create, manage and monetize live and recorded content with greater scale, flexibility and reliability, it said.

At the heart of NEP’s Connected Solutions in the U.S. are three geographically diverse production hubs in South Florida, New York and Los Angeles. The NEP Production Hub South Florida build-out included new audio control rooms, a new insert stage and a new executive screening room, NEP said.

This hub is purpose-built to support simultaneous, high-volume productions across sports, news and entertainment. The facility also includes 12 integration pods, 22 voiceover booths, six insert stages, a master control room (MCR) and an on-site engineering network operations center (NOC). Together, these resources provide a robust environment for connected and remote production workflows, NEP said.

In addition to enhancements in South Florida, NEP has also added resources and infrastructure to its New York and Los Angeles hubs to accommodate an expanded production slate throughout the year.

“This recent investment in new facilities and infrastructure across our connected network in the U.S. is about more than adding space,” Liemer said. “It’s about unlocking greater capacity, flexibility and innovation for our partners across the globe. As the demand increases for the capture, delivery and monetization of content, we continue to pride ourselves on bringing the entire value chain to our customers so they are positioned for success in the evolving media landscape.”

NEP’s Dallas Datacenter, an Equinix Tier 4 facility, serves as the crucial network operations center within NEP’s Connected Solutions ecosystem. It has recently tripled in size to accommodate increasing demand for high-volume signal management and backend operations.

The facility now has space for several more operator positions, as well as dedicated areas for monitoring network health and infrastructure. Since launching in 2023, NEP’s Dallas Datacenter has delivered signal acquisition, real-time monitoring and engineering support across a broad range of client productions.

“The expansion of our Dallas Datacenter and network operations is a direct response to the evolving needs of our clients and the scale of modern live production, providing them with a smarter, more connected infrastructure they can grow with,” said Steve Grigely, senior vice president of Technical Operations.

NEP’s recent facility expansions in the U.S. have supported a full slate of productions for clients across sports and entertainment in recent months, including ongoing work with Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), YouTube, Netflix, and NEP’s recent role providing end-to-end support of DAZN’s match center operations for global coverage of the Club World Cup.

More information is available on the company’s website.

PITTSBURGH—The NEP Group has shared the news that the company’s founder and industry legend Tom Shelburne passed away on August 30 at the age of 81.

Known as the father of remote television production, Shelburne founded NEP Supershooters in 1987, revolutionizing the way live sports and entertainment was shared with millions of fans and TV viewers in the U.S. Shelburne’s ingenuity quickly led the company, now called NEP Group, to become the world’s leading mobile broadcast production company and later the global media technology partner it is today, the company said.

“Tom Shelburne was special. He was always about the people,” said Ken Aagaard, president, CBT, and former executive vice president of CBS Sports. “As the seed of NEP, Tom recognized from the beginning that he needed the best. He bought TCS just because they had two people he knew would grow his business: Hall of Famers George Wensel and Deb Honkus. Tom was not only a pioneer of sports TV but a cowboy who knew how to get whatever needed to be done, done.”

“There was no show too small or too big for Tom to take on,” Aagaard continued. “There are few owners who could be found in the back of the racks of a distressed truck or who would take over a camera assignment if needed. He loved working on the front lines of sports broadcasts. There was nobody better, nobody more fun to be around.”

Co-founder Deb Honkus added “I am honored I was able to be an integral part of building such a great company and team with Tom. His leadership and passion for what we do as a business – and as an industry – and the people was unmatched. He never followed the rules, but he always put our clients and our staff first. It was a great 30 years building a dynasty and it couldn’t have been done without Tom.”

“There are few who can change an industry, but Tom Shelburne did,” explained Mike Werteen, Global president of NEP Broadcast Services. “He is now on the Mount Rushmore of the remote production industry. His passion for excellence, his commitment to clients and his unwavering care for people are still the qualities NEP cares about the most. When I see the NEP logo on our offices around the globe I know Tom would be proud that his legacy and commitment will live on.”

Shelburne’s vision of what a mobile production truck could do launched the remote production industry that is today so essential to live broadcasting. The company began as WNEP, an ABC affiliate in Scranton, Pa., owned by the Shelburne family. The staff there developed the company’s first mobile broadcast units, tractor trailers filled with broadcast equipment to cover events on the road, beginning with Penn State University football games. In 1986, the operation was spun out as NEP, an independent company, and one year later merged with Pittsburgh-based TCS. Co-founders Deb Honkus and George Wensel joined Shelburne to run the company and decided to relocate NEP to Pittsburgh, a city they were passionate about.

Shelburne was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2007. His legacy of innovation in the broadcast industry and at NEP will be celebrated this December as part of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame ceremony in New York, hosted by Sports Video Group.

The entire team at NEP joins his wife Lee Ann and the Shelburne family in mourning his passing.

Read more about Tom Shelburne’s life in the official obituary.

SINGAPORE—NEP Singapore has opened a new broadcast production facility in the northeast of Singapore that is designed to help the company meet the growing demand for connected broadcast production solutions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. 

The new facility, which is connected to NEP’s global production ecosystem, is now serving broadcast clients, rights holders and other content creators with both onsite and remote production services, helping them bring their live sports and entertainment content to audiences regionally and worldwide, the company reported. 

“We’re very proud to open the doors to our new NEP Singapore home where we’ll continue to offer our clients the very best broadcast production solutions,” explained Saeed Izadi, president, NEP Singapore, India and Middle East. “This new expanded facility has been client-driven, where we’re responding to the needs of our broadcast partners in the region, whether they are working on a Tier 1 remote production or a Tier 2 or 3 remote production, we’re able to scale the solutions of the facility to meet the project’s needs, in both size and cost. I’m very proud of our team for bringing this new facility to life and excited for the opportunities it’s going to deliver to our clients.”

The new facility features modern office space and a spacious engineering workshop inside an expanded warehouse stretching more than 4,500 square meters. The warehouse provides ample space for NEP Singapore’s large collection of fly-pack kits along with dedicated space for camera and audio equipment and is ready to service a full range of broadcast production needs.

The new facility is part of NEP Group’s Asia-Pacific connectivity expansion utilizing 10GB circuits between NEP Australia, NEP Japan, NEP Singapore and NEP U.S., giving each region dedicated connectivity via NEP Connect’s Anylive fiber network.

This will provide clients with more opportunities to utilize resources and solutions across NEP Group’s global production ecosystem. 

Once the second phase of the new facility is complete, NEP Singapore will offer a signature floor spanning 1,500 square meters custom-built to support remote and centralized productions, the company explained. 

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group announced this week the launch of its “MLS Season Pass” platform,” a multitude of services to support Major League Soccer’s full season of more than 950 matches. The launch is part of the global production company’s efforts to expand its market through new strategic partnerships, and marks the culmination of 18 months of investment, proprietary R&D and “strong execution of the company’s strategic vision,” the company said.  

As part of the MLS partnership, NEP is providing mobile units on-site at every venue; remote and/or centralized support of multiple game feeds from NEP’s New York, Miami and Los Angeles production hubs; studios and control rooms supporting Spanish and English-language pregame, postgame and whip-around shows; media asset management through NEP’s Mediabank product; technical management, crewing and operations support, connectivity between venues; and other infrastructure and systems management.

Along with NEP's MLS partnership, the company has also partnered with the XFL (now in its second season) and also provided support for the integration of centralized, cloud-based workstreams with traditional live production support for the recent Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Cup. 

NEP also announced a series of new partnerships with the PGA TOUR, NASCAR, Swedish Ice Hockey, World Rally Championship and the new Dyn Media Sport offering in Germany. These new partnerships are in addition to NEP’s existing Centralized and Connected Production offerings available worldwide, as well as recent contract extensions to support NFL broadcasters, this year's Women’s World Cup in Australia, and Indian Premier League coverage in India.

So far in 2023, NEP has launched four new TFC-powered U.S. mobile units—Supershooter 7 and Supershooter 62 were launched in March and Supershooter CBS received a TFC upgrade, also in March.

“For us, listening and adapting to our clients’ needs is the most important part of our business, and these needs, whether based on advanced technology, reduced costs, increased safety, or something else, are changing rapidly. Our strategy, and now its execution, has been a direct response to that,” says Brian Sullivan, CEO of NEP. “We want to give all our clients the most flexible and forward-looking solutions possible. Our new partnerships in the U.S. and around the globe are a testament to the strength of our people and their ingenuity. And these deals prove the path we’re on is the right one, equipped to lead our industry into the future.”

NEP will be in Booth #C4535 in the Central Hall of the LVCC during the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 16-19.

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has hired former SKY executive Martin Stewart as its new Chief Financial Officer. Stewart will oversee all financial strategy and actions for the company across NEP’s three business segments: Broadcast Services, Live Events and Virtual Studios. Based out of the UK, he will report to CEO Brian Sullivan and join the company’s Executive Team.

Stewart has spent more than 25 years in leadership roles in the media sector across the UK, Europe, New Zealand, and the Middle East. He has personally managed businesses through both acquisition and organic growth, contributing deep transformation insight and experience that will help NEP identify new opportunities going forward.

Prior to NEP, Stewart was Chief Executive at SKY New Zealand, where in just two years he and his team turned the business around to one of growth with the highest number of customers in the company’s history. Prior to SKY NZ, he led OSN, the leading pay TV network in Dubai. There, he led a transformational program including the launch of a new OTT service and the strengthening of the organization’s infrastructure to move the business towards digitization.

Earlier in his career Stewart was CFO and Executive Director of British Sky Broadcasting Group (Sky), where he played a key role in successful Premier League broadcast renewals and the launch of Sky’s digital platform, contributing to the doubling of Sky’s subscriber base. Other major roles included CFO of the Football Association in the UK, CEO of Cableuropa (ONO) in Madrid, and CFO and Executive Director of EMI Group, plus several non-executive and board roles for global major events and initiatives important to NEP.

“I am incredibly excited to join NEP, an industry leader that is well positioned to continue its history of growth and innovation,” said Martin Stewart, CFO of NEP. “I’m looking forward to meeting our finance and business teams worldwide, and to learn more about their strategic and financial goals to maximize the incredible opportunities we have ahead of us.”

Stewart holds a BA, Modern History, from the University of London, and is an active Board member of Sported, a UK organization supporting community sport clubs and youth groups to use the power of sport to tackle the root causes of some of society’s biggest problems.

MONTREAL—Grass Valley and NEP Group have signed a multi-year enterprise pricing agreement enabling the technology vendor to bring a new degree of predictability to manufacturing based on NEP’s long-term purchasing commitment.

The deal also provides for the research and development teams of both companies to work more closely on innovations and combine their knowledge to support creators of premium live content.

Grass Valley's enterprise pricing agreements create other mutual benefits, such as technological, operational and financial advantages, Grass Valley said.

"NEP has always been at the cutting edge of technology and strengthening our partnership with Grass Valley is part of our commitment to continued innovation," said NEP Group COO Jeff Hughes. 

"We want to offer our customers the best choice when it comes to financial models, products and workflows, so they can deliver the rich live content experiences consumers demand today. Grass Valley and NEP Group have partnered on many premium live event productions in the past, and I look forward to many successful future collaborations," he said.

NEP already deploys a suite of Grass Valley hardware and software for live production, including the full-raster 4K UHD/HD IP and SDI GV K-Frame XP video production switcher, the native IP LDX 150 camera platform and other IP technologies, Grass Valley said.

"Our enterprise pricing agreements are about selecting the best partners that support our mission to make the transition for media companies to future workflows—such as IP, cloud and software-defined—a reality,” said Jan Lange, Grass Valley chief revenue officer. “NEP Group has been behind world-class sporting events for decades, and we have worked with the company for many years. Our relationship with NEP has evolved from a vendor to a partner, and I am excited to continue this journey, offering superior commercial choices, technical excellence and industry insight to our customers and the greater media market."

More information is available on the Grass Valley website. 

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group’s VISTA Worldlink division has hired Larry Tiscornia as its director of business development. Tiscornia brings 21 years of experience in broadcast production, operations and professional sports leagues gained at Major League Soccer (MLS) and Soccer United Marketing.

“We are excited to welcome Larry to the NEP family to support VISTA’s growth and to help NEP realize our goals,” said Howie Rosenthal, president, U.S. NEP Broadcast Services. “Larry has extensive experience developing innovative workflows that deliver high-quality production at large volumes cost-effectively. NEP has been doing this in other parts of the world and we will continue to expand our offerings in North America with new facilities coming online this fall.”

During his tenure with MLS, Tiscornia was responsible for the league’s broadcast infrastructure, guiding MLS’ remote broadcast productions during a time of tremendous growth for the sport of soccer in North America. With MLS and Soccer United Marketing, Tiscornia oversaw 1,000+ yearly high-level broadcast productions.

“I have had the privilege of working with Larry for the past 15 years,” said Josh Liemer, president of NEP Group’s VISTA Worldlink. “Being based in the New York Tri-State area, Larry brings an insider’s experience that builds on his already decades-long relationships with rights holders here in the U.S. and globally.”

Tiscornia started in the sports broadcasting industry at ABC Sports and USA Network.

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has unveiled a new mobile unit, the Supershooter 5, a 1080p-ready and 4K-capable fully IP mobile unit. 

The Supershooter 5 is the first truck from NEP to feature its new proprietary broadcast control and monitoring system that assists with the configuration and connection of on-site and remote facilities.

“With our broadcast control system, we can really harness the power of this technology while reducing complexity and speeding up the configuration process. It is really transformative and will help us bridge the gap between existing and future technologies,” said Glen Levine, president of NEP’s U.S. Broadcast Services Group.

In addition, Andrew Jordan, NEP’s global CTO, says that the new broadcast control system will help bring NEP’s mobile units, flypacks, studios and centralized production facilities onto the same platform.

Supershooter 5 is a single-truck unit that offers a flexible support truck when additional production space is needed. It is equipped with Grass Valley’s Kayenne X-Frame switcher, a Calrec Apollo audio console, Sony HDC-3500 cameras and EVS XT VIA servers.

NEP has already put the Supershooter 5 out into the field, as it was used for The Masters golf tournament in April.

For more information, visit NEP’s website. 

PITTSBURGH—David Nathanson has joined the NEP Board of Directors, as announced by NEP Group and The Carlyle Group. Nathanson is co-president of Mapleton Investments and non-executive chairman of Falcon Water Technologies.

An 18-year veteran of 21st Century Fox, Nathanson launched and oversaw 10 national networks during his tenure at Fox including many of Fox’s national sports networks: FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer, TVG, and FOX College Sports. In addition to NEP’s Board, he currently serves on the boards of the Fan Duel Group, United States Soccer Foundation, Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, and he is a member of the board and owner of MLS’s Seattle Sounders, NHL’s Seattle Kraken and NWSL’s Angel City FC.

Brian Sullivan, NEP’s CEO, said in a company statement: “David is an entrepreneur and visionary with exceptional experience in the world of sports and media—and always brings keen insight into what customers want. Having worked closely with David for over a decade I know firsthand that his guidance and advice will be invaluable as we design our next generation of solutions to lead our company and our customers into the future.”

“As a former client, I know firsthand that NEP is the gold standard in technical production partnerships,” said David Nathanson. “As live content production and distribution evolves, NEP is incredibly well-positioned for the future. I’m excited to work with NEP’s Board in supporting Brian and his leadership team to build upon the company’s impressive track record of innovation, reliability and partnerships with the world’s leading producers of live content.”

Nathanson is a four-time Emmy Award winner for his work in sports media, was the recipient of the prestigious “40 Under 40” award in 2012 presented by the Sports Business Journal, and was twice named by CableFax as one of the 100 most influential persons in the media industry.

Fred Reynolds, retired CFO of CBS, has retired from the NEP Board of Directors.

LONDON—NEP Group has cut the ribbon on a new production center in the heart of London at 200 Gray’s Inn Road. NEP bills the new production center as adaptable to almost any type of broadcast or streaming production.

The production center features three production control rooms, two sound control rooms, three multifunctional production spaces, nine flexible control rooms, a flexible green screen studio that can use NEP’s virtual studio technology and a temporary equipment room.

“This facility was designed, implicitly, in a way that allows us to mold it to meet the needs of any production, even as they change day-to-day,” said Steve Jenkins, president, NEP UK & Ireland. “But perhaps most important is the capability and power of the infrastructure backing it up.”

The London production center is integrated into NEP’s global network of data centers and production facilities for full access to resources and media solutions around the world, per Jenkins.

The facility features 100Gb connections, which helps it provide fully managed connectivity. Using fiber, BT Tower or satellite, the facility can link to any location in the U.K. and is permanently connected to more than 250 event venues in the U.K. and Ireland. It can also connect to a growing number across Europe and North America. Other connectivity assets include SNG’s, hybrid satellite/fiber vehicles, satellite flyaway systems and more.

For more information, visit the NEP Group website. 

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has acquired VISTA Worldlink, a provider of centralized broadcast technology. The deal is part of NEP’s strategy to boost its centralized production offerings across the U.S. and the world.

VISTA was founded in 1988 by Roy Liemer. The company provides end-to-end workflows, transmission and connectivity, and packaged traditional broadcast production systems to customers in sports, entertainment, news, corporate and other industries. VISTA operates out of its facility in South Florida.

In 2017, VISTA pivoted to focus more on centralized broadcast technology, according to Joshua Liemer, president of VISTA.

This acquisition is part of NEP’s strategy to meet new broadcast industry trends, including the need and desire for remote workflows, with a greater focus on centralized production. NEP has already launched Centralized Production “hubs” in Australia, the Netherlands and Norway, additional capabilities in Switzerland and the U.K., as well as a “mini hub” in Washington, D.C. NEP says that combining with VISTA will allow it to create a large-scale, end-to-end Centralized Production solution in the U.S. and further expand across the globe.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We’re excited for VISTA to join NEP—the company and team are an incredible fit for many reasons,” said Brian Sullivan, NEP CEO. “Culturally our companies are very much alike—innovative, client-focused and forward-looking—and the addition of VISTA’s experience builds on our existing talent and expertise in Centralized Production and Integrated Services to build for the future. This forms a strong foundation for us to further expand our services across the US and around the globe.”

Following a transition period, VISTA will officially become part of NEP’s U.S. Broadcast Services business under co-presidents Glen Levine and Howie Rosenthal. Joshua Liemer will continue to serve as president of VISTA and Roy Liemer will stay on in his advisory role. The company will continue to operate out of South Florida.

“I’ve been in this business for 40 years and I’ve seen it go through a lot of changes,” said Roy Liemer, Founder of VISTA. “I’m proud of our employees and all they’ve accomplished at VISTA. I’m happy to know they will have even more opportunities as part of NEP to build a great career in our industry like I have.”

For more information, visit www.nepgroup.com.  

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has named Andrew Jordan as its global chief technology officer (CTO). Reporting to NEP Group’s COO Jeff Hughes, Jordan will lead the group responsible for global technology strategy, product/solution design and build and synchronized network operations. He will also oversee NEP’s R&D activities, working with the company’s product managers and business leaders around the world.

“Andrew is the perfect choice to grow our internal global technology organization, which is a key step in our strategy to develop a global, scalable set of products that will help our clients continue to create and deliver great content, anytime, anywhere,” said NEP CEO Brian Sullivan.

Jordan joined NEP this summer as COO of the Global Broadcast Services and Media Solutions operating segments to drive cross-geography initiatives and a “One Team” operating philosophy. He was also responsible for leading the Office of the CTO and local technology leaders across the organization, and provided insights into how the company will execute its new global growth strategy.

“As we become a more product-focused global organization,” said Hughes, “Andrew and his team will be instrumental in building and delivering customer products and solutions.”

Jordan has expertise in large-scale company transformations across technology, sales, operations, finance and company culture. Before joining NEP, he was responsible for transforming a multi-billion-dollar travel management company into a modern, digital-first platform business. Previously he held executive technical positions at NBCUniversal and Thomson Reuters.

Jordan commented: “This is a tremendous opportunity to shape both NEP’s innovation approach and the industry’s for years to come,” he added. “It’s an exciting time to be taking on this role.”

PITTSBURGH—Jeff Hughes has joined NEP Group as chief operating officer, covering all of NEP’s operating segments: Broadcast Services, Media Solutions and Live Events. He will be based in Los Angeles, and report directly to NEP Group CEO Brian Sullivan as a member of the executive team.

Sullivan said in a statement, “Jeff is knowledgeable, approachable and inspiring as a leader. Having watched his career and seen his work and results first-hand, I’m confident he will be a strong addition to NEP.”

Hughes comes to the NEP team from Fox Networks’ Digital Consumer Group where he was president and COO. During his time at FOX, he led the redevelopment and modernization of digital streaming capabilities across all networks within 21st Century Fox. He also developed the company’s first end-to-end commercial platform for direct-to-consumer (D2C) services across several Fox networks. 

Prior to his role at Fox, Hughes was CEO of Omnifone, a B2B operator of music services in over 35 countries and served as a media consultant in Europe before moving to BSkyB (later renamed Sky UK).

PITTSBURGH—Brian Sullivan will join NEP Group as CEO beginning August 31. He brings more than 30 years of broadcast industry experience to NEP, having served in executive leadership roles at Fox Networks Group, SKY Deutschland AG, Sky UK and most recently at McKinsey & Co. where he has served as senior advisor to the Consumer, Tech & Media teams.

During his tenure at Fox, Sullivan oversaw revenue, distribution, digital and international for the group, including Fox TV Group, Fox Sports, FX Networks and National Geographic. He built the company’s streaming strategy and platform and its direct-to-consumer business; and served on the boards of Hulu and National Geographic Partners. Prior to Fox, Sullivan was CEO of Sky Deutschland AG where he and his team championed a customer-first approach with innovations such as Sky Go, an on-demand entertainment and live sports streaming services.

Global President of NEP Broadcast Services Mike Werteen said in a statement that Sullivan brings experience that will help shape the way NEP and the industry work together to drive the future of live broadcasting and events.

Graham Andrews, global president of NEP Live Events, added, “Brian has spent decades transforming businesses in the U.S. and Europe into digital powerhouses focused on delivering content the way consumers want, when they want it. He understands our business and our clients’ needs at their core—and where we need to go next.”

In reflecting on his new role at NEP, Sullivan said he looked forward to “partnering with our clients around the world to develop new ways to address their needs while bringing an even better experience to customers. I’m looking forward to getting started and getting to know our incredible team—we have so many opportunities in front of us.”

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has added Canon UHD-DIGISUPER 111 and UHD-DIGISUPER 122 4K field box zoom lenses to meet the growing demand for high-quality TV broadcast content, Canon said today.

"We strive to stay up to date on the latest, cutting-edge broadcast technology, and our long-term collaboration with partners like Canon makes this possible," said Glen Levine, president of NEP U.S. Broadcast Services. "We've enjoyed a great relationship with Canon over the years, and we're excited to add these lenses to our resources as we ramp up support of our clients post-COVID-19."

Canon's UHD-DIGISUPER 122 4K field box zoom broadcast lens offers a focal range from 8.2 mm at the wide end to 1,000 mm at the telephoto end, for a zoom ratio of 122x. The UHD-DIGISUPER 111 has a 111x zoom ratio and a focal-length range of 8.3 mm to 925 mm, the company said.

Both lenses offer the ability to record high-resolution and high-contrast video from the center to peripheral areas of the imaging field, it said.

The lenses are the first Canon 4K field box zoom lenses to feature the company’s proprietary Air Sphere Coating (ASC), resulting in reduced flaring and ghosting compared to previous lens coatings. ASC coating enhances the High Dynamic Range (HDR) of the lenses, providing more natural and vivid tonality. New optical coatings also help to shape spectral response to enhance Wide Color Gamut (WCG), Canon said.

"Canon's relationship with NEP goes back many years, and it's a source of great pride that such a prestigious production company continues to rely on Canon broadcast lenses to deliver major events to the world," said Tatsuro "Tony" Kano,executive vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A.'s Imaging Technologies & Communications Group. "As live sports begin to return, we hope that NEP's work will help to bring back a sense of normalcy to everyday life."

More information is available on the Canon website. 

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group, which serves as a technical production partner for many live sporting events around the world, recently added the new MPA1-MIX MADI-V audio monitor from TSL Products into its fleet of OB trucks to improve operator workflow.

The MPA1-MIX-V range of audio monitors, based on the MPA1-MIX series, was designed specifically for live production. It features a redesigned user interface that is available in SDI, Dante/AES67, MADI, AES and analog input formats. The addition of the V variant gives customers the ability to choose the interface that suits their needs.

NEP Group currently has MPA1-MIX-V installed in two of its trucks and is expected to utilize the technology for trucks that will be built in the coming year.

PLUS: NEP Adjusts to Coronavirus Lull in Sports Production

According to Michael Naugle, design engineer for NEP’s U.S. Broadcast Services team, the reaction to the new technology has been positive, with operators specifically praising the updated control layout and sound quality.

For more information, visit www.tslproducts.com.  

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group, an outsourced technical production partner, and Eurovision, a media services provider, are forming a partnership for the expansion of their media solutions services in the U.S.

This partnership is designed to allow the two companies to provide a set of integrated media management and distribution services to broadcasters and rights holders.

As part of the offering, NEP will provide its Mediabank media asset management platform to the Washington, D.C., facility of Eurovision America Inc. Specifically, Eurovision will offer connectivity and transmission services at the D.C. facility through the Eurovision Global Network, which will allow U.S. clients to manage their workflows and media content files through Mediabank, the companies say.

“Our partnership with Eurovision helps to ensure that the power of Mediabank is available to the clients and markets we serve in the U.S.,” said Jay Deutsch, director, U.S. Media Solutions for NEP. “The D.C. facility we built enables off-premise live ingest capability to Mediabank and sets the stage for highly efficient ways of working with live content. This is the first of many solutions I expect to come out of this next-generation production facility.

More information is available through NEP’s website.

LOS ANGELES—NEP Group’s NEP Broadcast Services, which serves as a production partner for live sports and entertainment producers, is heading to Los Angeles and a larger facility to support its West Coast operations.

The 108,000-square-foot facility will serve as the base for remote production technology provider NEP U.S. Mobile Units, including the NEP Denail team, and broadcast solutions and equipment rentals company Bexel. The site will support sales efforts, rental operations, client demos, engineering and technical management and mobile units. It will also have access to NEP’s worldwide pool of resources.

“The co-location of NEP U.S. Mobile Units and Bexel will cultivate our full potential as a combined team under NEP Broadcast Services,” said Howard Rosenthal, president, U.S. Broadcast Services for NEP. “This new facility optimizes NEP’s unified ‘One Team’ approach to supporting clients with unmatched, dedicated talent, innovative technology and access to our global resources.”

The new facility is located at 7850 Ruffner Ave. in Van Nuys, Calif.

PITTSBURGH—SOS Global Express, an independent international freight forwarding and full-service logistics company, joins the NEP Global family following its recently announced acquisition. NEP says that the addition of SOS will help it provide better services and more streamlined planning and delivery of equipment for client events.

SOS will remain independent and continue to operate under its SOS brand. NEP will leverage SOS’ services, which include air, sea and road freight transportation; logistics planning; customs brokerage services; insurance; packaging; warehousing; and ATA Carnets. SOS is headquartered in New Bern, N.C., and has several locations in the U.S. and Europe.

“NEP has enjoyed a long working relationship with SOS—it’s a great cultural fit,” said Kevin Rabbitt, chairman and CEO of NEP. “Both organizations team understand the mission-critical nature of live TV, are service-oriented and focused on delivering exceptional results for our clients through innovation. With SOS, we can streamline the process of bringing critical transport and logistics services to clients and their events anywhere in the world.”

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

VALHALLA, N.Y. — NEP Group has stocked its new M-15 4K/IP mobile unit with a complement of new 4K Fujinon 4K UHD lenses, including eight Fujinon UA107x8.4BESM 4K box field lenses, three UA24x7.8BERM 4K UHD lenses, and three UA14x4.5BERD 4K UHD wide-angle lenses.

Now in its final stages of completion, the M-15 is a 4K-capable truck configured to support 4K production, IP delivery, and SMPTE ST 2110 standards, which specify the carriage, synchronization, and description of IP streams for real-time video production and playout.

[Read: What SMPTE-2110 Means For Broadcasters]

Until M-15 is ready to hit the road, the mobile production provider is using the new 4K lenses on its M-5 HD truck to cover Seattle Mariners baseball games for the Root Sports Northwest network. The company claims the new 4K lenses are producing high-quality imagery in combination with the Grass Valley LDK Series 4K UHD camera package available on M-5.

“The cost/performance ratio of the entire Fujinon 4K lens range makes them ideal for this new [M-15 4K production] truck. For now, [they’re] already creating outstanding images of the Mariners games on the M-5,” said Glen Levine, president, NEP U.S. “We always do a thorough cost evaluation, but we will never sacrifice quality to cut costs. These lenses offer great quality while being cost-effective.”

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SAN ANTONIO—NEP Group and its Bexel business unit have played an important role supporting broadcasters and media outlets during the NCAA tournament leading up to the Final Four Championship Games, the broadcast services and live production company announced today.

Both will continue providing technical expertise, equipment and OB technology through the completion of the tournament.

NEP’s U.S. Mobile Units division has deployed 10 units for tournament coverage. CSB and CBS Sports Network each are using five trucks. For coverage of the Final Four in San Antonio, Turner Sports will use five NEP trucks, two of which will be shared with CBS. Two trucks will be devoted to Turner Sports’ off-site studio at Tony Roma’s restaurant; two will provide production resources, and two more will be used for TNT TeamCast coverage.

Bexel has provided CBS with a range of equipment for its tournament coverage, including Sony HDC-4300 super slow-motion cameras, 8- and 12-channel EVS slow-motion systems and 18 Vizrt graphics systems.

CBS and Turner Sports are providing coverage of the Men’s Final Four Championship. Bexel is providing a massive fiber deployment, as well as support, to both broadcasters.

PITTSBURGH—The NEP Group has announced that it has formed a new business unit that will focus on supporting the broadcasting needs of major international events. Using the company’s worldwide network of assets, the new major projects group will offer broadcast and event services around the globe. With its team of more than 600 engineers and technical experts worldwide, NEP’s new unit will create custom solutions for each project.

Brian Clark, NEP’s former director of commercial and technical projects for NEP’s U.K. team, has been appointed sales director for the new group. Clark will work with a project director, who will have a commercial and technical focus. NEP is currently recruiting for the project director position. As part of the new unit, NEP will have a dedicated team located in Europe.

NEP, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a worldwide provider of broadcast and event services with locations throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Dubai and Australia.

PITTSBURGH & HILVERSUM, NETHERLANDS—NEP Group is expanding its presence in Northern Europe, as the company has announced it has acquired Consolidated Media Industries based out of Hilversum, Netherlands. As part of the acquisition, DutchView and Infostrada Creative Technology are also added to NEP’s worldwide network.

CMI and its brands will continue to operate independently under their current management teams.

With this acquisition, NEP, a provider of resources for broadcast and live event productions, adds a content management, distribution and Video-On-Demand system to its stock of remote, studio and post-production technology. 

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.

PITTSBURGH – NEP Group is hitting the open market, as the company has announced that it has filed with the SEC for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock of up to $100 million. The number of shares and the price range for those shares has yet to bet determined.

A provider of outsourced live broadcast and production technologies, NEP Group was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Earlier this year the company expanded north of the border with the launch of NEP Canada and acquired European companies Mediatec, Outside Broadcast and RecordLab. The company generated $451 million in sales over a 12 month period that ended March 31, 2015. Kevin Rabbitt currently serves as NEP’s CEO.

NEP Group initially filed confidentially on July 24, 2014.The SEC has yet to make the securities filed by NEP Group effective, which prevents any selling or purchasing of the securities.

Barclays and Morgan Stanley are acting as lead joint book-running managers for the offering, with Jefferies, Macquarie Capital and RBC Capital Markets also serving as joint book-running managers. Normura and Stifel are acting as co-managers.

NEP Group has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the “NEPG” ticker symbol.