PITTSBURGH—NEP is expanding its North American presence by launching NEP Canada.
“We have been supporting shows across the border for a very long time and are very familiar with the market,” said Mike Werteen, co-president of NEP’s U.S. Mobile Units group. “Right now, there are very limited options for remote productions available to Canadian broadcasters, cable entities and production companies—and we have heard from many of our clients that they want more competition. As we evaluated the opportunity, it seemed a natural fit for us.”
Dale Johannesen , who came to NEP via the Mira Mobile acquisition, will oversee NEP Canada, which already has a location in Vancouver, but will support all of Canada with mobile units located throughout the United States. The U.S. fleet includes 59 mobile production trucks, studio facilities and thousands of video display technologies.
“Although we don’t currently have plans to build additional office space in Canada, we evaluate each new relationship and the needs of individual clients,” Werteen said. “We have mobile units located in each region of the United States and already in Vancouver. As we evaluate Canadian opportunities, we can deploy assets from New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Portland or anywhere in between.”
With the launch of NEP Canada, the company will tap the expertise of Ivar Boriss, a mobile TV production veteran who is president of Pictures or Words, Inc., a OB firm in Ontario It will also partner with Mobilimage, a remote production company based in Montreal that lists a 37.5- an a 33-foot mobile unit on its website.
“Our partnership with Mobilimage is very strategic as they have smaller entertainment focused mobile units and we have larger sports and entertainment oriented units,” Werteen said. “As our partnership grows we will serve clients in both categories by offering solutions that meet their technical and budgetary needs.”
NEP Canada will cover both sport and entertainment events. Past Canadian productions that NEP supported include PGA and LPGA golf, NHL games and the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.
“We have very strong relationships with individuals and companies in Canada that share our belief in the need for Canadian competition,” Werteen said. “As we expand and build new relationships across Canada, this belief will be at the core of our initiatives in this new division.”
NEP, based in Pittsburgh, also has operations in the United Kingdom and Australia.
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