With Eye on U.S. Growth, AE Live Acquires Real-Time-Virtual-Production-Pioneer Silver Spoon

With Eye on U.S. Growth, AE Live Acquires Real-Time-Virtual-Production-Pioneer Silver Spoon Silver Spoon last year partnered with CBS, Nickelodeon on two NFL games By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Tuesday, July 25, 2023 - 12:31 pm

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In big news for the sports-broadcast-graphics sector, data/broadcast-solutions provider AE Live has acquired Silver Spoon, which specializes in real-time virtual-production content on Unreal Engine. With the acquisition, AE Live expects to further expand its foothold in the U.S. broadcast market, adding to its global footprint in India, South East Asia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

Silver Spoon teamed with CBS and Nickelodeon on the Christmas Day Nickmas game at SoFi Stadium in L.A.

Founded in Brooklyn, NY, Silver Spoon serves the broadcast, film, live-events, sport, music, and advertising industries throughout the U.S. Headquartered in Manhattan, with an office in Los Angeles, Silver Spoon also has an XR and LED stage in the Hudson Valley.

Silver Spoon's work includes last year's partnership with CBS and Nickelodeon for two NFL games, the most notable being the Christmas Day Nickmas game at SoFi Stadium in L.A., helping the broadcasters break new ground in real-time broadcasting (built entirely in Unreal Engine 5.0) and raising the bar on storytelling, entertainment, and technology. Other achievements include partnering with Riot Games on esports broadcasting and March Madness, on which it worked with CBS Sports on augmented-reality team-mojis.

Away from live sports production, Silver Spoon's partnership with Fox on Alter Ego, the first-ever avatar TV competition, was a ground-breaking achievement in live AR, and its work for MTV at the Video Music Awards produced a first-of-its kind, hybrid music-video performance with rappers Snoop Dogg and Eminem. Silver Spoon also has an established reputation within the advertising sector with such notable clients as Papa John's, Doritos, and Cheetos.

Says Silver Spoon Managing Director Dan Pack, With AE Live and Ignite and our shared vision for high-end immersive graphics and animation, our common focus on engaging and informing viewers, and the global reach and experience across the group, we have something special and unique. I am ecstatic about what this means for our business, our clients, and our people: we will be stronger, better, faster.

Silver Spoon's integration into the AE Live Group follows that of New Zealand-based Ignite, a creative studio in APAC acquired by AE Live in 2020. Ignite has supported AE Live with a highly valued presence in Singapore and Malaysia, complementing its other established subsidiaries in South Africa and India.

Our acquisition of Silver Spoon further enhances the highly innovative and creative capabilities of the AE Live Group, says AE Live CEO Nick Baily. We recognize that our global clients are looking for partners who can help inform and entertain their audience in the most creative and innovative ways. We feel that Silver Spoon's innovative virtual-production capabilities will dovetail perfectly with our award-winning creative agency, Ignite, whilst adding yet more to the diverse range of services that AE Live can offer.

AE Live's portfolio includes Premier League Productions, BBC, ITV, Sky Sports, WTA Tennis, the Rugby World Cup, and Fox Sports.

We feel the timing of this acquisition is ideal, adds Baily, as AE Live looks to establish itself as a significant player in the U.S. broadcast market on the back of recent contract wins. Silver Spoon is highly regarded across the U.S. broadcast and advertising sectors, and this investment will help their highly creative team grow and continue to provide more innovative solutions to the market. The acquisition of Silver Spoon shows our U.S. broadcast ambitions in a market, which we intend to be in for a very long time.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/07/25/ae-live-acquires-real-time-virt...
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