Philip Garvin, Mobile TV Group Founder and Live-Production Titan, Dies at 76 Garvin was a leader and pioneer in the regional-sports-production community By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Friday, September 6, 2024 - 9:35 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Philip Garvin, the founder and former CEO of Mobile TV Group and a giant in the live-production industry for five decades, died on Thursday surrounded by his family in Colorado. Responsible for the production of hundreds of thousands of live sports, news, and entertainment events, Garvin helped to pioneer the HD revolution of the early 2000's and is one of the most widely respected figures in the sports-video-production industry. Garvin was 76 years old.
He left his mark on the industry and in our hearts. While nothing can ease the grief we all feel today, his memory will touch us all in the work we do every day, says Garvin's son and MTVG CEO Nick Garvin. His legacy will endure through the incredible accomplishments of our team at MTVG.
In addition to his leadership of MTVG, Garvin also served as president of Colorado Studios - an audio/video manufacturing facility specializing in building mobile units and supporting live video transport - and co-founded HDNet, the first all high-definition national television network in the U.S., with Mark Cuban in 2001.
Philip was an amazing man. Smart. Honorable. And as hardworking as anyone ever, shared Cuban.
Garvin built his businesses around his experience as a creative producer and technologist. By combining both skills, he was able to offer cost-effective production solutions that were unique in the industry. And he did it all while maintaining a reputation as a straight-shooter and trusted partner. His success grew in tandem with many loyal and equally talented industry partners, many with whom he worked with for over 40 years.
Born in New York City, Garvin was passionate about telling visual stories from an early age and pursued a career in still photography. A graduate of Yale University, Garvin published multiple photography books and produced several documentaries, including the groundbreaking docuseries Religious America for PBS in 1974. He continued to innovate throughout the 1970's and launched Colorado Studios in 1978. He also continued his work for PBS, becoming managing producer of the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in 1983 and spearheading the launch of PBS News' western production center in Denver.
In the early 1990's, Garvin saw an opportunity as regional sports networks began to proliferate across the U.S. and launched what would become Mobile TV Group in 1994. MTVG quickly became the foremost provider of mobile production facilities for regional sports networks throughout the country and pioneered the dual feed production model that would become commonplace across the industry.
Under Garvin's leadership over the ensuing 30 years, MTVG would cement its status as a pillar of the live-sports-production business, rolling out dozens of mobile units and helping pave the way for the first-ever live HD sports broadcasts. MTVG also was among the first to launch 4K- and HDR-capable mobile units and introduced Cloud Control, the first fully remote production managed service, in response to the evolving industry.
Both inside and outside of his role with MTVG, Garvin was a champion of HD broadcasting and helped to bring HD content to the masses for the first time in the early 2000's. He co-founded HDNet, the first HD national television network in the U.S., with Mark Cuban in 2001 and served as general manager of the cable network (which became AXS TV in 2012) for 12 years. Under Garvin's stewardship, HDNet was among the first to distribute HD content to the home, including sporting events, concerts performances, and news coverage.
Today, Mobile TV Group produces more than 4,000 major live events each year, covering professional and collegiate sports, live music, entertainment, esports and business events. Garvin's son Nick, took over as the company's CEO in June, while Philip shifted into the role of Chairman of the Board.
Garvin was a pillar of the sports-production community, serving as a longtime member of the SVG Advisory Board and was a fixture at SVG conferences. He also served on the board for various technology startups and helped to champion a variety of industry technology initiatives.
Outside of the office, Garvin's passion was spending time on his ranch with his wife, riding horses, mowing fields, and building fences. In his last months of life, he was frequently telling people, no one has had a better life than mine.
His family, wife Angela, children Jana, Leah and Nick, and three grandchildren celebrate him for all his valuable achievements, dedicated relationships and generous heart.
Please send any messages for the Garvin family to [email protected] so no messages are missed or lost. Further details regarding memorial services will be available at a later date. Stay tuned to SVG for a deeper in memoriam piece next week.
More from Sports Video Group
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
28/05/2026
Hosted by ESPN Senior Writer Ryan McGee, the ceremony honored winners from athletic departments, conference offices, professional networks, production companies...
28/05/2026
Major rights-holders rolled out their 2026 college football slates today, offering a first look at marquee windows, kickoff partners, and conference distributio...
28/05/2026
The 4 Nations Face-Off, an international competition that launched in February 2...
28/05/2026
Soccer is a truly global sport, and, to match the U.S. viewing audience's in...
28/05/2026
The NFL Today, CBS Sports' top-of-the-line NFL studio show, has a storied hi...
28/05/2026
Prime Video is no stranger to innovation, and, within the realm of live streamin...
28/05/2026
The crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, and the cheer of the crowd: those are three prime examples of the glorious sounds fans hear on televised baseball ga...
28/05/2026
Every year, March Madness captivates the entire sports world. Nonstop action, un...
28/05/2026
NBA on NBC was an integral part to live sports production in the 1990s, and, when the league made these media rights available, NBC Sports saw an opportunity to...
28/05/2026
UmpCam is a technological wrinkle that has given fans unprecedented views of wha...
28/05/2026
T-Mobile and the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced a multi-year partnership, making T-Mobile the Official 5G Network Partner of the U.S. Women'...
27/05/2026
Telestream has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Benjamin Desbois as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Desbois, currently Teles...
27/05/2026
ESPN garnered 10 awards; NBC's Sunday Night Football received the Outstandin...
27/05/2026
Matrox Video is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of operations from its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1976, the company has...
27/05/2026
Major League Baseball has announced a series of initiatives tied to America's Semiquincentennial, including a national marketing campaign, Fourth of July br...
27/05/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced that Brian Gross has joined the company as an Account Manager on its Audio team, based in the Burbank office. He will...
27/05/2026
Nielsen has released new research on soccer fandom ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2...
27/05/2026
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled a new partnership with TikTok to bring broad...
27/05/2026
FIFA's Oscar Sanchez gives a deeper look to how this tournament will be cove...
27/05/2026
The soon-to-be senior from Charlottesville is building her skills in replay, TD, and even creative content for HokieVision and its ACC Network productions
In t...
27/05/2026
FOX Sports' Mike Davies breaks down the vision for this summer's showcas...
27/05/2026
HBS's Paul King, FIFA's Oscar Sanchez preview how the masses at home wil...
27/05/2026
FOX's MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards...
27/05/2026
One of the most memorable Postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
27/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most decorated and most watched programs in the history of television. It added to its jam-packed trophy case on Tu...
27/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
27/05/2026
With the Opening Match just over two weeks away, the entire sports-production-te...
Philip Garvin, Mobile TV Group Founder and Live-Production Titan, Dies at 76 Garvin was a leader and pioneer in the regional-sports-production community By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
