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.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13 with guest ...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
04/12/2025
Lightware, a global specialist in AV connectivity, is looking back on a year defined by new advancements, strong collaboration and continued growth. Across the ...
04/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced a new partnership with Haivision, a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual col...
04/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann Engineering today announced a major milestone in their strategic collaboration, celebrating 20 successful broadband deployme...
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. 
