SVG Sit-Down: Grass Valley's Robert Erickson Plots New Course for Company's Venue Efforts Priorities are streamlined workflows amid a more complex control room By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 12:44 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In-venue production is on the cusp of a new era. Highly debated topics like HDR and IP are causing in-venue production teams to reconsider habits that are deeply rooted in the past. Many have launched the difficult effort to make their control room compatible with the new practices.
One of the most active technology vendors in the sports-video-production industry, Grass Valley has appointed Robert Erickson to lead its initiatives as the new strategic account manager for sports and venues. Since joining the company in 2008, he has served in a variety of roles, including advanced technology director. Overall, Erickson has more than 21 years of experience in the broadcast and IT markets and is committed to designing solutions based on new and emerging technologies for production facilities.
At Grass Valley since 2008, Erickson will now lead the company's efforts in the sports-venue side of the business.
SVG had the chance to speak with Erickson about his new role with the company, what he's seeing in in-venue production, how the company's recent acquisition by Black Dragon fits into the equation, how Grass Valley's line of products can better serve the community, potential applications coming down the pipeline, and more.
What industry trends are currently happening in the venue space?
We're seeing that the customer experience is driving more-complex facility designs with more-complex graphics packages. These complexities are pushing the quality of the in-venue production higher. That current trend, which is fantastic for the people working inside of the venue, is also driving operations and is significantly changing the details of their roles. In the past, sports-video professionals had to worry about creating only one video feed for the entire facility, but now they have to create multiple feeds: some for the suites, some for multiple banners, some for the main board, and some for other things. It has become a very complicated environment.
What are some solutions that Grass Valley is developing to better serve these needs?
As a vendor, we need to ask how we can develop workflows that allow the staff to create improved content that better engages the fan. We also need to ask how we can create tools that will allow users to pull graphics, switchers, replays, and things of that nature into one simplified, easy-to-use interface. The discussion went from I'm going to buy this switcher or this graphics package because it's the most powerful in the world to How do I obtain a holistic solution that takes all of the equipment and puts it into a user-friendly interface that people can learn while still delivering very high-quality and flexible content?
One of our biggest goals is to streamline these workflows. We're creating software just for stadiums and venue spaces, and we'll be showing some of it at NAB this year.
Is the company interested in playing a role in building an entertainment district that surrounds a venue?
That's something we absolutely want to be involved and actively engaged in. I think one of the most important parts about Grass Valley is that we are an engineering company at our core. It is our job to listen to what our customers want to be able to do and deliver solutions.
We've got 500 engineers working at our company, so a lot of the job of myself and our sales teams is to work with the customers and say, Hey, we get you and understand that you want to bring your fans in earlier and you want them to stay later. What can we do to help create the solutions that you think you need? At the root of it all, that's what we have to be doing.
How does the recent Black Dragon acquisition impact business in Grass Valley's venue sector?
Black Dragon's experience leading companies through digital transition will accelerate the next step in Grass Valley's evolution, enabling us to bring more innovative products to market faster in all of the verticals we serve, including venues.
While the development of new solutions will be accelerated, there will be no reduced focus on existing platforms, which customers have counted on for years for their reliability, dependability, and high performance.
What specific technologies do you foresee happening to in-venue production in the next 12-24 months?
You're going to see a lot with the push of 5G and a lot of higher-quality Wi-Fi being installed into stadiums since what was considered a traditional second-screen experience could very much become a [primary] player now. They're adding more bandwidth for [cellular] capacity and the ability to interact in real time at the facility. For example, we are involved in real-time polling at this one stadium, where they will put up a graphic and ask a trivia question. It's about users texting this service, and then, in real time, we can pull that data and put it back on the screen.
With the addition of LED science and its role on videoboards, the need for higher-quality video, in terms of HDR and UHD, has become very popular. We'll need to help with giving them cameras and image processors in their facility that can capture higher-quality video with better dynamic range, colors, and so forth. It's really important to us because that comes back to being able to deliver a better experience for the fans.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
SVG Sit-Down: Grass Valley's Robert Erickson Plots New Course for Company's Venue Efforts Priorities are streamlined workflows amid a more complex control room By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
