Grass Valley Surges In 2021 With 24% Overall Growth

Grass Valley, a technology provider for the live media and entertainment market, announced 2021 results driven by an increase in share gains on its product suite, significant market acceptance of its cloud native applications suite and record backlog driven by large multi-year enterprise deals.

The company has made investments in its global cloud capabilities through its Center of Excellence (COE) facilities, upgraded the management team, had several new product announcements in its anchor products, and announced a new strategic rebrand under “We Love Live” signifying a reinvigorated commitment to the future of the live media market.

“We are determined to lead the digital transition of the industry for live events and news for the entertainment industry”, said Louis Hernandez Jr., executive chairman of Grass Valley. “Our unique combination of the most recognized products in the industry with leading cloud native applications are designed to provide our clients with the agility, flexibility and economic efficiency that is needed in today’s market. I’m very excited for the team to see such strong market acceptance.”

The industry’s digital transformation was accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also created supply chain and related issues for the industry. Grass Valley’s suite of integrated and connected hardware solutions and IP and cloud solutions “proved to be an essential combination for the industry and major media organizations across the globe,” the company said.

Selected highlights for the year include:

• The company saw a substantial increase in performance in 2021, including 4Q 2021 growing 27% versus the same quarter of the prior year, and 24% for the full year.
• In 2021, the company signed over $140 million in enterprise deals with media companies including Gravity Media, GOL TV, Qvestand Broadcast Solutions. These represent long-term partnerships and a commitment to a deeper and meaningful relationship with Grass Valley.
• The company has fully commercialized its cloud native operating system  GV AMPP(Agile Media Processing Platform), which is now in production in several prominent media organizations around the globe. This is in addition to several cloud native applications in production.
• The company’s backlog increased to a record amount providing substantially higher visibility to future years, allowing the company to invest for the long term. Contract backlog increased by 36% compared to year end 2020.
• The company continued its expansion of its Centers of Excellence with an emphasis on cloud and IP technology and has added over 250 employees to these facilities.

Jan Lange, Grass Valley chief revenue officer, said: “Last year, we launched our new strategic focus and rebrand, and this was the driving force behind our successful close to 2021. Our re-energized commitment to the future of media and entertainment enabled us to reach great achievements with our customers and as a company. I am so proud that Grass Valley did not simply weather 2021 and the tests it threw at us, but that we came out stronger and on a positive trajectory. We have had a fantastic start to 2022 with $60 million in enterprise agreements already finalized, and I am looking forward to the achievements of the Grass Valley team this year.”