Gravity Media CEO shifts strategy to ST-2110 IP-based production

The industry's shift to SMPTE ST-2110 standards marks a move toward infrastructure that treats video as high-bandwidth data rather than legacy signals. By opting for 1080p HDR over native 4K, Gravity Media is prioritizing operational efficiency and budget preservation — a critical signal for streamers and sports broadcasters facing thinning margins. As production hubs become multi-tenant and software-defined, the ability to scale production for specific events without physical hardware expansion will separate winners from losers in a consolidated market. Watch for whether more broadcasters follow Gravity Media's choice to upscale 1080p HDR feeds for 4K delivery to balance quality with transport costs.

The strategic pivot by Gravity Media follows its major merger with Outside Broadcast (OB) giant EMG in January 2024. Per SVG Europe (July 2025), this consolidation created a global media services powerhouse with 40 studios and over 100 OB trucks. Since July 2025, the company has operated under the unified Gravity Media brand, sunsetting legacy names like EMG, Telegenic, and ACS to streamline its market presence. This internal integration is happening alongside a broader industry push toward IP. Arista Networks indicated in May 2026 that roughly 99% of major sporting events now utilize a 2110 production core, reflecting how uncompressed video-over-IP has moved from a luxury to a baseline requirement for high-tier sports.

The push for 1080p HDR as a compromise between cost and quality is gaining steam among Tier-1 broadcasters. For instance, Fox announced plans to utilize a 1080p HDR upscaled feed for its Super Bowl LIX 4K broadcast in February 2025 rather than native 4K (per Streaming Learning Center, January 2025). This trend is driven by 3G-SDI infrastructure constraints that cap workflows at 1080p60. Furthermore, SVG Europe reported in January 2025 that the cost of 25Gb network switches has dropped sufficiently to make ST-2110 accessible for secondary productions beyond high-budget 'greenfield' builds. Collectively, these moves signal a market maturity where production vendors are no longer merely chasing higher pixel counts, but are instead focused on the flexibility and automation enabled by standardized IP-based networking.