Tata Communications acquires The Switch Enterprises to gain strong foothold in US media, entertainment market

Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, has publicly announced that it entered into a definitive agreement, through its wholly owned international subsidiary Tata Communications (Netherlands) B.V., to acquire The Switch Enterprises LLC.

With the acquisition, Tata Communications will gain a strong foothold into the US media and entertainment market as it also extends its portfolio into live video production and become uniquely positioned as an end-to-end media ecosystem player in the entire content development value chain globally.

New York-based The Switch is a leading global end-to-end live video production and transmission services provider with reach to top tier sporting venues in North America.

As part of their agreement, Tata Communications would acquire 100% equity stake in The Switch Enterprises and some of its international assets for approximately $58.8 million (₹486.3 Crores), subject to customary closing adjustments.

The finalization of the transaction would dependent upon regulatory approvals, the company said in a statement.

As soon as the transaction is complete, The Switch Enterprises will join the Media and Entertainment Services (MES) business of Tata Communications under Dhaval Ponda.

With the partnership, Tata Communications will support The Switch customers with global reach in over 190 countries and territories. The Switch, for its part, will bring state of the art live production capabilities helping organizations to produce high quality, more immersive content faster and more efficiently.

“Our combined forces of The Switch’s strong presence in North America and Tata Communications’ global position will create a formidable powerhouse in the global media ecosystem helping enterprises harness emerging digital consumption patterns to drive innovation and disruption. In addition, The Switch production infrastructure as a service model will allow Tata Communications customers to accelerate adoption of remote production from any event around the world,” said Tri Pham, Chief Strategy Officer of Tata Communications.

Dhaval Ponda, the Global Head of Media and Entertainment Business at Tata Communications, said that the global media and entertainment industry is at a once-in-a-generation digital transformation driven by a fundamental change in consumer consumption behavior.

Tata Communications is currently helping some of the largest global sports federations, broadcasters and OTT platforms manage this disruption through its next generation digital media platform.

Working with The Switch team, they will now be able to develop holistic, scalable solutions encompassing live and scheduled programming for television, leveraging pre-recorded and filed videos for new content creation as well as all post-production.

Both are expected to help the industry evolve to the next level of at-venue and at-home fan engagement.

Eric Cooney, President and CEO of The Switch, said their team has worked so hard in creating a market leading live production and transmission offering in the US and beyond.

And as the media industry evolves, The Switch has an ever-larger role to play in the future of live sports and entertainment and in helping their customers maximize their lucrative content.

With Tata Communications, Cooney said, they will now be able to accelerate this journey of providing stability, investment and vision in support of future growth.