Gravity Media, a global leader in live production and content, and media services and facilities, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rudy Dendleux to the position of Managing Director of Gravity Media France, effective April 2026. In this new role, Rudy will oversee the continued growth of the company’s French operations, focusing on its Specialist RF Capabilities, whilst also driving the development of the company’s end-to-end solutions.

Since joining the business in 2003, Rudy has been an integral part of the business, first serving as President of the Technology division for over seven years. His deep understanding of the company’s operations, as well as his extensive experience in technology and leadership, make him the ideal candidate to lead the growth of the business in the French market.

“Rudy has been a key part of our success over the years and has shown exceptional leadership in his previous role. His vision, technical expertise, and passion for innovation make him uniquely qualified to drive our strategy forward in France,” said Bart De Maeyer, Regional CEO at Gravity Media. “We are confident that under Rudy’s leadership, our French operations will continue to excel, driving meaningful innovation, deepening customer relationships and delivering high-quality solutions that meet the evolving needs of our market.”

In his new position, Rudy will continue to focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions and maintaining the company’s strong presence in France while further strengthening its capabilities in RF, and integrated solutions for the company’s diverse client base.

Rudy commented on his appointment, saying, “I’m honoured to take on this new role and continue building on the solid foundation we’ve already established in France. I look forward to working with our talented teams to scale our operations in the region while ensuring our offering remains relevant and commercially impactful for our customers.”

Gravity Media is committed to its mission of providing high-quality production, content, media services and facilities solutions, whilst strengthening its leadership in the market. With Rudy at the helm of the French operations, the company is poised to continue its trajectory of success in the region.

 

PRESS COVERAGE

Gravity Media, a global leader in production and content and media services and facilities, has announced the renewal of its long-standing relationship with the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious automobile clubs, founded in 1890.

The new multi-year agreement continues Gravity Media’s role as a trusted broadcast partner for Monaco’s most iconic motorsport events.

Under the renewed contract, Gravity Media will continue to deliver host and co-host live coverage of all racing events taking place on the street circuit of Monaco. The agreement marks the extension of a relationship that began in 1998, which has evolved alongside the Principality’s motorsport calendar to incorporate new formats and technologies.

Gravity Media’s team in Belgium will continue facilitating the production requirements for these world-renowned events, in collaboration with Gravity Media’s French team who is responsible for delivering the RF facilities, with the technical and operational backing from the global Gravity Media team.

The onsite coverage utilises one of Gravity Media’s large flypack production systems specifically designed to meet the distinctive challenges of capturing the live coverage from Monaco’s street circuit.

For the Historic Grand Prix, editorial enhancements are delivered by Boost Graphics, Gravity Media’s creative agency specialising in live graphics, design, and virtual production. Using pixel tracking and other advanced storytelling tools, Boost continues to bring the historical atmosphere of the event to life for audiences around the world.

John Newton, Chairman and CEO of Gravity Media said:

“We’re honoured to extend our relationship with the Automobile Club de Monaco, an organisation that embodies the heritage and excellence of motorsport. This renewal underscores the trust ACM places in Gravity Media’s production expertise, technical innovation, and long-standing commitment to delivering world-class coverage from one of motorsport’s most iconic locations.”

Gravity Media is home to a vibrant community of content creators united by a passion for storytelling and technical excellence. At the heart lies a longstanding tradition of delivering premium content and world-class live productions for some of the biggest brands in sport and entertainment.

Operating daily at the top tier of global broadcasting, Gravity Media provides fully integrated, end-to-end solutions across every project from concept to transmission.  This unwavering commitment to quality and innovation continues to position Gravity Media as a trusted leader in live production and cutting-edge broadcast technology worldwide.

 

PRESS COVERAGE

Image credit: ESL Gaming I Helena Kristiansson

Gravity Media, the world’s leading global provider of complex live creative production and media services, today detailed a collaboration between Gravity Media France and Gravity Media Australia as they supported ESL, an ESL FACEIT Group brand, in delivering the global production for the esports event Intel® Extreme Masters Sydney 2023.

The Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) is the longest-running global professional esports tournament circuit in the world. Started in 2006 by Intel® and ESL, the competition features the world’s best gamers in Counter-Strike and other esport titles. Approaching two decades of history and many record-breaking events in terms of viewership and stadium attendance, IEM is widely considered one of the most prestigious and traditional esports tournaments in the world.

This year, IEM returned to Sydney for the fourth time in history and for the first time since 2019. Commencing 16th October, 2023, 16 top Counter-Strike teams faced off for the lion’s share of the US$250,000 total prize pool and one of six spots in the Playoffs which took place live at the Aware Super Theatre at ICC Sydney. Eventually, it was FaZe Clan who secured the coveted title and became the first ever Champions of Tier 1 Counter-Strike 2 – the new game iteration of the widely popular Counter-Strike franchise.

For more than two decades, ESL has been shaping the industry and leading esports and gaming innovation globally across various game titles. By offering a comprehensive ecosystem with opportunities for players to go from zero to hero and for fans to witness the best stories esports has to offer, ESL creates a world where everybody can be somebody.

The Gravity Media team from France joined forces with the team in Australia to deliver the esports tournament held at the ICC in Sydney. On site, the team deployed Outside Broadcast trucks HD 7 and RoVa to capture the all-important action.

Solène Zavagno, Gravity Media’s General Manager in France, commented:

“We are delighted to continue working with ESL on their prestigious events across the globe. The Intel Extreme Masters tournament provided us with another outstanding opportunity, on-site delivering yet another exciting esports tournament in collaboration with the team in Australia. We look forward to continue supporting ESL FACEIT Group with their international esports endeavours.”

Ben Madgwick, Director, Media Services and Facilities at Gravity Media Australia:

“Gravity Media Australia is delighted to have worked with our colleagues at Gravity Media France to bring ESL and Intel Extreme Masters Sydney to a global audience. We are thrilled to have played a key role in Gravity Media France’s delivery of a state-of-the-art esports event production in Sydney that meets ESL FACEIT Group’s complex and flexible requirements worldwide.”

PRESS COVERAGE

Gravity Media, the world’s leading global provider of complex live creative production and media services, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Manuel Belmonte, who will be joining the Gravity Media Equipment Rental team in France as a Hire Desk Coordinator.

Further expanding the global Equipment Rental team, Manuel brings over six years of experience in the broadcasting and production industry, making them a valuable addition to the Gravity Media team.

In his role as Equipment Rental Hire Desk Coordinator, Manuel will be responsible for managing the equipment rental schedule for the projects in France, liaising with clients, managing logistics, ensuring delivery deadlines are met, preparing purchase orders and leading exceeding relationships with industry suppliers.

Manuel will work closely with the Equipment Rental team based in France, Germany, and the UK to provide customers with a seamless experience, from the initial enquiry to the final delivery of the equipment.

With experience working at Accor and Orange, Manuel has proven experience working in fast-paced changing environments. Prior to joining Gravity Media, Manuel most recently worked as a Video Project Assistant Manager at Comback in Nice, France. During his time at Comback, Manuel was responsible for managing and coordinating audiovisual projects, editorial management, preparing shoots, client relationships, post production tasks and worked alongside the Business Development team on key tender projects.

Manuel Belmonte is excited to join Gravity Media in his new role of Hire Desk Coordinator commenting:

“I am thrilled to be joining such a reputable and dynamic company. I look forward to working with the team to provide our customers with the highest level of service and to contribute to the continued success of the company.”

Gravity Media is a leading provider of Broadcast and Post Production equipment rental, servicing international clients. Gravity Media offers the latest broadcast equipment for rental to the OB, studio, and production markets, supported by a 24/7 technical backup service. Recently supplying broadcast and post-production equipment for esports tournaments, The Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations and Ce soir, on part en Live to name a few.

All rental equipment is carefully prepared and tested before every job, with Gravity Media’s Transportation & Logistics team delivering locally, nationally, and internationally within days of order. Each piece of equipment comes with a robust, custom-built flight case ensuring it reaches clients in perfect condition and ready for use, wherever they may be located around the world.

Solène Zavagno, General Manager of Gravity Media in France said:

“We are delighted to welcome Manuel to the team. His experience and expertise will be invaluable in helping us to continue to provide our customers with the best possible service.”

Gravity Media has a commitment to providing customers with high-quality equipment and exceptional service, becoming a trusted partner for businesses across a wide range of industries.

PRESS COVERAGE

Friday 11th November 2022 – Gravity Media, the world’s leading media and broadcast company, is thrilled to return as the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) host broadcast partner for the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals, which are currently taking place in Glasgow. This is the second year in a row Gravity Media has been named as host broadcaster following the success of the Finals event in Prague in 2021.

Previously known as the Fed Cup, the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals is the women’s World Cup of Tennis and the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport. This year’s Finals event runs from Tuesday 8th to Sunday 13th November at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow where the Gravity Media team is currently on-site.

Over the course of this week’s event, Gravity Media has deployed two of their state-of-the-art rigid trucks, with 24 cameras capturing the action across both courts using Gravity Media’s innovative speciality camera solution, NetCam. Gravity Media’s NetCam is a dual UHD camera platform which uniquely offers full remote shading and racking, enabling it to be mounted quickly and easily to any net to capture all the elements of the games.

A joint team from Gravity Media’s UK and France bases have joined forces to support and deliver this incredible tennis production, making sure no moment goes a miss. Gravity Media’s Netcam enables fans to be fully immersed in every second, bringing to life the unique team aspect of the Billie Jean King Cup using PTZ cameras across the Microsoft team benches.

Working alongside the ITF, Gravity Media has created a hybrid approach for this production, with the world feed being cut on-site for over 40 broadcasters in 196 territories, which is a record amount of broadcast coverage in Billie Jean King Cup history. Meanwhile, the additional commentary is being added alongside editorial content remotely at Gravity Media’s Production Centre in Chiswick, London for rightsholders.

Brooke Hockley, Broadcast Manager at ITF comments:

“The Gravity Media team have an unprecedented understanding of the unique event format of the Billie Jean King Cup as well as tennis and large major events in general. The team and their knowledge have fulfilled both what the ITF want to showcase from the event and broadcaster’s needs. It’s been wonderful to work with such an experienced team who utilise a complete end-to-end solution, from the technical side and production to the editorial deliverables with fast turnarounds, bringing to life all the things required to bring the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals to as many fans across the world as possible.”

Beth Lowney, Business Development Manager at Gravity Media says:

“I am delighted to be back working closely with the ITF to deliver the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. At Gravity Media, we continue to be devoted to women’s tennis and even more so, the social and ethical commitments towards gender equality across the industry. With a strong female talent working for Gravity Media on this project, we look forward to building a long-term partnership with The ITF and helping them create a successful and memorable competition.”

Ed Tischler, Managing Director at Gravity Media says:

“Returning for another successful year, Gravity Media is proud to be delivering an innovative full-turnkey solution, which is combined with the very best of our production and technical expertise. On behalf of the entire team, I would like thank the ITF as we are delighted to be further expanding both our production and technical services for this very special event.”

Keep up to date with the latest news from this year’s tournament here.

PRESS COVERAGE

The Gravity Media team based in France are heading to SATIS, the exhibition dedicated to the creation and technological innovations for media, entertainment, and audiovisual communication. 

Gravity Media will have a strong presence at the event with the following team members in attendance: Sandrine Carvalho – RF & Rental Manager, Cyril Bonnet – Technical Project Manager, Clement Dejoux – Production Manager and Kevin Brugneaux – Hire Desk Manager.  

Gravity Media is a leading global provider of live broadcast facilities and production services, both in terms of individual specialisms and end-to-end solutions. The Gravity Media team brings iconic sporting moments and memorable, much-loved entertainment to screens around the world – providing live broadcast facilities, production and content services that span the entire broadcast spectrum. At Gravity Media, we take pride in truly understanding our client’s needs, offering tailored solutions that harness the full breadth of our expertise and the best of the latest technologies. 

In July 2022, Gravity Media expanded its French operations with Sirius, a brand new multi-functional outside broadcast truck. Sirius is a newly custom-built outside broadcast vehicle which supports 18 cameras, with up to three vision operators, two Replay operators, and an OB supervisor position. It can accommodate 14 staff in high-tech, climate-controlled comfort. 

Following the news of ESL Gaming and Gravity Media partnership delivering the live broadcast of premier global esports events, the Gravity Media team in France has successfully facilitated multiple ELS Gaming events across the globe. Other recent work highlights for the team include the Ares Fighting Championship, Hyundai Archery World Cup, Paralympic Day and F1H20. 

Our broadcast packages are both modular and integrated, meaning we can flex our offering to match your requirements. View our full list of services where clients can come to us for a single service or a complete end-to-end solution. 

To arrange a meeting with one of the team or to find out how Gravity Media can help with your next production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com  

Gravity Media’s CEO, John Newton is attending Mipcom taking place in Cannes, France.

MIPCOM CANNES is the world’s greatest gathering of television entertainment professionals from 100 countries.

Celebrated as ‘the mother of all entertainment content markets’, and happening every October, MIPCOM is the most anticipated week for global decision makers to compete for new series, source international production partners and to set the development agenda for 2022 and beyond.

To arrange a meeting, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com

Tuesday 12 July 2022 – Gravity Media, the world leading global provider of complex live broadcast facilities and production services has officially launched its debut multi-functional Outside Broadcast truck, Sirius, based in France.

Sirius is a newly custom-built outside broadcast vehicle which supports 18 cameras, with up to three vision operators, two Replay operators, and an OB supervisor position. It can accommodate 14 staff in high-tech, climate-controlled comfort.

This truck has been designed specifically for the French and European broadcast market, giving customers further benefits from Gravity’s experience in providing the technical equipment, facilities, and services to capture the world’s most watched content.

The OB truck has already been successfully deployed at the ARES Fighting Championship, the International Outdoor Meeting of Athletics and the Archery World Cup.

Furthermore, Sirius adds to Gravity Media’s extensive fleet of mobile units and OB trucks, Mobile Units and DSNG trucks across the UK, Australia, USA, France, Qatar, and Germany. The fleet has been designed and built with a deep understanding of all broadcast environments.

Equipped with the most advanced HD technology available, they are crewed by highly experienced supervisors and engineers who are skilled in supporting a wide range of productions.

Solène Zavagno, General Manager at Gravity Media in France states “With an exciting summer of sport ahead, this is the perfect time to launch our new French-based OB truck into the European market. We are thrilled to serve our clients further, adding another card to the already existing wide range of services. Sirius is readily available for world-class events.”

Ed Tischler, Managing Director at Gravity Media commented “Gravity Media is delighted to be extending our range of OB trucks, Mobile Units and DSNGs as we continue to innovate and tailor our broadcast and technology solutions for our client’s needs. We operate every day across all tiers of world sport and entertainment – at the heart of our business is a rich tradition of delivering high-end content and live production across a wide variety of world brands. With the arrival of our latest OB truck Sirius we can ensure we can support yet more projects in France and across Europe.”

Watch the Launch Party video here & to find out more about Gravity Media and its service offerings, click here.

PRESS COVERAGE

EMG FRANCE is the world leader in HF transmission technologies applied to sporting events. For more than 40 years, EMG has been broadcasting the Tour de France, the most complex event in the world, both in terms of its duration and the technical nature of the HF it requires. Julien GOUPIL, Media Director of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), looks back at the historic partnership between the two organisations. ASO, a subsidiary of Philippe Amaury éditions, is a company that organises and develops sporting events, with 250 days of competition a year and 80 events on five continents to its credit.

https://fr.emglive.com/actualites/historic-partnership-between-the-tour-de-france-org/

Gravity Media partnered with Mana Sports and Entertainment Group to capture history, on the Sunday 5th June, as four superstars of endurance sport, two men – Kristian Blummenfelt & Joe Skipper and two women – Nicola Spirig & Kat Matthews, went head-to-head in a race that defied the impossible and broke the mythical seven and eight-hour marks for a full distance triathlon. 

Broadcasting to over 50,000 viewers across the globe via YouTube and Facebook, The Gravity Media Production Centre in Sydney was a hive of activity, producing over nine hours of live coverage of the Pho3nix SUB7 SUB8 Triathlon in Germany, powered by Zwift.

Showcasing Gravity Media’s technical innovation, a remote IP production switched in Sydney with 16 cameras beaming in from the other side of the world, at the Lausitzring racetrack in Brandenburg. The broadcast included nine and a half hours of live racing bookended with pre-show and post-show content, featuring a host of special guests, pre-recorded content, and technical analysis.

“Gravity Media has a great reputation globally for not only providing complex technical solutions, but also for our highly credentialed and talented Production team. The Sub7 & Sub8 is an example of a cost effective-full, turnkey Production. From working with the client on the initial concept, preproduction, graphic design, crewing… right through to the telecast of the event,” said Saul Shtein, Director of Production & Content at Gravity Media Australia.

The nine-hour event was streamed live on the Pho3nix Foundation’s YouTube channel, with a peak of 28,880 concurrent viewers watching these champion athletes finish under goal time. With 202,300 logged views after 24 hours, the live stream is projected to exceed a quarter of a million views over the next week. It was also mirrored on Facebook, where it reached 174,438 views and 15,995 link clicks, with related social media post engagement logging a whopping 600% increase from baseline.

“This large production showcased a truly global effort combining Gravity Media expert teams in Australia and France, with equipment from all offices including Germany and UK. Over 90 team members contributed to the great success of this project,” said Mike Purcell, Head of Production and Executive Producer at Gravity Media Australia. 

“This event has been a great achievement at every level. Besides the technical achievement which has been brilliantly executed by the technical teams, on a complicated and very advanced set-up, it has also been a great collaboration between the Gravity Media offices across the globe. The athletes pushed their bodies to the limit showing that their achievements and drive have no limits.” said Solene Zavagno, General Manager at Gravity Media France.

A large amount of technical equipment was introduced to the project to facilitate all required comms and video circuits to produce this large event. All the talkback was delivered with Unity communications via bonded devices. This type of event had not been seen before, and would not have been possible without the production, engineering, and technical effort from all involved.

“This project required complex engineering solutions. We collaborated closely with the Gravity Media team in France to connect both sites through IP comms and bonded camera technology. Our facility has been designed to cater for both remote productions and traditional broadcast methods. This unique flexibility allows us to be agile for any production be it small or large, anywhere in the world,” said Adam Dodman, Studio Engineering Manager at Gravity Media Australia.

20 cameras were deployed including specialist cameras such as motorcycles, polecams, a drone, and a Gyro-head camera Shotover, all sending feeds to 2 control rooms in Sydney via AviWest bonded technology. Other technology included twenty EVS record ports spread across three XT3 servers linked in the control room, seven SRT return video feeds, three GFX engines, multiple edit suites across Australian and Germany, two dedicated highlight loggers, a social media team managing all the social content, and all on screen graphics led by Gravity Media Australia’s design team and produced by our friends at Girraphic.

“This event was a great opportunity to demonstrate a “proof of concept” and to highlight what can be achieved through experience and innovation. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the event, technically great achievement, everyone involved should be very proud – well done,” said John Newton, CEO of Gravity Media.

Watch the video here.

PRESS COVERAGE

EMG is one of the major players in the French audiovisual industry. In its April 2022 issue, Mediakwest magazine devotes its front page to EMG France. Development strategy, technological innovations, HF expertise (…)

For the full article, click here 

 

Back in Spring, the Paris-Roubaix cycling race was a great success on France Télévisions this weekend. It was also an opportunity for EMG FRANCE to inaugurate its new fleet of motorbikes and a brand new design for the HFR 42 OB van, and to show off a team that is as motivated and passionate as ever.