Red is stepping up efforts to boost its share of the UK camera market by appointing a network of authorised dealers and hire firms for the first time in its 10-year history.

The California-headquartered firm previously sold its products directly, but will now make its cameras and peripheral kit available through appointed dealers CVP and WTS Broadcast.

Red has also added to its senior European management team.

Earlier this month, former Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) director of sales at Clearleap Mike Grieve was appointed to the role of sales director for EMEA.

The resellers will address different sectors, with CVP focusing on the cine market while WTS will help Red push into the live production sector.

“As Red continues to grow as a global brand, having additional Red Authorised Dealers come on board helps Red become accessible to more and more people ,” said Red Digital Cinema president Jarred Land.

“With WTS, Red brings in a true broadcast specialist while CVP is very highly regarded within the professional camera market.

“Having them as Red Authorised Dealers is a great benefit to our mutual customers.”

CVP Group sales director Jon Fry said the cine market held “huge and diverse opportunities”, including hire facilities, freelancers and broadcasters, as well as sectors outside the industry such as education, corporate and government.

“We’re aware that there is a huge choice when gearing up productions and DoPs often have particular workflows or favourite items of kit.

“What we want to do is understand what our customer needs and ultimately equip them for the job in hand.”

WTS sales manager Duncan Payne said Red’s 4K broadcast module, which was shown at NAB last year, will enable the manufacturer’s cameras to operate in studio and OB environments.

He said: “Red has great technology, but it needed a partner that understood the studio and OB market.

“The ability to send 4K to the MCR or OB truck and record 6K on-board simultaneously is a unique proposition. I see it as a great add-on to live productions.

“WTS is the largest reseller of live production equipment in Europe so we understand this market well. 

“What sealed the deal between Red and WTS was Red visiting our latest 16-camera OB vehicle at IBC, which was designed and built in-house by our systems integration engineers. It was pretty clear then that we knew what we were doing – it was an impressive spectacle.”

“For us it’s not a question of Red ‘stealing’ market share [from other manufacturers], it’s about identifying where Red’s unique technical offering would fit and helping customers choose the right solution,” he added.

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