I’m really honoured to have the opportunity to be the guest writer of this week’s blog post.

As you may be aware, yesterday Ericsson announced the completion of its acquisition of Red Bee Media . We will welcome 1,500 new employees in the UK, Germany, Australia, France and Spain to our family and in doing so, we will really strengthen and expand our capabilities and portfolio of media services around the world.

Exciting times! But why is this acquisition so important to us?

Ericsson first saw an opportunity to enter the broadcast services business as a result of the convergence of telecoms, IT and media. It was apparent that many of the processes, methods and tools that the company had developed for telecom managed services could be applied to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the TV and media market. With more than 110,000 professionals spread across 180 countries, we believe that Ericsson is well placed to make a powerful contribution.

Red Bee Media has a long and proven history in delivering top quality media services to some of the world’s leading broadcasters and content owners and a highly skilled, highly experienced team of people – a winning combination that we know will be instrumental in helping us to enable our clients to address the convergence of video and mobility. You only have to look at the results of our recent ConsumerLab’s 2013 TV and Media study to see the opportunity! 72% of consumers already use mobile devices at least weekly for video viewing, with 42% doing this out of the home.

The acquisition of Red Bee Media will support our strategy to grow in the broadcast services market and make use of our technology and services leadership, as well as global presence, to create value for the TV and media industry. By fully leveraging Red Bee Media’s expansive offering, extensive client base, industry expertise and its highly skilled talent pool, I firmly believe that we will be able to take significant strides forwards to deliver world-leading media services that connect the world’s content to audiences everywhere.

So, I hope you’ll agree, this is an exciting time not just for us at Ericsson and Red Bee Media but for the industry as a whole. We’re really looking forward to sharing the journey with you.

Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast and Media Services, Ericsson.