Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation (‘Panasonic’) has announced that it has acquired 100% of the issued shares of UK-based media technology company Hive Media Control Ltd. (‘HIVE’), strengthening its capabilities in media playback and control for immersive and fixed-installation environments. The acquisition marks a further step in Panasonic’s evolution from a hardware-led manufacturer into a broader visual solutions ecosystem provider, expanding its proposition beyond projection and display into software, workflow and integrated media-delivery solutions.
At the same time, HIVE will continue to operate as a standalone business with a vendor-neutral market approach. Panasonic will support HIVE’s continued growth while preserving the independence, agility and openness that have shaped its position in the market. This includes continuity for HIVE’s existing customers and partners, including those using HIVE alongside projector and LED display brands beyond Panasonic. Media servers play a central role in immersive environments and large-scale visual installations, helping manage playback, synchronization and control of content across multiple displays and surfaces. With HIVE, Panasonic broadens its ability to support customers not only at the display endpoint, but across a wider part of the workflow from content playback and control through to deployment and operation.
HIVE’s flagship BeeBlade platform is based on the Intel Smart Display Module (SDM) standard, enabling direct integration with projectors, direct-view LED display systems and professional displays. “This is a strategically important step for Panasonic as we continue to evolve our business beyond a hardware-oriented model toward broader visual solutions and workflow value,” said Yousuke Adachi, CEO of Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation. “Under MEVIX, our visual solutions brand, we have been clearly articulating our commitment to contribute to customers across the total workflow, not just at the hardware endpoint. This acquisition is a major step in that direction and an important step forward in growth guided by the spirit of the MEVIX brand. HIVE brings proven expertise in media playback and control, and when combined with our projector and display portfolio, we believe it can create meaningful customer value through simpler deployment, greater flexibility and a better end-user experience. At the same time, we fully respect HIVE’s position as a standalone business open to working with the wider market, and we look forward to the synergies from HIVE’s continued growth also creating value for Panasonic.”
“We are inspired and honoured by the opportunity to work with Panasonic, while continuing to grow HIVE as an open and independent ecosystem,” said Mark Calvert, Co-Founder and CEO of HIVE MEDIA CONTROL LTD “In nature, the most powerful systems are interconnected, adaptive and free to evolve – a philosophy that sits at the heart of HIVE. This partnership gives us the scale to accelerate our vision while preserving the openness and platform-agnostic approach our customers rely on. I would also like to thank my co-founders, Dave Green and Trey Harrison, and our incredible HIVE team – whose belief and dedication mean we move into this next chapter together.”
Panasonic views the media server market as a growth area, supported by increasing demand for immersive attractions, museums, themed environments and other permanent visual installations. Within this space, HIVE has built a strong position by offering a more compact, scalable and future-ready approach, underpinned by its SDM-native architecture and open ecosystem design. For customers, the combination of HIVE’s media control architecture and Panasonic’s projection and display technologies is expected to create value through greater deployment flexibility, a smaller infrastructure footprint, fewer external devices, simplified cabling and more streamlined installation and operation. It also supports better overall end-user experience where HIVE and Panasonic solutions are used together. HIVE’s media servers are already deployed across major global projects including the BBC Earth Experience, the National Museum of Qatar and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel exhibition, demonstrating its capability across immersive attractions, cultural institutions and large-scale visual environments. HIVE’s innovation has been recognised through multiple high-profile international industry awards for its BeeBlade platform and broader media control ecosystem.
