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Disruptors podcast season 10

In this episode, John Stackhouse visits Ross on the outskirts of Ottawa to talk with CEO David Ross about how the company grew from a small Canadian manufacturer into a global live-production infrastructure player. They discuss why the economics of live events changed so dramatically, how cheaper and more powerful screens transformed stadiums and concerts into multimedia platforms, and how Ross helps turn live data into visual storytelling through graphics, overlays, motion systems and production control.

Ross Video is one of Canada’s most consequential technology companies, even if most audiences have never heard of its name. They work across more than 100 countries. Their technology now sits inside countless modern live-event and broadcast experience:  On field graphics, robotic camera systems, data-rich stadium presentation, newsroom and broadcast automation and the production systems behind concerts, major sports, studios and major event coverage for clients like MLB, NFL, PGA, NHL, Premier League, Metallica, Taylor Switft, Coldplay the list goes on and on and on.

The conversation also surfaces a bigger business story. Ross describes its work as brand amplification technology, helping sports teams, venues, concerts and companies use screens, graphics, motion systems and production tools to deepen audience experience and strengthen commercial value. David lays out the company’s operating logic clearly: expand into adjacencies, acquire expertise when needed, keep founders and technical talent engaged, and never fall behind in technology. That approach shows up in Ross’s reinvestment model too: roughly one-third of the company is in R&D. This episode is about sports broadcast innovation, stadium technology, robotic cameras, concert production, real-time graphics, data storytelling, and the broader live-entertainment economy.

Ross sits inside a much larger market shift: a world where live sports, concerts, venue systems and production technology are becoming more immersive, more data-driven and more economically important.

Ross Video is a Canadian live-production technology company founded in 1974 by engineer John Ross. It grew from broadcast switchers into a broader infrastructure business spanning graphics, robotics, routing, automation, newsroom tools, replay, audio and experiential systems.

Ross helps power the production layer behind live sports, concerts, studios and major events. In the episode, David Ross describes the company as being in the business of keeping famous customers famous through high-end video.

A big part of Ross’s work is turning data into visual storytelling. David Ross explains that the company is not just about moving video. It is about presenting data in interesting and consumable ways through statistics, strike zones, heat maps, player data and other graphics that help audiences follow the event more clearly.

Ross grew by expanding into adjacent categories, building products for the same customer base, and acquiring companies with expertise it did not already have. David Ross describes the model as moving into adjacencies rather than trying to invent everything from scratch.

David Ross says he was told early in his career to never fall behind in technology, and Ross has taken that to heart by overinvesting in research and development. He says the company has about 1,500 employees, including roughly 500 in R&D.

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