Panasonic announced Sunday that is is teaming up with cellular-modem camera pioneer LiveU to build a pro TV camera with a cellular connectivity unit bolted to the back of the camera, to make live mobile broadcasting easier and cheaper.

As we said last week we here at MSR think that cellular-equipped broadcast cams are a big thing going forward. For professional broadcasters and networks they theoretically can enable more live broadcasts from more places, even at major events and stadiums. And then there’s also an entirely new segment of broadcasting that they might enable — such as a small school streaming live to the Internet, without the need for a satellite truck or other expensive broadcast gear.

The Panasonic-LiveU deal, announced at the NAB show in Vegas, calls for “an integrated camcorder and live video uplink solution, utilizing the groundbreaking LU40i video uplink device and the new AJ-HPX600 P2 camcorder with planned wireless integration features.” So basically it’s a cellular modem bolted onto the back of a camera. Though this isn’t the finished product this demo version picture gives you an idea of what it might look like, and it’s a big improvement over cellular backpack modems or even the belt-holster thingy that LiveU recently announced.

Anyone else at NAB see any more cellular camera stuff? Let us know in the comments. Would like to get some more granular details about costs for the cell modem connections.