MELBOURNE, FL/LAS VEGAS — CTV, a division of Bell Media in Canada, is adding digital news solutions from Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) at two stations and upgrading others as the broadcaster establishes a common news production platform across most of its television properties. The common news platform simplifies network-wide news operations, including how stations share content.
Bell Media also has upgraded its media storage capabilities at leading English-language sports network TSN with Harris solutions to accommodate increasing content volumes and work more efficiently.
CTV’s Victoria and Ottawa stations will install Harris® NewsForce™ solutions for the first time. The broadcaster also will upgrade existing NewsForce solutions at its Montreal and Halifax locations — giving all four sites the latest-generation of integrated Harris® NEXIO AMP® server and Velocity™ editing solutions for live, digital news production.
Jim Morrison, Senior Director of Engineering Projects for CTV and TSN, said that the ongoing Harris NewsForce installations offer common integration across its TV stations to streamline operations and support. He notes that the openness of Harris NewsForce solutions has simplified the integration of news production operations with CTV’s network-wide asset management system.
“Harris has been very open and has put a lot of support into helping us integrate our solutions,” said Morrison. “We have had an in-house media asset management solution for many years that Harris integrated into, easing that file-based movement between the news systems and our home-grown solution. Any operator anywhere in the country can search any other operator’s news content. The common platform across our stations makes it easier to collaborate and share content.”
TSN added Harris® NEXIO Farad™ online storage solutions to introduce more stability to a very active sports operation, and accommodate ongoing expansion. NEXIO Farad interoperates with Velocity editing systems for live sports production, enabling quick file transfers in fast-paced environments.
“NEXIO Farad gives us more on-air stability in a high-volume environment, which was important as TSN is one of our principle revenue-generating channels,” said Morrison. “We’re handling potentially hundreds of thousands of files in the sports environment, and Farad’s hardware architecture offers considerable protection. That stability, along with higher storage density and volume capacity, better prepares us for future growth and major events like the Summer Games.”
In broadcast communications, Harris offers products, systems and services that provide interoperable workflow solutions for broadcast, cable, satellite and out-of-home networks. The Harris ONE™ solution brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that enable advanced media workflows for emerging content delivery business models.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $6 billion of annual revenue and about 17,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications® products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.
# # #
