ODESSA, TEXAS—As the market leader in our DMA, KOSA-TV has always relied on innovative technologies to tell compelling stories, give our station an edge over our competition and overcome some of the unique challenges we encounter in our market.
LOTS OF WIDE OPEN SPACES
Due to our West Texas location the station has one of the more unique challenges in the country when it comes to live ENG. To drive the east-to-west expanse of our DMA requires about six hours, so relaying live video from areas outside of the main metro area can be quite difficult. Satellite trucks are cost prohibitive, and terrestrial microwave has distance limitations that have severely limited our ability to “go live” from portions of our service area.
To overcome these limitations, we have deployed a TVUPack unit to expand our options. Since we first began using the system, the TVUPack has been a game changer. Its ability to transmit video over an ordinary IP link—whether it’s from a cellular, Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection— has dramatically increased our ability to provide live coverage from more locations in our market and this capability to bring stories from these additional locations drives our viewership.
The first week we deployed TVUPack, we used it to provide coverage of a major breaking news event. Massive flooding hit the West Texas region and we were able to deliver live video from an area where we previously could never do live reporting, providing strong and compelling visual imagery that helped us inform the public of the scale of the event. Since that time, we’ve been using the TVUPack on a daily basis to deliver live shots from across the region.
ONE-MAN BAND
Since the system is so flexible and easy for our reporters to use, the TVUPack has enabled us to do a lot more with minimal assets and fewer “boots on the ground.” TVUPaxk technology allows us to expand our use of “one-man-band” news reporting, with a reporter being able to shoot and edit stories in the field and then use the TVUPack’s Wi-Fi hotspot capability to send the finished packages back to the studio. All this can be done while the reporter stays on the road to cover additional events either live or by editing other packages for the daily newscast.
The TVU has also enabled us to work more efficiently with other stations. Recently, we were able to handle a live shot for our San Antonio affiliate involving a breaking West Texas news event where there was no other connectivity available. All this took was a phone call to TVU’s support team and then we were able to pair our TVUPack with the other station’s receiver and deliver the desired coverage with no hiccups, providing them with exclusive live video and at the same time, allowing our reporter to do a live shot for a large market station.
Jose Gaona is news director and operations manager at KOSA- TV. He may be contacted atjgaona@cbs7.com.
For additional information, contact TVU Networks at 650-969-6732 or visitwww.tvupack.com.
