Northampton, MA–CentralCast LLC, a new PBS centralcasting facility based in Syracuse, NY under construction, will deploy Myers Information Systems' ProTrack TV to centralize content acquisition and data management, facilitate content exchange among stations, capture content revisions, and track media locations across both central and local storage devices. The facility, being built at the new WCNY-TV/FM broadcast and education facility in Syracuse is scheduled to launch in October and will assume master control responsibility for the primary and secondary content channels for all nine New York State PBS call-letter stations, New Jersey Public Television (NJTV), plus a specialty programming service, for a total of 35 on-air streams.
The PBS facility is expected to save some $25 million over 10 years in reduced equipment, operating and maintenance costs. It may generate additional revenue, once up and running, by offering services to other area broadcasters. The Myers team will install a version of ProTrack TV at the central operations facility, which will be fully integrated with an end-to-end content management and play-to-air automation solution being supplied by Evertz Microsystems Ltd.
"ProTrack scheduling and business management software has long been a key to the success of our individual station operations," said Robert Daino, president and CEO of WCNY-TV/FM, home to the new facility. "Myers not only has the systems integration experience necessary for a project of this scope, their in-depth knowledge of PBS and its unique workflows gives us full confidence in their ability to deliver us a highly efficient playout center for stations throughout the country."
"We are extremely pleased to be a part of this exciting and innovative project," said Crist Myers, company CEO and president. "This represents a whole new era for Public Broadcasting, one that combines cutting-edge technology with a rational approach to operational efficiency. This endeavor will go a long way to help participating PBS member stations become more self-sustaining and insure the availability of high-quality PBS programming to the area's loyal viewing audience for years to come."
Myers' flagship suite, ProTrack, is available in both radio and television editions. It offers comprehensive scheduling and business management for individual, multichannel and multi-station facilities.ProTrack is actively used by more than 226 media outlets, supporting more than 1,300 channels.
