NORTHAMPTON, MASS.—Myers announced WTVI as the 14th station to partner with Centralcast LLC, a joint master control facility located in Syracuse, N.Y. Centralcast is utilizing Myers’ ProTrack Hub and Spoke configuration to provide a service offering that centralizes the acquisition, distribution, and storage of content with like media facilities around the country. As a spoke, WTVI, a Charlotte, N.C.-based PBS station, will be able to reduce ongoing operating expenses by eliminating the need to maintain and update its own master control center.
“By outsourcing our major master control functions, we will not only be able to reduce our operating expenses year over year, but we will also save approximately $2 million dollars of capital investment,” said Regina Berry, director of Programming & Traffic, WTVI. “This will enable us to better utilize our existing resources in house to produce sustainable workflows, improved business continuance, and a more efficient operation. We are excited for the benefits it will provide us moving forward.”
The ProTrack Hub and Spoke environment relies on systems integration to communicate with the Hub, which is located at Centralcast’s facility and where the centralized and shared systems are retained. WTVI, who has been a Myers client since 2001, will maintain ProTrack’s scheduling, sales, and traffic environments to preserve their station autonomy within their viewing region.
