WRAL, one of the country's most respected and innovative television stations, has selected Xytech MediaPulse to manage the station's production and news activities. MediaPulse plays an important role behind the scenes at WRAL, helping to schedule reporters, photographers, anchors, engineers, creative services personnel and their activities, as well as equipment and trucks. MediaPulse also supports scheduling of master control for the station.
WRAL is the flagship of the Capitol Broadcasting Corporation and a recognized trailblazer in the broadcast industry. In 1996, the FCC awarded WRAL the first experimental HD television license in the United States, and the following year it was the first in the U.S. to broadcast a live sports program and newscast in high definition. In 2000, WRAL became the first TV station in the world to produce and air an all-HD broadcast, including the graphics, live shots and news. Last year the station switched to NBC from its long-standing affiliation with CBS.
WRAL's focus on innovation continues with the selection of MediaPulse to optimize efficiency and transparency, and to automate and analyze its operational activities along with a news operations staff of 120. WRAL covers major events including tournaments and elections where numerous personnel and a large pool of equipment need to be planned, organized, scheduled and tracked over multiple days. All those operations run on MediaPulse. Additionally, WRAL Creative Services production work and the station's engineering staff are better scheduled and tracked through MediaPulse.
Pete Sockett, WRAL director of engineering and operations, said, "WRAL Raleigh, alongside two sister stations in the Capitol Broadcasting family, is now capable of racking daily assignments of newsroom personnel, trucks and equipment for story coverage with MediaPulse. We are planning on better management and tracking of resources with reduced resource conflicts, improved maintenance scheduling, enhanced staff communications and, in the end, an overall ability to better analyze how the station can operate most efficiently, productively and profitably."
Xytech is the industry leader in facility management software for the broadcast, production, media services and video transmission industries. Its products are currently facilitating operations in some of the world's most dynamic companies and leading broadcast environments, such as ABC, Lifetime, Scripps, Sinclair Broadcasting, Univision, CBS Television City, WGBH, RDS, TV Globo and Nebraska Educational Television.
MediaPulse offers broadcasters and production facilities the ability to more efficiently track their resources and costs in real time. The platform provides WRAL and other stations with better management and staff decision-making by making important information available. MediaPulse Sky enables anytime-anyplace browser interface, and the MediaPulse iOS app facilitates efficient time entry and schedule access via mobile devices.
Greg Dolan, COO of Xytech, noted, "WRAL is one of the most successful and technically progressive local television stations in the country, pioneering important technological advancements while broadcasting local news in a major regional market. They continue to lead the way for local news stations and for all stations covering national events. Their choice of MediaPulse to power their operations is something we are terrifically proud of."
Sockett concluded, "WRAL has a history of innovation and we've consistently been first in broadcast technology trends. As a busy station in a busy market, we must perform and analyze our operations in the most efficient way possible and that includes getting reporters and equipment to sites in a timely, effective manner. The reality of local broadcasting demands extreme functionality. The strength of MediaPulse in WRAL's operations is being demonstrated to us daily and we're delighted to work with the great team there to fully realize the benefits of this powerful platform."
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