Nexstar Stations Making Big Hi-Def Push
Broadcast group plans eight upgrades this year
By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/14/2012 12:01:00 AM
Sharing the HD Bounty
Like a number of the other hi-def upgrades taking place this year at
Nexstar stations, the extensive work being done at the Shreveport, La.,
facility of NBC affiliate KTAL for the launch of HD newscasts in June is
building on some of the group’s 2011 investments.
In second-quarter 2011, Nexstar built an extensive hub at its Little Rock facility for master control. That allowed the group to move Shreveport’s master control operations to Little Rock, laying the basis for this year’s KTAL upgrade. In the space formerly occupied by the master control, Nexstar is now installing an HD control room with new racks and Ross Carbonite production switchers for the launch of HD newscasts. The company is also revamping the newsroom to improve workflows and bringing in a new HD set with new JVC studio cameras that will create a “friendlier presentation area that is more multipurpose,” says Blake Russell, Nexstar senior VP of station operations.
The upgrades will also make it easier for KTAL and other stations connected to the Little Rock hub to share content and graphics. “With the interconnect between those stations, we can basically take any live shot, use any meteorologist from any of those stations [for] any of the other stations at a snap of the finger,” notes Russell.
Last month, those closer ties also allowed the group to launch its first daily statewide newscast, Arkansas Today, which airs at noon on Nexstar NBC affiliates KARK in Little Rock, Ark.; KNWA in Fayetteville, Ark.; KTVE in El Dorado, Ark./West Monroe, La.; and KTAL in Shreveport, La./Texarkana, Ark. —GW
In second-quarter 2011, Nexstar built an extensive hub at its Little Rock facility for master control. That allowed the group to move Shreveport’s master control operations to Little Rock, laying the basis for this year’s KTAL upgrade. In the space formerly occupied by the master control, Nexstar is now installing an HD control room with new racks and Ross Carbonite production switchers for the launch of HD newscasts. The company is also revamping the newsroom to improve workflows and bringing in a new HD set with new JVC studio cameras that will create a “friendlier presentation area that is more multipurpose,” says Blake Russell, Nexstar senior VP of station operations.
The upgrades will also make it easier for KTAL and other stations connected to the Little Rock hub to share content and graphics. “With the interconnect between those stations, we can basically take any live shot, use any meteorologist from any of those stations [for] any of the other stations at a snap of the finger,” notes Russell.
Last month, those closer ties also allowed the group to launch its first daily statewide newscast, Arkansas Today, which airs at noon on Nexstar NBC affiliates KARK in Little Rock, Ark.; KNWA in Fayetteville, Ark.; KTVE in El Dorado, Ark./West Monroe, La.; and KTAL in Shreveport, La./Texarkana, Ark. —GW
For competitive reasons, Nexstar is not yet releasing a full list of stations getting the makeovers. On April 2,, the company launched HD newscasts at NBC affiliate WBRE in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., as well as nearby CBS affiliate WYOU in Scranton that WBRE runs under a joint sales agreement. Next up is Nexstar’s Shreveport, La., NBC affiliate KTAL, scheduled to complete its HD upgrade in June.
In addition to the HD upgrades, Nexstar is working on a number of other projects, including the installation of new master controls from Utah Scientific in several markets; taking delivery on two new trucks for newsgathering; and upgrading some standard-def newscasts from the 4 X 3 format to 16 X 9. Also, Nexstar senior VP of station operations Blake Russell and his team are working on a channel in the box installation of Grass Valley’s K2 Edge platform in Lubbock, Texas.
Eight HD upgrades in a year is a record for the group, but Russell downplays the idea that the projects represent a significant spike in activity.
“It looks very impressive on paper when you are doing eight HD builds and the master control upgrades and everything else we’re doing,” he says. “But from a cost standpoint, we’ve been working to do things differently so we’ve been able to do more with the available money. And we are doing all of this as part of a multiyear plan” that has allowed the group to spread the HD investments over a few years.
As part of Nexstar’s 16 X 9 newscast upgrade efforts, the company recently launched 16 X 9 with a new set in the Monroe, La./El Dorado, Ark., market, where the group owns Fox affiliate KARD and operates NBC affiliate KTVE.
“We’ve decided to put some money into 16 X 9 news in some markets where we might not be going HD in the next 12 months as an economic way to improve what we offer viewers,” Russell says.
A number of markets have or will be getting those new Utah Scientific master controls, which will lay the groundwork for future HD upgrades.
This month, Nexstar is also taking delivery on two new news trucks from Accelerated Media Technologies. “In the state of Illinois, [one of the trucks] will give us a roving presence to cover markets that we haven’t been able to do before,” Russell says.
E-mail comments to gpwin@oregoncoast.com and follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeWinslow
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